Bourbon Glazed Ham

The holidays really rush by, don't they? One of our holiday meals had a centerpiece of Bourbon Glazed Ham, using a recipe from Martha Stewart. You begin with a fully-cooked half ham, so it's pretty easy, and towards the end of heating it fully, you brush on this aromatic bourbon-brown sugar-mustard glaze that you make while the ham does it's initial heating up. As the ham gets to the end of it's time in the oven, the glaze becomes shiny, browned and a bit sticky - altogether delicious. You don't even need to save this for a holiday...it works to dress up a weeknight dinner just as well.

Bourbon Glazed Ham

Adapted from a recipe by Martha Steward, 2009

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon molasses
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
1/4 cup bourbon (could also use brandy if preferred)
1 bone-in, fully cooked half ham, about 6 pounds

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Place ham in a roasting pan, cover tightly with foil (or put into a baking bag, like Reynolds Brown-In Bag, as I did, following directions for adding 1 tablespoon flour and cutting vent holes). Cook in preheated oven until thermometer registers 145 degrees F, about 1 1/2 hours.

While ham is in the oven, make the glaze. In a small saucepan combine the brown sugar, molasses, mustard and bourbon. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 3 minutes or until thickened and syrupy. Set aside until the ham has reached XX degrees F.

Remove the cover from the ham, increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and brush the glaze generously on the ham, covering all exposed parts. Bake, uncovered, another 30-35 minutes until glaze is shiny and darkened. Serve warm, sliced, or at room temperature.

What Smells SO Good?

That's what Sweetie asked after he came in from cutting up the Christmas tree to put it into the green recycle bin. We finally took down the tree today and put all the decorations and ornaments and lights up in the attic until next year. Usually I would have done it on January 7th (the day after Epiphany), but we have been having terrible wind and rain since the weekend and it was nice having the lights and soft glow of the round ornaments during the rain. Of course we also had some blackouts with no power - 3 hours and then about 6 hours, plus a few brief ones, (less than a minute), so no comfort from the tree lights then. Still, we are on high ground, so no flooding here. We didn't lose too many tree limbs, although our old apple tree did fall over, which is very sad.

Our friend and neighbor Phil also asked, "What smells so good?" when he came by this afternoon to borrow a few gallon jugs of well water. Our neighbors are on a different power line and had been out of power for about 14 hours by then and needed a little extra. Fortunately, I usually fill up about a dozen during December for times like these. We have our well water treated with a salt, so for tea and coffee I use bottled spring water because it has more acid than the treated water, so it's better tasting, for tea especially. I just fill those as they empty and label them with the date and "Well".

So what did smell so good? The Country Bean, Ham and Cabbage Soup that took most of the day to make. This is one of those recipes that are good to do when you're going to be hanging out at home much of the day. We did get a walk in with Pi between storms,

and saw how flooded the Laguna de Santa Rosa was on High School Rd. in Sebastopol. Many roads in the Santa Rosa area have flooded and there have been mudslides and evacuations from low lying areas. We have had over 11 inches of rain since Sunday. A good time for soup since there is more rain today and will be a little more tomorrow. Taking care of the Christmas tree was also a 'between the storms' thing since we finally had a day where there was a break between storms.

You actually start this soup recipe the night before. You rinse dry white beans and put them to soak with water covering them. (Actually put at least an inch of water over them. They soak it all up during the night). The next day there are draining, rinsing and simmering sessions. The longest is for an hour and a half. Most of the rest are for 15 minutes or a half hour. It does take a little time to chop the veggies and to make the herb bouquet. Towards the end of the process you have to take a few minutes to fish out the herb bouquet to discard and to cut the ham into bite sized chunks, as well as to slice up the cabbage. The recipe calls for a roux of cooked flour and butter to thicken the soup, but mine simmered so long that it didn't need any thickening.

Give this a try. The recipe is from my Mom, but I don't know where she got it from...I just make it and enjoy it. It is hearty, tasty, stick-to-your-ribs good, and pretty healthy, too. It makes lots, so there are leftovers which are even more delicious than the original meal. Just be prepared for that question: What Smells SO Good?

Country Bean Ham and Cabbage Soup

2 1/3 cup dry pea beans (Great Northern, white beans)
1 3-lb cooked picnic ham, bone in
1 celery stalk, sliced
2 carrots, quartered and sliced
5 sprigs parsley + 2 bay leaves tied together
2 medium onion, sliced, plus 1 onion stuck with
3 whole cloves
4 garlic cloves, mashed
½ teaspoon EACH dried thyme & ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 can tomatoes
1 small head green cabbage, sliced in 1/4” slices

Cover beans with cold water by at least an inch and let stand overnight. 

