Maple-Ginger Glazed Ham

On Saturday, Juli's son Ian and his fiancé came by to visit, and we had an early Christmas celebration with them.  Ian had requested we prepare a ham, and I was glad to do so, since this gave me an opportunity to come up with a new recipe. 

For the occasion, I came up with a flavorful glaze, based around the distinct flavors of ginger and maple, with a few other ingredients added to round it out.   Now the problem was figuring out how to get the glaze to stick, and to actually sink in and flavor the ham.  Thankfully I'd seen a recent post at Jaz' Octoberfarm blog which gave me some good ideas. 

Jaz recommends trimming away the outer rind of the ham and scoring it.  That sounded like a great idea, so I went with that.  However, I knew removing the rind created some risk of a dried-out ham, so I covered the ham with seasonings, wrapped it in foil and baked it for a couple hours.   At the end of that time, the ham was cooked-through, yet amazingly moist and tender.  The first round of seasonings hadn't created much of a glaze, but I took care of that by making a thick, proper glaze, brushing it on the ham and cooking the ham for a bit longer at higher temperature.  The result:  a tasty yet unusually flavorful ham. 

Adding the glaze after the first round of baking

The ham was a big hit for Saturday's luncheon feast, and for leftovers in the evening.  Juli used some to make soup on Sunday night, and there's still a fair bit for sandwiches and - along with the ham bone - more than enough for another batch of soup.

If you're thinking of having a Christmas ham but aren't sure how you want to prepare it, this recipe may be just what you're looking for.


Maple-Ginger Glazed Ham

1        ham (approximately 10 lbs)
2        tablespoons maple sugar + 8 tablespoons
4        teaspoons freshly-grated ginger + 2 teaspoons
2        teaspoons kosher salt
1        teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1        teaspoon garlic powder
1        tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3        tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Slice away the outer rind of the ham and score the surface.  Combine two tablespoons maple sugar, 4 teaspoons ginger, the kosher salt, red pepper flakes and garlic powder in a small bowl.  Stir in olive oil to make a thin paste.  Spread the paste over the ham, then wrap ham in aluminum foil and place in roasting pan.  Roast for 2 hours. 

Mix 8 tablespoons maple sugar and two teaspoons ginger in a small bowl, then add maple syrup and stir to make a thick paste.  Remove ham from oven and increase oven temperature to 350 degrees. 

Unwrap the ham and coat the surface of the ham with the thick maple paste.  Return the ham, unwrapped, to the oven and cook for another 30-45 minutes, basting the ham with pan juices after about 20 minutes.  Slice ham and serve.

Notes:
1.  Make sure to use actual maple syrup, not maple-flavored pancake syrup. 

2.  You can use light brown sugar in place of the maple sugar, but the flavor won't be quite the same. 

Asparagus with Garlic Cream Sauce

This is the third of the three new recipes I prepared together recently.  It's pretty straight-forward, really:  pan-fried asparagus spears topped with a creamy garlic sauce.   Simplicity doesn't take anything away from the flavor, though.  This cooked up fast and easy and was quite satisfying.  It makes for a good side dish for any number of other dishes, and by experimenting a bit with additional seasonings (rosemary, sage, thyme, basil or lemon zest would work quite well, for example), you could customize it to go with an even wider range of dishes. 

I should note that the picture reflects my having made a double batch, in order to use up extra asparagus that would have otherwise gone to waste. 

Asparagus with Garlic Cream Sauce

yield = 4 servings

1       tablespoon unsalted butter
1       bunch of asparagus, trimmed
1       tablespoon minced garlic
1/2    cup heavy cream
         salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.   Add the asparagus in a single layer and fry, turning frequently with tongs, until the asparagus spears are soft and have a few darkened spots.  Transfer asparagus to a serving plate. 

Add the garlic and fry, stirring often, 1 minute.  Add the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Stir frequently, until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.  Pour over asparagus and serve.

Options:
Try mixing in 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary, 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, 1/2 teaspoon crushed, dried sage or 2 tsp fresh lemon zest.

Red Potatoes with Rosemary Butter

This is the second of the three new recipes I designed recently.  In fact, this one was not so much designed and improvised.   I knew I wanted to have potatoes with a light, creamy texture without putting in much work, and I also knew I wanted some butter, garlic and rosemary flavors to go along with the other two dishes.  Boiled potatoes and a quick, simple sauce seemed the best bet for getting what I wanted without a lot of effort, and since I was going with some richer flavors in the other two dishes, I decided that instead of a sauce per se, I'd just toss the potatoes with some seasoned butter.

