This are pretty much the best idea I’ve ever had.

Hilarious story for you – a couple years ago, my aunt and uncle came to Ottawa for Thanksgiving and stayed with us. My Uncle Bob is an amazing cook, and it was so awesome to have him around to collaborate with and learn from. He loves food – and I mean LOVED food – which I can completely appreciate. One might say we have a bit in common.

Anyway, all weekend (they were with us for three nights), Uncle Bob kept talking about balsamic reduction. It seemed like, in every single conversation, somehow it circled back to balsamic reduction. At first I thought he was just hungry. Or many he’d recently made a delicious balsamic reduction that was fresh in his mind. But it just didn’t stop. On the second day, My Other Half quietly whispered to me “is it just me or is Bob obsessed with balsamic reduction?!” After that, it started to get a little funny… and also a little weird.

During a leisurely stroll through the Byward Market, we stopped into the Italian shop La Bottega. To our amazement (but not our surprise), Uncle Bob bee-lined for the balsamic aisle. He proceeded to pick up a small bottle of fruit-infused balsamic reduction and bought it. At this point, My Other Half and I turned to my aunt and said “he really loves this stuff, eh?” and she told us about this strawberries and ice cream dessert he’d recently had, drizzled with a balsamic reduction.  We couldn’t really blame him – it sounded delicious!

Anyway, long story short, by Thanksgiving dinner My Other Half decided to call Uncle Bob out for his incessant balsamic reduction references, and it was hilarious. Uncle Bob probably laughed the hardest, fully aware of his fixation. To this day, we absolutely cannot say “balsamic reduction” without thinking of Uncle Bob and smiling. It was such a great weekend filled with laughter and delicious food.

So the point of this story is to say… as I developed this recipe, I giggled every time I thought the words “balsamic reduction”. But I completely get my uncle because it’s SO DELICIOUS!

And whipped goat cheese? Please. Caramelized onions? You had me at hello.

I also made this into a giant pizza which was equally delicious. Put these ingredients on flatbread! Or on pita bread! Or baguette! It’s all good.