Drain, rinse, return to pot and cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and soak for 1 hour. 

Drain & rinse & return beans to the pot. Add ham. Add enough water to cover the beans. Bring to a low simmer and simmer 15 minutes. 

Add the vegetables, herbs, onions and seasonings to pot. Cover and simmer 1 ½  hours. 

Add the tomatoes and simmer ½  hour. If tomatoes stay whole, chop them up with a spoon. 

Remove herb bouquet and whole onion. 

Add the cabbage, stir, and simmer ½ hour. 

Remove any ham bones and discard. Cut up any ham chunks into bite sized pieces and return to the pot.

Make a roux of 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons flour, cooked in a small pan until light brown. Add it to soup. Simmer 15 minutes. 

Taste and season with more salt and/or pepper as needed. Serve hot.

Custard Without Milk...In A Quiche

I enjoy making quiche and have made a few which have been posted on this blog, but now I decided that rather than forgo quiche due to the use of milk in the custard that I would try making it using soy creamer. Soy milk, or any rice or nut milk would probably work, but I like the thickness of Silk brand original (unflavored) soy creamer, so I went with that. I also used to put cheese in my quiches but still haven't found a non-dairy cheese worth bothering with, so this is a custard pie with ham, mushrooms and asparagus. It's different, but worth making.

It was well over 80 today when I was making this pie, so I decided to use my toaster oven, which is out in my studio. Since I wasn't going to be in there except to put the quiche in and out of the oven it didn't matter if it got heated up, but I didn't want to do that to my regular kitchen. The unfortunate thing is that since I wasn't there to check on it, the blind bake went on too long and so the final crust was pretty dark brown in a lot of spots...almost burnt.

Other than that, it was a lovely quiche. I lowered the heat for baking it after my experience with the crust and also baked it for a shorter time than the recipe called for. Since I had browned the mushrooms before I put them in the crust, they went on the bottom. Over that I put the blanched asparagus, then I scattered the diced ham on top. This is truly asparagus season around here, so it made a very seasonal and delicious dish. The custard was not quite as tender as one made with milk but we didn't miss the cheese with all that yummy ham, asparagus and mushroom flavors going on.

Quiche with Asparagus and Mushrooms and Ham

1 9-inch pie shell, blind baked at 425 degrees F for 10-12 minutes (recipe follows)
1½ cup sliced fresh mushrooms, sauteed for 5 minutes in an oil slicked frying pan, then set aside
1 cup blanched asparagus pieces

1 cup diced cooked ham
3 eggs (or equivalent egg substitute)
1 ½ cups soy creamer or evaporated milk or light cream
¼ teaspoon salt
dash pepper
Dash nutmeg
dash dried thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sprinkle the bottom of the pie shell with the mushrooms, asparagus, and ham, distributing evenly. Set aside

In a bowl, beat the eggs lightly, then add the soy creamer and beat with a fork to combine, add the salt, pepper, nutmeg and thyme and beat with a fork to combine.

Pour the egg/milk mixture over the ingredients in the blind baked pie shell. Place in the preheated oven and bake 30-45 minutes, or until set and lightly browned. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting to serve.
Serves 6-8

Pastry Pie Shell

1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chilled butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons ice water
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, or two knives, until particles the size of dried peas are formed.

In a small bowl mix together the egg, ice water and lemon juice (if using). Sprinkle over the flour mixture and toss with a fork lightly. Do not over mix. Gather the particles together in a ball. Wrap airtight and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes. Roll out with a rolling pin on a floured surface until large enough to fill a 9 inch pie pan with some overlap.

Fit into a 9 inch pie pan, smooth to fit, trip excess, tuck edges under and crimp as for any pie crust. Prick lightly all over the surface with a fork. Freeze 10 minutes. Remove from freezer and cover with a circle of parchment paper. Fill the paper with beans or pie weights (blind baking the crust).

Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 – 12 minutes. Cool slightly. Remove and save the beans or pie weights. 

Fill the blind baked crust with filling as called for in recipes needing a pie shell. If the crust has browned too much, use a piece or two pieces of foil to create a shield for the part of the crust that is over browned after filling the crust.

Hearty Bean Soup

It surely is spring but a rainy one here. I love the rain, love the sound of it, the sight of drops running down the window and splashing in the puddles on the walkway. I'm thrilled that we are finally getting some good soaking wetness after a fairly dry winter. Unlike where I grew up we don't get summer rains so our trees and plants and water table require winter rains for optimal health. Here is a photo of a daffodil I brought inside to add cheer.