Since I wanted something of a soft, creamy texture, but to still have the potatoes hold together pretty well, I chose Red Bliss potatoes for this recipe.  They're less starchy than my default favorite potatoes, Yukon Gold, and much less so than russet or Idaho potatoes, so I knew a short boiling period would result in pieces of potato that were tender and creamy, but not mushy.  If you want an even creamier version, go with Yukon Gold. 

The resulting potatoes are creamy and flavorful, with a pleasant mix of flavors, none of them overwhelming.   Juli liked this the best of all three dishes. 

Red Potatoes with Rosemary Butter

yield = 4 servings
2 1/2      pounds small red bliss potatoes, quartered
3            tablespoons unsalted butter
1            teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1            teaspoon minced garlic
              salt and pepper to taste

Place the cut potatoes in a Dutch oven and cover with water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low boil for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, add butter, rosemary and garlic to a small bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for about 60 seconds or until the butter is melted and steaming.   Stir, cover again with plastic wrap and set aside.

Check the potatoes with a fork; when the tines penetrate without effort, the potatoes are done.   Drain the potatoes in a colander, then transfer them to a serving bowl.  Toss with the melted butter mixture, season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

New Cook's Illustrated Recipe: Foolproof Thin-Crust Pizza

The new issue of Cook's Illustrated features a recipe for a thin-crust pizza advertised as having crust that is crisp on the outside and tender and a bit chewy within.  Having been pleased with some of the other CI Pizza recipes (especially the Chicago-Style Deep Dish and Crisp Thin-Crust Pizza), I thought I'd try this new one out. 

The printed recipe makes enough dough for two pizzas.   This is a recipe that takes a bit of planning, because after mixing the dough, to get the right consistency, one has to refrigerate it overnight, or preferably more than one night.  That's not really unusual for good pizza dough, though.

I topped one of our pizzas with pepperoni and mushrooms, the other with Italian sausage and mushrooms.  We purchased both meats and the mozzarella cheese at our favorite Italian grocery, Graziano Bros.  To prep the mushrooms, I sliced them very thin, tossed them in a small bowl with a bit of olive oil, covered the bowl and tossed it in the microwave.  The resulting mushrooms were as good as sauteed, but faster and with less mess.  I quick-poached the meats to remove unnecessary fat without the meat drying out too much. 

The recipe makes for a pretty good pizza.  Truth be told, the crust isn't really what I'd call particularly thin, and certainly not compared to Cook's Illustrated's Crisp Thin-Crust Pizza recipe, or the delightful crispy thin-crust pies we get at Bordenaro's.  That said, it's quite good.  The long stay in the fridge results in a long, slow fermentation that gives the crust a very pleasant flavor.  The simple no-cook sauce - made in the food processor - was also quite tasty.

So, all in all, this is another good pizza recipe, and as far as I'm concerned, one can never have too many of those.

Pork Chops with Cranberry-Maple Sauce

A few nights ago, I tried out three new recipes on the same evening:  a main dish with pork chops, a potato dish and a vegetable side.  I'd written up the main and vegetable dishes a week or so earlier, but had put off making them for a bit due to my being in a pizza mood, while I came up with the third recipe on the spot.  I'm happy to report that all three turned out well, each standing on its own and the three going together nicely.   I'll be presenting each in separate posts.  First up:  the main dish.

Pork chops and fruit sauces are a great combination.  Lots of different fruits go well with pork:  apples, oranges, pears and pineapple are all common choices.  Pork also goes well with my favorite winter fruit, cranberries.  In designing this recipe, I wanted something more than just fruity flavor, though.  Juli suggested maple, so I went with that.  Once that decision was made, I knew butter, garlic, ginger and rosemary would add some savory flavor to balance the sweetness of the maple and the tartness of the cranberries.  Juli suggested adding some sweet shallots to the mix, and though I'd initially thought of basing the sauce on either wine or chicken broth, I ultimately decided hard cider was a better choice, reflecting the fruit flavor of the berries and the warmth of the ginger.

The result:  Pretty much excellent.  Tender, flavorful chops with a savory, fruity sauce.  The different flavors blended perfectly, and the sauce perfectly complemented the chops.  But, always, I urge you to not just take my word for it, but try it out for yourself.

