Grown Up PB&J

My kids ask me for PB&J almost every day, and I end up making it for them almost every day. Most days when I make it, I begin to salivate the second I open the peanut butter, and most days I end up making a sandwich for myself too, the whole time thinking, “Really, PB&J, really? Is this the best I can do?”  Some days, the answer is no, I can’t do any better.  But it did get me thinking, if I wanted to, how would I up my PB&J game?  To start I grabbed one of our delicious nut butters from Big Spoon Roasters, and a jam from Blake Hill,  A & J King bread (of course), and I went to work in the kitchen.  I didn’t want to make this so outlandish that it became a chore to have a PB&J.  Part of the appeal to the PB&J is its simplicity and ease to make.  What I came up with was adding a little herb and spice to give it a little edge, balance the sweetness, and basically make me feel like I wasn’t eating lunch with the first graders in the cafeteria.  And with that, I give you a recipe for a Grown Up PB&J.
-Queen Christine

Grown Up PB&J
 
4 slices A&J King Multigrain bread
4 tablespoons Big Spoon Roasters Peanut Cashew Nut Butter
2 tablespoons Blake Hill Apricot Preserve with Orange & Honey
2 sprigs rosemary
1 tablespoon canola oil
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
 

  1. Remove the rosemary from its stem. In a small sauté pan over medium heat, fry rosemary in hot oil, until crispy, and it turns a light green-brown, about 15 seconds. Remove rosemary from pan with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Salt lightly and allow cool for about one minute. When cooled, chop the rosemary so that you end up with about 2 teaspoons.

  2. Lightly toast your bread, depending on your toaster setting, about 2 minutes. You want to just warm the bread and give the edges the lightest, chewy crunch.

  3. Lay out your toasted slices of bread. Spread 2 tablespoons of nut butter on two slices of bread. Spread 1 tablespoon of preserves on the other two slices of bread. Sprinkle the nut butter slices with a pinch of salt. Sprinkle each of the preserve slices with 1 teaspoon rosemary and one grind of black pepper.

  4. Top each of the preserve slices with a nut butter slice. Cut into 2 halves. Enjoy!

 
Serves:  2

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