Happy Eater, Uh Easter

James finally made it home -- just in time for Easter dinner. Nothing too special: brown sugar glazed ham, biscuits, warm potato salad with asparagus and leeks and sautéed peas with butter lettuce.

Welcome Santa: Christmas Eve 2012

 Classic Americana. Mustard brown sugar glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, lemony green beans and parker house rolls. James favorites for a cozy Christmas for two.

We don't have many traditions, but as long as I've known James I've made this unbeatable gingerbread cake every year. Flavored with hearty guinness stout,  the recipe is a specialty of New York's Gramercy tavern's (former) elite pastry chef Claudia Fleming. Fleming may have moved on to her own restaurant on the North Fork but her recipe lives on.
Christmas for two -- warm hearts and lots of leftovers.

Mini Easter

I'm trying to stay somewhat on the diet so James had a mini-Easter for one. A single serving potato gratin delicately scented with lemon thyme, brown sugar - mustard glazed ham steak, and fresh buttered peas.

I meant to make an Easter bread but got all involved weeding a garden patch in front of the house and settled for a pan of biscuits. Pretty nice with salty ham.

For dessert, a single serving lemon pudding cake. Fresh and light and a pretty low calorie treat.

Happy Easter 2012

Midwestern Appeal . . . Almost

It started with baked ham. I had a big beautiful piece of baked ham in the freezer that, try though I may, I could never get James to defrost and eat when I am out of town. So it was up to me to put it to use. I sliced the ham and covered it with a glaze of 3/4 cup of brown sugar heated with a splash of hot sauce and 3 TBs of dijon mustard. On the side, the classic: A potato gratin . . . with a twist. My gratin was built with layers of thinly sliced (peeled) sweet potatoes and celery root mixed with crisp, diced bacon, fresh thyme, chopped leeks, and S&P. Once the layers were in place I poured in pure, rich cream and topped the dish with grated Gruyère cheese and a layer of breadcrumbs. The gratin baked for about an hour and ten minutes (the last 20 uncovered), the ham for 25. James had seconds, on everything.

Black-Eyed Peas And More

I'm not sure why but we're still in a Southern state of mind, at least at dinnertime.

While pressing on with my never ending mission to keep clearing out the freezer I spied a well wrapped chunk of Easter baked ham. I love to re-work leftovers and it's just a short leap from ham to soup from soup to greens from greens to black-eyed peas. We had kale and I found fresh peas at the market so I was off and running. First I sauteed some onion, the whites of scallions and chopped garlic in vegetable oil. Then I added in the black -eyed peas, the chopped kale, a shot of tabasco, chicken broth, salt and water and brought the liquid up to a boil. I lowered the flame and let the pot simmer (along with some chunks of ham I added in) until the beans were tender. I fished out the ham, cut it into bite sized chunks and added it back to the stew with the greens of the scallions and a good shot of red wine vinegar.

I served James' Southern stew with biscuits I was storing in the freezer waiting to bake. Another good dinner, another shelf cleared.

Easter 2011

I love holidays. mostly for the chance for theme menus. So, even if it is just the two of us, I make at least a little bit of a fuss. For tonight's dinner I mail-ordered a ham from our favorite bacon producer, Neuske's. I figured their ham had to be top-notch and it was. I added a little holiday topping by glazing the applewood smoked ham with a bourbon, molasses and brown sugar glaze from Bruce Aidells recipe. Most recipes I look at with at least some degree of suspicion. But, when it comes to meat, I am willing to follow Aidells almost blindly and this glaze did not disappoint. I boiled down a combo of apple juice (1/2 cup) and bourbon (1/4 cup) until reduced by half. Then I added that liquid to a paste of 1 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup molasses, 3 TB dried mustard, and 1 cup toasted and finely chopped pecans. I spread that paste on top of the already armed through ham and baed for 30 minutes at 425º. The sweet coating gave the smokey ham a boost that had James asking for seconds.
Spoonbread, basically a corn meal pudding is one of my favorite side-dishes, light lunches, or breakfast leftovers. I bring one cup each of milk, corn meal and water to a boil, stirring, and cook the meal for about two minutes until the mixture starts to pull away from the side of the pan and drop in one TB of butter, S&P. Next I mix in one cup of milk beaten with two eggs and stir everything together, off the heat. The batter is poured into a heavily buttered baking dish, dotted with another TB of butter and baked at 400º or about 30 minutes until it is puffed and still jiggles softly. Cornbread dressed up in its Sunday best.
For vegetable and salad in one I roasted some asparagus tossed with olive oil, S&P, and lemon zest for about ten minutes at 450º. I dressed a combination of greens -- arugula and frise -- with a lemon juice, olive oil, dijon mustard, and red wine vinegar vinaigrette and topped the salad with creamy, luxurious, perfectly ripe Delice de Bourgogne. The acid note in the triple cream, washed rind cheese (from the creme fraiche added in the cheese-making process) is the perfect foil for fresh spring vegetables and lemony vinaigrette.

