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.

 

 

CROQUETA, CROQUETA, CROQUETA!

I love croquetas. Ham, cod, cheese, chicken, and yes, even kale! You can put almost anything in bechamel, bread it and fry it into those wonderful little cylinders of deliciousness. I mean, Pepe Billete even wrote a song about them and whatever the filling, irregardless, they’re delicious!

Now, as much as we Cubans want to claim them as our own, the croqueta or croquette is not a Cuban invention. Older versions can be found across Spain, France, Portugal, Italy and other countries that have been around longer.

Personally, I have always been intimidated by the thought of making them. I had visions of explosions in oil and runny bechamel. The first few times I made them, it was supervised by the watchful eye of my far more talented partner in sandwich-making. More on that later. But now, living so far away from a Carreta or Versailles, I’ve finally found the courage to attempt them on my own. And, surprisingly, they were a success!!!

I used the Three Guys From Miami recipe and it worked beautifully. The only things I did differently were to use white wine instead of sherry and I didn’t have any nutmeg, so I left it out. I also only had half a pound of ham, and it still worked out just fine. If you do attempt this though, be sure your bechamel is THICK. Like the consistency of mashed potatoes thick. It also helps to make the filling one day ahead and refrigerate it overnight.

Buen Provecho!

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!

A Mother’s Day Menu

This was my first Mother’s Day away from my mom, but my first with my new Mother-in-Law. As a gift, she told me she wanted me to make a proper Cuban meal. Since I’ve recently mastered arroz con pollo, I thought I’d give it another go. I still think the real gift was for me, a full unsupervised day in a giant kitchen with a gas stove and miles of counter space!

I served the arroz con pollo with an avocado salad and platanitos en tentacion.

Arroz con Pollo:

1 package bone-in chicken thighs with the skin on (about 4-6 thighs)
1 package Spanish chorizo
1 8oz package cubed ham
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large yellow or white onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 10oz jar manzanilla olives
1 4oz jar sliced pimientos
1 14oz package arborio or Valencia rice
3 sachets sazon Goya
1 cup dry white wine
1 12oz beer
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 cube chicken bouillon
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 28oz can chopped tomatoes
Few strands saffron (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place the chicken thighs in a large pot with one quartered onion, one bay leaf, the cube of chicken bouillon and a sprinkle of black pepper. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let them simmer until cooked through. Once the chicken has cooked, set on a plate, discard the onion and bay leaf  and reserve the cooking liquid.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot. I use a 5 1/2 quart Le Creuset, but feel free to go with something a bit larger. Add the garlic and cook over medium high heat until fragrant. Add the onion and green pepper and cook, stirring often until the onion is translucent.

Add the second bay leaf, cumin, and coriander and stir.
Add the cubed ham and sliced chorizo. Stir.
Add the package of arborio rice and stir to combine ingredients.

Pour in the canned tomatoes, sazon goya, tomato paste, white wine and beer. Stir.
Add the chicken thighs and enough of the reserved broth to cover the ingredients in the pot. Bring to a boil.

Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat and stir.
Add the drained olives, pimientos, and saffron, if you are using it.
The mixture should be simmering. Watch it closely and stir often as the rice absorbs the liquid fairly quickly. From this point on treat the rice much like you would a risotto, gradually adding more liquid and stirring until the rice is the right texture. Remember that this will be slightly mushier in texture than a traditional risotto.

Once the liquid is absorbed and the rice is at your desired tenderness, season with salt and pepper, remove from heat and allow it to sit for 15 minutes. Serve.

Serves 8, generously.

Platanitos en tentacion:

3 overripe plantains, peeled, cut in half and lengthwise
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tbsp rum
4 tbsp butter

Preheat the oven to 375.

Grease a small, glass baking or pie pan.
Place the plantains in the pan and sprinkle the cinnamon and sugars over them.
Cut the butter into small pieces and drop them around the plantains. Pour the rum over the mixture.

Bake for 45min to 1 hour.

Notes:

-You can switch out the olives in the arroz con pollo for peas. I love olives, so I use them instead of the peas.
-You can also top the arroz con pollo with asparagus. Growing up, everyone seemed to use canned asparagus. I don’t recommend that. It’s weird. However, it might be nice to top with blanched or grilled asparagus, if you are so inclined.

 

 

 

 

First Attempt: Lomo Saltado

 

There are things about Miami that never occurred to me that I would miss. One of these is Peruvian food. I never really had it that often, but when I did, it was really good!
I came across this recipe by Gaston Acurio. Mr. Acurio is one of Peru’s most famous chefs and owns a number of restaurants across Latin America, Europe and the US.

Lomo saltado closely resembles a stir fry with beef, peppers, potatoes, onions and tomatoes. The finished product has a really flavorful sauce that gets absorbed by the potatoes and rice and gives them this wonderful salty and acidic taste. It’s even better the next day!

I followed the recipe as instructed. I think next time I might add some fresh grated ginger with the garlic. The linked recipe is in Spanish. See below for my translation. Enjoy!

Lomo Saltado de Gaston Acurio:

600gr beef loin, cubed
1/2 cup olive oil
2 medium onions in thick slices
2 yellow bell peppers in thin slices
4 tomatoes in thick, quartered slices
1 tbsp minced garlic or garlic paste
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1 tbsp chopped culantro leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste

For the fried potatoes:
1/2 lb yellow potatoes
vegetable oil

Slice the potatoes into french fry shape.
In a large pan, heat the oil and fry the potatoes until lightly browned and crunchy.
Remove from the oil with tongs or a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Season the beef with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the beef and cook until brown on all sides.
Add the onions, tomatoes and peppers. Stir and cook for about 40 seconds.
Add the garlic, soy, vinegar and broth. Stir and cook for about 30 seconds and add the potatoes. Check for seasoning.
Stir in the green onions and culantro leaves.
Serve with white rice.

Notes:
I used tri-tip sirloin which is more inexpensive than the tenderloin.
I did not have culantro leaves so I seasoned the beef with ground coriander in addition to the salt and pepper.
I used a combination of yellow, red and purple potatoes to add more color.

Buen Provecho!

A recipe for ribs in the oven that actually works and other fun stuff

Having more days off means inventing more projects. At least for me. I had a craving for ribs and had never made them from scratch. I came across a recipe from my Food & Wine Annual Cookbook for Mo’s Sticky Ribs and I have to say, it was really easy and really delicious. The only thing I added was a shot of sweet Thai chili sauce to the recipe’s sauce mixture. I might try it with guava jelly instead of apricot next time too.

I couldn’t just eat the ribs alone, so I decided to go with a kind of BBQ theme and made this German-style potato salad from Bobby Flay. His instructions say to use your pans on the grill, but I just did it on the stove. Here, I added some sliced cornichons for some more tang and texture and some snipped chives in addition to the parsley. You’ll see that it says that it should be served warm, but it’s delicious straight out of the fridge.

Finally, because I didn’t seem to get enough sugar, fat and starch, I decided to make baked beans as well. Below is my aunt Nola’s recipe for New England Baked Beans. These are always a hit at family gatherings and a nice item to bring as a side dish to pot-lucks and such.

3 cup Bushes Original Baked Beans

Bacon (a few slices cut in 1 inch pieces to top beans)

1 large onion

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except bacon.
*You can mix them in a  greased 2-quart dish or, when doubling, a 9×13 pan.

Scatter the bacon pieces on top. Cover with lid or foil. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 2 hours. Uncover during the second hour.

With this one, take note that you are using the original baked beans. I’ve bought the wrong kind in the past and they have been a bit too sweet for my taste.

Et voila!

Three super tasty recipes to serve together or apart!