I made up a recipe!

And honestly I shouldn't be so surprised. This kind of thing does happen incidentally, or often, but usually these spontaneous recipes are not so complex. For example, I "made this up":
cook oatmeal with soymilk in microwave;
add golden raisins and cinnamon;
eat.

But last night was a night of culinary genius.

FIG SPREAD WITH PEPPERED WINE
(to be eaten on baguette, toasted, and topped with Gorgonzola)--makes about 1-3/4 cups


1-1/2 c. red wine with low tannins, like Pepperwood Grove Zinfadel

Put wine in a medium saucepan and start heating over medium heat.

Using a tea ball or piece of cheesecloth, make a spice bag:
24 peppercorns
2 green cardamom pods
1" piece of ginger root, cut into two
whole zest of 1 lemon, not grated off but sliced

Add spice bag/s (or ball/s) to saucepan; let wine continue to simmer. (The pepper and lemon are most important. You could probably leave the others out.)

At your leisure, add:
10 oz. dried figs, like Black Mission, stemmed and cut in half

After all the figs are added, bring to a boil, then simmer and cover for 20 minutes, until figs are easily pierced with a fork.

Let cool enough to handle, then puree in a food processor completely. Add fresh lemon juice (remember the zested one?) if need be.

I suggest adding no sugar at all, but if desired, add 3 T. brown sugar to the simmering wine early on. Also, if you have almost enough wine but not quite enough, you can add a little water to top it off.

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I have one 8 oz. jar in my fridge, and one half-eaten bowl at my friend's place, post-party. It should keep a month in the fridge.

Damn I'm good.