Dessert is still waiting -- its is playoff season after all, a man can only wait so long. So, dear friends, you'll see that strawberry shortcake another day this week.

Happy Easter one and all.

Spaghetti With Peas, Cream and Ham

Same ingredients, different day, different dinner.

James must have liked last night's dinner because when I asked what he wanted tonight he opted for spaghetti with a "simple sauce. " "Maybe prosciutto and peas," he said. Pork and peas were on the table last night too.

Tonight I sautéed a chopped onion in butter until soft and added in fresh peas (not even our own, packaged from Trader Joe's and delicious) and a bit of water and let the peas cook. Next went in some chopped Leoncini rosemary ham (one of the many spoils of my trip to Epicure Imports), followed by a good dose of cream. I let the cream simmer for a bit and added the drained pasta to the sauce along with a large handful or parmesan cheese.

Simple spring sauce, Italian style.

Baked Pasta

I had to clean out the pantry. Half bags of this and that taking up space that could be devoted to once a year Holiday goodies. James likes spaghetti, white round spaghetti, so I knew that box of whole wheat rotelli would need some attention to clear it off the shelves.

I made a quick mornay sauce (melt butter, add in flour in equal measure and milk -- whisking all the way -- until the consistency is creamy and smooth -- add shredded cheese to melt in the sauce) flavored with gruyère and goat's milk cheddar (I was cleaning through the cheese drawer too). Into the half-cooked pasta and sauce I added chopped ham and sautéed kale and beet greens with just a hint of garlic. I poured it all into a baking dish, topped the dish with bread crumbs sliver of butter and more grated cheese and popped it into the oven (375º) to bake for about 35 minutes nil the top was crispy, the cheese melted and the sauce bubbling.

Macaroni and cheese gets a quick dinner upgrade -- James never noticed the whole wheat.

Ham Steaks and Sweet Potatoes

A while back, sauntering through the grocery store I plopped a thick Niman Ranch ham steak in my cart, thinking one night that will make a good quick dinner. Tonight was the night. I wasn't actually late getting home or in a particular hurry but it just sounded good. Something unusual for us, a little more "midwestern covered dish" or "meat and three" than I usually go in for but it just sounded good.

First things first. I peeled and, on my mandolin, cut a combination of sweet potatoes, yellow potatoes, and purple Japanese sweet potatoes in 1/4 slices. I layered those in a baking dish adding salt, pepper, (chili flakes on one layer) and little pats of butter between the layers. I poured milk over the potatoes (use cream if you have it -- the milk will separate in the oven and taste fine but not look so pretty). I covered the dish with tin foil and set it to bake for 45 minutes at 350º. I uncovered the potatoes and let them bake or another half hour.

For the ham I mixed up a glaze based on a recipe by that ketchup loving French chef Jacques Pepin -- 2 TB of ketchup, 1 1/2 TB of brown sugar (I went a little heavier than Jacques), a drop of hot sauce to taste and a 1/4 tsp dry mustard. I brushed the glaze on the room temperature steak and put it under the broiler for about five minutes, to caramelize the glaze. Steamed buttered cauliflower sat on the side.

Cozy Americana suggested by the French.