ham – Cooking the Books

December 18, 2020

Ham, apple, and a half-day quiche

The recipe for this ham & apple quiche from Food & Wine warns up front that it takes about 4 hours to come together, so I figure I should offer the same caution in starting this post. Granted, most of that time is passive, and none of it is all that taxing if you’re prepared. But this is not the dinner to start after work.

This is a good dinner for snow days, holidays, or other days off from work. *wink wink, nudge nudge*

Like with any good pie crust, this one should chill for about an hour in the fridge, and then another half-hour or so once it’s rolled out and put into the skillet. This one also calls for pre-baking the crust.

Once that’s all done, the next step involves trying desperately to create these beautiful little florets of ham and apple that are kind of a pain but do look quite nice if you can pull it off. (If not, honestly, getting thin slices and then chopping them up small will perhaps work just as well, if not as pretty.)

Then, finally comes the cheese, and then the egg and half and half mixture.

Oh, and then the baking. While it says to bake for 40 to 50 minutes, I found myself looking at upwards of an hour before the thing set, though I didn’t use the larger tart pan called for but rather my small skillet. The ingredients, with slightly fewer florets, otherwise worked in the differently sized equipment, but perhaps that was the reason for the time difference.

Either way, I quite enjoyed this one, even with all the work. It had a nice presentation and a better flavor.

Here’s what I did, altering the Food & Wine recipe to fit 9-inch skillet:

Ingredients

1 ½ c. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 stick (½ c.) unsalted butter, cubed
Salt and pepper, to taste
Ice water, for crust
8 oz. thinly sliced Black Forest ham, cut into 1 ¼ in. strips
1 medium Granny Smith apple, quartered, cored, and very thinly sliced on a mandoline
1 c. shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
1 ¼ c. half and half
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 t. fresh thyme

Directions

Mix together the flour and a little salt and pepper. Add the cubed butter and mix in using a pastry blender until you have chickpea-sized pieces. Drizzle in ice water until dough comes together. Work until it comes together and pat into a disk. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 45 minutes to an hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out chilled dough into about an 11 in. round. Fit dough into a 9- to 10- in. skillet. Chill rolled out and placed dough for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 375 degrees.

Line the pie crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for about 40 minutes, and then remove weights and parchment and bake until golden and crisp, about another 10 minutes. Let cool.

Place a strip of ham on a work surface. Arrange a row of slightly overlapping apple slices lengthwise on a ham strip; roll up loosely and place in the pie crust, spiral side up, and repeat as appropriate to fill up the pie shell. (I had to use other utensils to keep the florets from unraveling, but if you dear reader find a better way, please let me know!) Sprinkle cheese on top.

Whisk together the half and half, eggs, egg yolk, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour in and around the apple and ham rolls.

Bake at 375 degrees until the custard is set, about 50 minutes, loosely tenting with foil to prevent the crust from burning. Remove from heat, and let cool for about 15 minutes, and enjoy!

November 10, 2020

Desperately craving trashy brunch

I have heard the calls on the left warning against simply going back to brunch now that Trump has been defeated. And there is still so much work to do, starting with gains in Georgia and then working to achieve actual progress.

However, we are now approaching eight months of living with the pandemic, and I am really missing going out to eat. Being immunocompromised, and not willing to risk my life for a meal, I don’t dare enter a restaurant. Especially after this week, just for once, it’d be really nice to go out to brunch or, frankly, to a bar and kvetch with friends and loved ones. And a girl’s gotta eat sometimes.

Though delivery is an option (if not the same as seeing friends), there are few options for round-the-clock breakfast items, and eggs and hashbrowns, etc., just don’t keep as well once in a plastic container. On top of that, it takes out the spontaneity of deciding to go out to breakfast when you just really have a craving or really need to grumble over biscuits and gravy.

Thankfully, I found a semi-solution.

One of my favorite foodie sites Serious Eats had a Denver omelet recipe I found recently, and I could finally taste the joy of round-the-clock brunch, straight from the kitchen.

I still think my technique could be improved, and it’s still not the same as being able to wait 20 minutes (I’m a late riser, which considerably cuts down on waiting!) to sit at a booth to get diner food, but boy is it still a comfort in these times.

Not that pretty, but pretty effing tasty.

Here’s what I did, perhaps overdoing it on the meat and veggies and cheese but still enjoying my monstrosity:

Ingredients

5 large eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 oz. shredded pepper jack pepper (I’m sure I used more)
2 T. butter, divided
3 oz. ham slices, cut into ½ in. pieces (I didn’t precisely measure)
½ large bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
½ medium yellow onion, diced
Pinch of smoked paprika

Directions

In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs and add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until the eggs are homogeneous and frothy. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a 9- to 10-in. Skillet (cast iron or nonstick) melt half the butter over medium-high heat, swirling until lightly browned. Add the bell pepper and onion, and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown. Add the ham and cook further until the ham slices are browned in spots. Stir in the smoked paprika and some additional ground pepper. Scrape vegetables into a medium bowl (glass, or otherwise heatproof) and add the cheese, stirring to combine.

Wipe out skillet and set over medium heat. Add the remaining half of the butter and cook until melted and lightly browned. Re-whisk the eggs until foamy, and then add to skillet and cook, using a spatula to push the edges toward the center and tilting the pan to spread the uncooked egg underneath. Continue the process around the skillet until the eggs are almost set.
Sprinkle the ham and cheese mixture over half the omelet, remove from heat, and cover, letting the omelet sit until mostly or fully cooked through on the top, about one minute. Use the spatula to loosen the edges and carefully fold the omelet in half to enclose the filling. Split in half and serve, preferably with some hash browns and coffee, and enjoy!

