Tribute to the 13 Colonies Part V - Dan's Blues and Bourbon Bruschetta

New Jersey on the far left from the Empire State Building
Photo by Dan LaBrie (used with permission)

I am so proud of my husband for becoming such a great home cook. He is allowing me to post another one of his recipes. This one is extra special.

Today we are traveling to New Jersey.

New Jersey was colonized in 1664. http://americanhistory.about.com/cs/colonialamerica/p/jerseycolony.htm
I visited Jersey several times in the late 90's. This picture which Dan took years later shows the state across the Hudson River from Manhattan. New Jersey also has beautiful rolling hills as I recall. And, of course, there is the famous Jersey Shore and Atlantic City. And if you are a fan of the TV show, "The Sopranos," you got to see quite a bit of the state as they shot on location.

Jersey is also known as the "blueberry" state. I did not know this until I started to do research on these regional recipes. http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/New_Jersey/fruit-highbush-blueberry.html

I've been told that the Jersey Shore is known for having some pretty good blues clubs. This dish fits right in! It can be prepared on the gill or in the oven.  

 

Ingredients:

1 cup all natural frozen wild blueberries

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp freshly ground cinnamon

1 tsp. corn starch

1/4 cup Kentucky Bourbon

1 French Baguette - sliced into 12-15 slices (3/4 inch thick on a diagonal)

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Other:

Cooking Spray for Grill

1/2 cup water

Butter flavored cooking spray

1 tbsp. fresh chives (optional)

Directions:

Spray grill with cooking spray; pre-heat grill to 350 degrees.

On the side burner of the grill, add frozen blueberries and water to a grill-safe sauce pan.  

Bring to boil, 3-5 minutes.  Whisk in brown sugar and cinnamon.  Continuously whisk for another 3-5 minutes.

Combine corn starch with bourbon.  Whisk the mixture into a blueberry reduction, off heat. Return sauce pan to heat, bring to boil, reduce to simmer, whisking continuously.  You want to preserve the integrity of the blueberries, but you want the sauce to be thick enough to your liking.

Remove sauce pan from heat and tent with tin foil until ready to serve.  Spray both sides of baguette slices with butter flavored cooking spray. Place slices on grill to toast 1-2 minutes until a light brown.  Flip slices and transfer to grill-safe pan or tin foil layered on grill.  Sprinkle ½ tsp. blue cheese crumbles onto each slice.  Add ½ tsp. of solid blueberries from sauce to each slice.  Place pan on grill until cheese begins to slightly melt and bubble. 

(Approx. 1-3 minutes depending on heat).  Remove pan from grill.

To Plate:

Using a demi-glace spoon and a long white plate, place six slices of  bruschetta; top with extra sauce and sprinkle some around the plate.  Top with fresh chopped and whole chives (optional).   Repeat with remaining slices.