Baked ham! It’s not just for Easter.

 

As you may have guessed, I have a great affinity for pork products. While on the surface, it may be the decidedly unglamorous staple of a lunchtime sandwich, the lowly ham can occasionally have center stage at Easter, Christmas, or other large gathering. Usually, it’s one of those 10-pound behemoths purchased from a specialty store or super market that come already glazed and ready to go. Yes, they are delicious and convenient, but you can make a cheaper and much more sophisticated version at home, with about the same amount of skill that it takes to go to the store, buy the ham, and pour whatever glaze concoction it comes with.

Another bit of news…You can also buy a mini ham at most grocery stores! Well, why is this exciting, you ask? Well, as it turns out, it is a super easy and fancy looking weeknight dinner with the same minimal effort! It’s especially nice when cooking for two, as you will have leftovers that you can transform into any number of other dishes in the days to come.
I like to re-use in croquetas or gratin aux courgettes.

I usually serve with some mashed potatoes and green peas, but I came across these lemon potatoes from Martha Stewart that paired really nicely as well.

Here is my go-to glaze recipe for a baked ham for two:

1 quarter ham
1/4 cup whole cloves
1 tsp grated orange peel
1/4cup brown sugar
1 heaping tablespoon grain mustard
1 tsp cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Score the top of the ham and stud all over with the whole cloves. Place on a roasting pan or baking dish and into the oven for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk the orange peel, brown sugar, mustard and vinegar together until combined.

When the 30 minutes are up, pour the glaze over the ham and return to the oven for 15 minutes.

Remove the ham from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes:

You can switch out the cider vinegar for orange juice.
If the ham is pre-sliced, you don’t need to score it, but I recommend that you tie it together with some butcher’s twine so that it stays together in the oven.
If you are using a whole (8+pound) ham, increase the ingredients accordingly.

 

 

Deliciously cheap and lazy…

So a few weeks ago, amid a 5-hour Stranger Things binge, my husband started asking about dinner. It was raining and neither one of us really had the motivation to go to the store. I poked around the kitchen and found I had some canned tomatoes and spaghetti, so I went about finding a good sauce with few ingredients. And I found GOLD!

Gold being Marcella Hazan’s tomato and butter sauce. It sounds strange. All you need is butter, tomatoes, onions, and salt. Chop up the tomatoes and onions, throw in the salt and butter, and walk away. It’s delicious as is, but in the few times I have made it since, I’ve thrown in some basil and red pepper flakes as well.

It’s a great recipe for when you’re on a budget and/or just not really in the mood to create anything elaborate. Not to mention, the ingredients are things you normally might have laying around your kitchen.

Happy eating!

That’s a Fancy Looking Chicken…

I have to admit I am late to the party on frozen chicken. Weird. I know. My husband recently introduced me to these giant bags of frozen boneless breasts and I have to say, they are really a lifesaver! They’re cheap and provide a large quantity of individual breasts and they can stay in your freezer pretty much forever. I’ve also learned that you can get thighs, drumsticks, and other bone in cuts too!

Okay, that’s enough of my frozen chicken epiphany. Because they are so convenient, these bags have now made chicken breasts a staple of my weekly dinner menu. After having fried them, steamed them, wrapped them in bacon, made stir fry and lettuce wraps, I was running out of ideas. I was also too lazy to go to the store one day, so I came up with the following super easy, super versatile, and dare I say, pretty fancy looking recipe.

So I had the chicken breasts, red onions, and Israeli couscous. I also had (and still have) more zucchini than I know what to do with, so those are the basic ingredients I used for this version. You can substitute with chicken thighs, sweet onions, butternut squash, pumpkin, mushrooms, or even asparagus, broccoli or cauliflower. Really, whatever you have on hand should work!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1-inch chunks
1 red onion, coarsely chopped
1 large zucchini, diced into 1-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 sachet Lipton Onion Soup
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
Juice of 2 limes or lemons
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

1 cup cooked Israeli couscous, prepared according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine all ingredients except the couscous in a 9×13 glass baking pan. Make sure chicken and vegetables are well coated with seasonings and olive oil.
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove from oven and combine with the cooked couscous in a large bowl. Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary and serve.

Serves 4.

 

Tacos are not Cuban food.

But that’s okay!

You can make Cuban-style tacos using your leftover roast pork and black beans!

This is perfect for leftover black beans, as they tend to get really thick after a night in the refrigerator.

I made a tomato salsa to put on top, recipe below, and assembled with the reheated pork from the previous post and leftover black beans. I used corn tortillas, as I think the flour ones taste like paper, and served with a blend of cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Colby cheese. Enjoy!

