Chip, Charlie, jam and shortbread

A jam can be an awkward situation or predicament. It can be an instance of a machine or thing becoming stuck or seizing up. This video of Chip and Charlie jamming together on February 1, 2020, the day after Chip’s 59th birthday, was neither awkward nor stuck in place. Their spontaneous, informal gathering as musicians flowed unimpeded and perfectly (You can view Chip and Charlie jamming here.)

Listening to informal gatherings of musicians improvising together always made Chip happy. I think he was even happier when he was part of a jam. Now, his electric guitar sits quietly in the corner of our sunroom. Next to the guitar are song sheets for "Mississippi Queen," "Mama Tried" and "Sweet Georgia Brown." They were songs he loved to play, although "Mama Tried" brought him to tears the last few times he tried to play it, and he was unable to complete the song (You listen to it here).

Discovering the video of Chip and Charlie jamming prompted me to look for a recipe that Chip might have saved in his Evernote app that involved actual jam. I couldn’t find one. What I did find was his recipe for shortbread, which is amazing with different kinds of jam spread on it. Ingredients

* 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

* 1/4 cup sugar

* Pinch of salt

* 1 stick unsalted butter, melted

* 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

How to Make It

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and vanilla and pulse until evenly moistened. Turn the crumbs out onto a large piece of parchment paper and press into a disk.

Step 2:

Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and roll out the dough to a rough 8-by-11-inch rectangle. Discard the top sheet of parchment. Trim the edges to form a circle. Slide the dough along with the parchment onto a large baking sheet. Using a straight edge and a sharp knife, score the dough into 24 cake-like slices. Poke the dough all over with a fork and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

Step 3:

Bake the dough until golden, about 25 minutes. While the shortbread is still warm, cut it into arced triangles. Let cool before serving.

Whether I am consuming jam and shortbread, listening to him or other musicians jam, stuck in a traffic jam or clearing a paper jam in my printer, Chip is on my mind. I miss him so much.