December 28, 2019

Just ducky end to Dutch oven year

With my final Dutch oven post, there could be really only one option. A recipe perfect for the season, for doing something special while also simple, and for something a little different.

I’ve wanted to make this duck rice recipe ever since returning from Portugal. There were, however, a couple of hangups. Mostly, that duck isn’t super easy to find in the US.

The delay also helped me get a preferred recipe from one of our guides and also recoup from the trip, which in hindsight took a lot longer than expected.

Duck rice, I don’t think, was supposed to be one of our best meals, just given its simplicity but it thrilled our family. Only the seafood outshined it. It is, as its name suggests, duck in rice. It also has some Spanish chorizo, ham, port, a couple veggies, but really it’s very much rice and duck forward.

The duck I ordered from D’artagnan. If you really can’t find it or don’t want to spend the money, I think chicken thighs would do in a pinch. (Don’t tell the traditional version I said so!)

Everything turned out dandy and the work wasn’t too bad. My only regret is that I dared to make it a one-pot meal. I think the first two steps work well in one pot but to get the required crispy crunch on the edges, it needs a new and newly coated casserole dish. If you’ve got two Dutch ovens, that’s just ducky. For everyone else, I’d revise this one to cook the duck and rice separately in the Dutch oven and bring it all together in a duck fat or butter coated 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Here’s what I did, following a translated recipe as best I could:

Ingredients

For meats and broth

4 duck breasts (or ½ duck cut into pieces, or 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, chopped
1 bay leaf
12 oz. Spanish chorizo, sliced
1 ham steak (about 100 g), cubed
½ c. port wine
Pepper, to taste

For rice

2 c. dry rice
1 onion, chopped
4 c. duck broth (from the cooking above, with some additional water or broth, as needed)
Duck fat, to taste (or butter)
Salt, to taste

Directions

For meats and broth

In a large Dutch oven, add the duck meat, chorizo, and ham. Add carrots, onions, garlic, and bay leaf. Over medium heat, slightly brown the duck. Add the port, and water to cover the meats (I added about 2 c. total and then used homemade broth for the rest in the rice, but if you prefer, add about 3 ½ c. to get the amount you need for broth for the rice.). Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer the meats in liquids, covered, for about 45 minutes until the duck is cooked through.

Once the meat is finished, remove the Dutch oven from heat, and then use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove the duck, chorizo, and ham (along with any vegetables). Reserve the broth in a separate bowl or large measuring cup.

Once the duck is cool enough to handle, shred it or cut it into cubes, removing any fat or skin as appropriate.

For the rice

In the same Dutch oven, or separately, heat the duck fat over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the rice in and fry slightly. Add in the broth, seasoning with salt, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat, and cover. Cook to package instructions, or between 15 to 20 minutes, until the rice is cooked through.

To finish

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Once rice is finished, you can stir the meats back into the rice, cover the Dutch oven, and bake the mixture for about 20 minutes uncovered to let the flavors combine.

Or, for more crunch, (but dirtying another dish), you can (and dare I say, should) coat a large casserole dish or second Dutch oven in additional duck fat and then pour in about half the rice, mix in the duck, top with the remaining rice, and then top with chorizo and ham pieces, before baking for about 20 to 25 minutes uncovered.

Either way, I do hope you enjoy this treat, and have a Happy New Year! I’ll be back in 2020 with something completely different.

June 7, 2019

Slow cooked red beans and rice goodness

This week’s recipe is the perfect meal to make on a lazy weekend. It’s time consuming but also incredibly easy, relatively inexpensive, and not overly labor intensive.

The only problem with red beans and rice, really, is there’s enough chopping involved that it’s really helpful to have two working arms; at least if you’re used to using both and and heavily favor one.

So, like an idiot, I managed to injure myself exercising, and the right arm I usually use was not as useful as I would have liked. I could tackle most things, as sausage and celery are relatively easy even with a weakened arm. I called in my sweetie and sometimes sous chef to help with the rest of the prep for the red beans and rice.

He did most of the stirring, actually.

But barring that, this was a simple delight that I really enjoyed eating, especially as leftovers.

I mostly followed the Serious Eats recipe, though I didn’t know how to easily and cheaply track down ethically made pork shoulder or ham hock. Instead, I replaced them with just a little 6 oz. slab of Beeler’s ham. It was perfectly fine, and less expensive.

I still sprung for my favorite D’Artagnan andouille sausage.

After 2 hours or so on the stove top and a lot of waiting semi-patiently, the wonderfully tasty and filling meal was ready, with plenty of spare to enjoy too!

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

1 lb. dried red kidney beans
Salt, for dried beans
1 T. vegetable oil
1 lb. andouille sausage, cut into ½ inch disks
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. ground sage
2 t. dried thyme
3 bay leaves
Pepper, to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste (I used about 1 ½ t.)
6 to 8 oz. ham
6 to 8 c. broth (water will work, but I liked having the extra heartiness)
Hot sauce, to taste
Cider vinegar, to taste
Cooked white rice, for serving

Directions

The night before you plan to make the meal, or the morning before, place the dried beans in a bowl with water, covering the beans by a couple inches, and add a few pinches of salt, stirring until it’s dissolved. Let stand for 8 to 16 hours, before draining and rinsing.

In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery, and cook until the vegetables have softened and the onions are just starting to brown, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so.

Add the cayenne, sage, black pepper, and thyme. Stir to mix.

Add the beans and the broth (or water) until the liquid covers the beans by about 2 inches. Add in the ham and bay leaves.

Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until the beans are completely tender for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has thickened and turned creamy, 30 minutes to an hour. Season with hot sauce and cider vinegar, just before serving, and enjoy with prepared rice!