Salsa:

6 medium tomatoes
1 large green pepper
1 medium red onion
1 bunch cilantro
Juice of 3 limes
2 tbsp white vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Finely chop the tomatoes, pepper, onion and cilantro using a food processor. Place in a large bowl and add the lime juice, vinegar, olive oil. Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste.

If you like a hot salsa, you can add any kind of hot pepper you prefer in addition to the green pepper.

 

Here Piggy!

Roast pork is a staple of Cuban cuisine. You’ll see it at birthdays, weddings, Christmas, and even next to the turkey at Thanksgiving. It is usually the the crown jewel of any Cuban grandma’s canon of recipes, not to be toyed with or made by anyone under the age of 50. The recipe is often shrouded in mystery and hidden away in some secret grandma hiding place or committed to memory so that no one can take it. These ladies do not mess around!

Family lore goes that my great grandmother would give you a recipe, but with one ingredient missing or changed, so that yours would not turn out exactly like hers.

Well, as the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. Thousands of miles away from Miami and with no Cuban grandmothers in sight, I have taken it upon myself to learn how to roast a pig.

Well, not a whole pig. That’s for a caja china, which needs to have its own post at some point.

I used a 4 lb pork shoulder and am now on day 3 of repurposing it. It only cost me about $8 and, for 3 days of dinners, not a bad deal at all!

Not My Grandmother’s Roast Pork:

1 3-4lb pork shoulder or pork butt
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 sour orange (or regular orange if you can’t get the sour kind)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp dried orange peel
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1tsp ground black pepper
1 cup white wine
1 tsp Worchestshire sauce
2 tbsp olive oil

Combine all dried herbs, spices and garlic in small bowl.
Massage the mixture onto the pork and place into a gallon sized zip bag. Pour any remaining garlic/herb mixture into the bag.
Add the juice, wine, olive oil, and Worchestshire sauce to the bag and let out any air before sealing the bag.
Turn the bag around a few times to make sure the meat is coated with marinade and place in the refrigerator overnight, periodically turning the bag.

Preheat your oven to 450.

Once the oven comes to temperature, place the roast with the marinade poured over it in a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, lower the heat to 300 and roast for 5 hours, uncovered.

Slice and serve with your favorite sides.

 

 

True confessions: PF Changs Edition

 

I. Love. PF Changs. There, I said it.

Authenticity and innovation be damned, their food is consistently good and you can find one or more in pretty much any larger city in America. My favorites there are the chicken lettuce wraps, Mongolian beef, and fried rice.

I recently came across damndelicious.net’s recipe for PF Changs-style chicken-lettuce wraps, so I thought I’d give them a shot. I am happy to report, the recipe was a hit!

Of course, I had to put my own twist on it. Here’s what I changed:
– I used four whole skinless/boneless chicken breasts instead of the ground chicken. To me, ground chicken is weird and gross. I diced the breasts into tiny cubes to mimic the original.
– I left out the sriracha, as I am just not a fan.
– Before cooking the chicken, I marinated it for a few minutes in a mixture of about a teaspoon of lemongrass paste, a few drops of fish sauce, black pepper, and garlic salt.
– I also added some fish sauce to the hoisin/soy/mirin mixture in the recipe.
– I boiled up some thin rice noodles and let them cool.  I served them along with the chicken and lettuce to add a little more heft to each wrap.

Salads: Not just lettuce and tomatoes anymore!

The idea of living in a home without air conditioning is a completely alien concept to those of us from South Florida. When I first got to Washington, I thought “wow, these people are savages!” But, as it turns out, all summers are not Miami summers. That being said, I’ve definitely been trying to use my oven and stove for the least amount of time possible. Salads have become a mainstay in my dinner menus since they require little to no stove time. Here’s a new one I’ve been working on the past few weeks. It looks fancy, tastes delicious, and you can pretty much use any grain to veggie combination you like.

Couscous Salad:

1 cup cooked couscous, cold
1 cucumber, diced
1 2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red onion, minced
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 small can sliced black olives
1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
5 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir.

You can do this with any grain you like. I like to use farro, barley, and quinoa as well. You can also add feta cheese to add some richness.

Enjoy!

What to do with that leftover sauce…

In my previous post, I showed you how to make my all purpose pomodoro sauce. Since more often than not, you will have leftovers, here is an easy and relatively healthy chicken parmesan recipe that I made with it last night. Bon appetit!

Oven Chicken Parmesan:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
1 cup plain breadcrumbs (you can also use panko)
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 tsp. dried parsley
2 tsp. garlic salt
Salt and pepper to taste.