Pork Chops with Cranberry-Maple Sauce

yield = 3 servings

6       thin, boneless, center-cut pork loin chops (3-4 ounces each)
         salt and pepper to taste
1       teaspoon butter
2       large shallots, thinly-sliced
2       teaspoons fresh grated ginger
1       teaspoons minced garlic
1       sprig fresh rosemary
1       cup fresh cranberries
1       cup hard cider
1/3    cup maple syrup

Trim chops of excess fat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

Melt butter over medium heat, then add shallots and cook 3-4 minutes.  Add chops and cook until lightly browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. 

Add ginger and garlic, cook 1 minute, then add rosemary sprig and cranberries.  Cook 1 minute, then add hard cider.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until most of the liquid is cooked off. 

Transfer chops to a serving plate, remove and discard the rosemary sprig and add the maple syrup.  Cook until thickened.   Serve the chops topped with the sauce.

New Mexican Pork Stew and Homemade Flour Tortillas

So far I've made almost half of the recipes in the newest (December 2010) issue of Cook's Country, and have been quite pleased with most of them.   It is rare that I get that much use out of a single recipe source, and especially rare for a cooking magazine.

The two most recent things I've tried from that particular magazine are a natural combination:  posole - a stew common to New Mexico, made from pork, hominy and pureed onions and dried peppers - and fresh, homemade tortillas.  The stew was by far the more time-consuming of the two recipes, due to it having several steps - roasting the dried ancho chilis, rehydrating them in hot broth, browning onions, pureeing the onions and peppers, browning the pork and the hominy, long periods of stewing - but the bulk of that was time when ingredients just cooked on the stove top. 

The flour tortillas were comparatively quick to make:  Mix shortening, flour and water into a dough, roll the dough into small balls, roll the balls into thin, flat rounds and quick-fry them in a smoking-hot cast iron skillet.   My Lodge cast iron skillet came in quite handy for that, naturally. 

Both the posole and the tortillas were pretty easy to make, really.  The clearly-written recipes are about as close to foolproof as one can get.

I liked the stew a lot more than Juli did.  I found the tender, shredded pork, the rich, smoky, chili-based broth and the hominy to be a great combination, making for a hearty, flavorful stew.  Juli, however, was less than thrilled with the texture of the hominy.  We both loved the tortillas, though.  I'll definitely be making the tortillas again - like, next time I'm in a mood for tacos, more likely than not - but I'll probably only do the stew only occasionally, if I decide I'd like to make some to take to work as lunches.   If you like the idea of a hearty stew with a rich, complex mix of distinctly southwestern flavors that does not rely on over-familiar staples like chili powder and cumin, give it a try.

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza Revisited

Recently I revisited the Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza recipe I've written about before.  This Cook's Illustrated recipe produces the real deal:  deep-dish pizza with a golden-brown, perfect crunchy-chewy crust, authentic enough a representation of the Chicago-style pie to pass muster with even the most avid Windy City pizza fan.  This is still the best deep-dish pizza recipe I've ever found, by a wide margin. 

For those not aware, most of the authentic versions of this Chicago-style delight are not topped by a bunch of cheese. Rather, a layer of mozzarella (and any toppings one might use) are layered directly atop the dough, with a thick sauce layered atop the cheese and toppings. The only cheese on top is a sprinkling of Parmesan (or, better Parmigiano-Reggiano).  That's the way it's done in this recipe as well.

The basic recipe makes two pizzas.  These pizzas have great flavor, such that one really doesn't need to add toppings to the ample layers of cheese and sauce.  The cheese and thick sauce are piled deep enough atop the flavorful, hearty crust that a single slice is quite satisfying.  I have a pretty hearty appetite, especially when it comes to excellent pizza, but I'd have to be pretty close to starving for two pieces to not be too much.   On this occasion, I served up the pizzas with the Sauteed Kale with Garlic Lemon I wrote about in yesterday's blog entry. 

Since this recipe belongs to Cook's Illustrated, and I don't have permission to reprint it here, there are two ways to find it.   The first is to consult the January 2010 issue of Cook's Illustrated, where is was originally published, or the recently-released Best of America's Test Kitchen 2011, which reprints the recipe.  The second option is to check out the Cook's Illustrated website, http://www.cooksillustrated.com/.  In order to access the recipes, you'll have to join the site.   If you aren't sure you'll get enough value out of a full membership, or if you simply want to grab one or two recipes (perhaps this one, and some of the others we've featured here), you can sign up for a free trial membership.  Personally, I think the full membership is a great deal - for an annual fee, one has as-desired access to every recipe published in Cook's Illustrated, up to the current issue, plus all the product and equipment reviews, cooking tips and more.  It's a great value.