One of the things I enjoy when it's raining outside is to make soup. This one, Country Bean and Cabbage Soup, is a family favorite for a couple of reasons. First of all, it makes a LOT! If you are expecting a hungry hoard to arrive, for example within a few days before Christmas, this is the perfect hearty meal to have waiting in the fridge. That's another reason; it tastes even better a day or two after it's made so you can make it before the rush of activities that come with the hoards. A third reason is that it is delicious and used good-for-you beans and cabbage. If you only have the tail end of a ham to go into the pot as I did, that's OK, too. The ham bone contributes a great flavor to the soup. I was out of parsley when I made it...it still tasted fine, but it's even better with parsley. I think the recipe originally came from the Six Minute Soufflé Cookbook, but don't quote me on that.

 New on the home front includes work that Sweetie did today to fit a dog door into our new utility room entry door. He still needs to replace the door jamb and threshold and I still need to paint it all, but it brings us closer to being able to have a dog again. I'm finding it hard to wait.

Other news includes my labors today (in the sun since it rained yesterday when I was making the soup but not today) of potting up 64 seedlings into larger peat pots with more potting soil. Most were various varieties of heirloom tomato, but a few where golden chard and rainbow chard seedlings. So far I only have one lemon cucumber seedling, but I hope a few more sprout soon. I'm looking forward to a big garden and a lot of fun giving seedlings away to friends and neighbors.

Country Bean & Cabbage Soup

2 1/3 cup dry pea beans (Great Northern, white beans)
1 3-lb cooked picnic ham, bone in
1 celery stalk, sliced
2 carrots, quartered and sliced
5 sprigs parsley + 2 bay leaves tied together
2 medium onion, sliced, plus 1 onion stuck with 3 whole cloves
4 garlic cloves, mashed
½ teaspoon EACH dried thyme & ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 can tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 small head green cabbage, sliced in 1/4” slices

Cover beans with cold water and let stand overnight.
Drain, cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and soak for 1 hour.
Drain & rinse; return beans to the pot.
Add ham. Add enough water to cover the beans. Bring to a low simmer and simmer 15 minutes.
Add the vegetables, herbs, onions and seasonings to pot. Cover and simmer 1 ½ hours.
Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and simmer ½ hour. If tomatoes stay whole, chop them up with a spoon.
Add the cabbage and simmer ½ hour.
Make a roux of 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons flour, cooked in a small pan until light brown. Add it to soup.
Remove herb bouquet and whole onion. Simmer 15 minutes. Taste and season with more salt and/or pepper as needed.

Mmmm Magic Potatoes

It must be the Irish in me...I love potatoes in almost any form. Baked, fried, boiled, mashed, gratin, French fried, chips, in bread...you get the idea.

Today I put the food processor to work and made a variation of potatoes in the savoyarde style. Thinly sliced, unpeeled (but you can also do it with peeled potatoes which is more elegant) potatoes are layered, in a buttered casserole, with a mince of onions and garlic, some cubed ham, some salt and pepper, a dash of nutmeg and a dash of dried sage. Once the layers are done you add chicken broth and milk, cover it with foil and bake to let the potatoes cook and absorb the liquids. After 30 minutes you uncover the casserole, check for tenderness, add some shredded cheese on top, and bake a little more so that the cheese melts and browns and the potatoes finish getting all nice and soft and lovely. There is something magical about how these flavors combine and it's a perfect dish for cooler weather.

This delightful (although not low calorie) casserole is a meal in itself. All you need to add is a green salad or fruit compote. If you have a food processor with a slicer attachment this potato dish goes together and into the oven in about 20 -25 minutes. The baking takes a while but it's worth it. Just the wonderful smell when it is almost done is enough to make me salivate. I'll try to post some photos of servings later, but right now just look at they browned cheese goodness!

If you prefer, you can layer white potato slices, then yam slices, then white, then yam, and so on, with or without the addition of the ham. Hot, hearty, savory and filling...that's the magic of these potatoes.

Ham and Potatoes Savoyarde Style
serves 6

enough butter to grease the casserole (about 1 teaspoon)
about 2 pounds potatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 cup diced ham
about 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
about 1/8 teaspoon dried sage
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or Swiss is nice, too)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter a 2 quart casserole. The best kind is more shallow than deep and wider to give you more top surface.

Layer the potatoes, overlapping slightly in a single layer on the bottom of the casserole. Sprinkle with about 1/4 of the onion and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a dash of nutmeg and sage. Scatter about 1/4 cup diced ham over the layer. Repeat with remaining potatoes, onion, garlic, and ham, seasoning to taste as you go.

Pour the chicken broth over the potatoes and then pour in the milk. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Remove foil and distribute the cheese evenly over the top of the casserole. Return it to the oven and bake for another 25 - 35 minutes or until the cheese is browned and the potatoes are tender.
Serve warm.