4 slices provolone cheese
1-1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Oil a large baking sheet with cooking spray or olive oil.

While the oven warms up, bread your chicken breasts.

Season the flour with one teaspoon each of the Italian seasoning, garlic salt, and parsley. Stir to combine. Repeat with the breadcrumbs.

Dredge the chicken in the flour, followed by the egg, then the breadcrumbs. Shake very gently to remove any excess breadcrumbs and place on the baking sheet.

You can spray them lightly with cooking spray to keep the crust from drying out too much. This is optional.

Bake for about 30-45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Adjust your timing depending on the thickness of the breasts you are using.

Once the chicken breasts are cooked, remove them from the oven and top each with heaping tablespoon (or more if you like) of the sauce. Place the slice of cheese on top. Return to the oven for about 5 minutes or until the cheese melts.

This can also be prepared vegetarian, by using thick slices of eggplant instead of the chicken.

 

 

 

Fun with a spiralizer and an all-purpose tomato sauce

 

So my aunt recently gifted me a spiralizer. This thing is awesome. It slices your vegetables into a noodle shape, making for a wonderful guilt-free version of “pasta” out of zucchini, carrots, squash, and potatoes. You can also use it on cucumbers and other fruit and vegetables for a mighty fancy looking salad.

I recently made a zucchini “pasta” with my version of a pomodoro sauce that both husband and I agreed that we did not miss the real thing. For my vegan/vegeterian friends, the recipe can be easily adapted and you won’t miss out on flavor. Well, I might. I like bacon. And cheese. The sauce yields enough that you can freeze the leftovers or repurpose the next day. Here’s part 1 of how I made two meals out of sauce, zucchini, and some frozen chicken breasts.

Pomodoro Sauce:

1 large carrot
5 cloves garlic
1 large stalk celery
1 medium onion
1 tsp chopped fresh basil, plus more for serving
1 28oz can diced tomatoes (I prefer San Marzano)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 strips bacon
1 1-inch piece parmesan cheese rind
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated parmesan for serving

Using a food processor, finely mince the carrot, onion and celery. Then mince the garlic separately. I like to do each one separately as the carrots require a lot more processing.

Render the 2 strips of bacon in a medium, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Once the bacon is rendered, remove the strips from the pot and set aside. You can have them as a snack while you’re cooking.

Add the garlic to the hot, rendered bacon fat and saute for about 1 minute. Add the onion, celery, carrot,  and Italian seasoning. Stir to combine, reduce the heat to medium and allow to cook until the vegetables soften.

Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes, cheese rind, red pepper flakes and 1 tsp of the fresh basil. Stir. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Simmer for 45min to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add a drizzle of olive oil before serving.

To make this a vegan recipe, just omit the cheese rind and bacon. Use olive oil instead of the bacon fat.

I had some fresh tomatoes on hand as well, so I chopped them and added to the sauce for texture.

Some Whole Foods will sell you a package of Parmesan cheese rinds. They are an amazing addition to soups and sauces. I just keep the rinds of the wedges of Parmesan in a Ziploc as I finish each wedge, so I always have them on hand. 

If you find that the sauce is too acidic, you can stir in a tiny bit of sugar to tone it down. 

Zucchini Pasta:

4 large zucchini, peeled
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Spiralize the peeled zucchini

Heat the olive oil in a large pan.

Add the zucchini and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper.

See my next post for what I did with the leftovers!

 

 

 

 

 

Things I never thought I would miss: Grilling

 

To be honest, I actually never owned a grill while living in Miami. But, I had an all access pass to the one at my parent’s house, which I really didn’t use all that much either.

Fast forward to the present here in the PNW and now all I want is a grill. Not even a fancy one, just one of those little gas powered camping ones would be amazing! Never mind that my building probably doesn’t allow them and that our 3×3 balcony probably isn’t safe to have one, but whatever.

Well, common sense and good citizenship have prevailed and I have learned to use my broiler. And I have to say it really is a lifesaver when you can’t grill on anything and even a grill pan won’t do.

For the steak pictured above, I took a 2lb flank steak and marinated it in chimichurri for about four hours. I preheated the broiler and left it alone for about 10 minutes before putting the meat in on the top rack of the oven. I checked the meat in about 5 minute intervals, taking it out somewhere between 15-20 minutes for a nice, pink medium doneness. You could probably take it out somewhere closer to 15 for medium rare.

I served it with some wild rice and extra chimichurri on the side. I use this recipe by Michelle Bernstein as a starting point for the chimichurri. It’s also great with chicken and pork as a marinade or condiment.

Enjoy!