Monday, April 13, 2009

Easter Feast

We stayed home this Easter and wanted to make a feast for ourselves. These are the recipes we used. Everything was amazing. We love trying new things so it was nice to make our own meal this year and break out of the mold having the same old same old traditional dishes. I would have to say everything was amazing. If you aren't a fan of lemon, the asparagus may not be for you, as it did have a very strong lemon taste to it. That can easily be toned down to your liking.
Honey Orange Baked Ham
Martha Stewart

  • 1 whole smoked ham (14 to 18 pounds), bone in and rind on
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 large onion, cut into six wedges
  • 1 large orange, cut into six wedges
  • 4 sprigs rosemary
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 3 1/2 cups homemade or low-sodium canned chicken stock
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

  1. Rinse ham with cool water; dry with paper towels. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature one hour. Meanwhile, whisk together honey, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, and mustard; set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees, with rack in lower third. Fit a roasting pan with a rack, and place ham, with the thicker rind on top, on rack. Scatter onion and orange wedges and rosemary around ham on rack. Transfer to oven, and cook one hour.
  3. Remove pan from oven, and let ham cool slightly. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees. Trim fat all over the ham to a layer of about 1/4 inch (it does not need to be perfectly even; the bottom will have less fat and more skin). Turn ham, bottom side down. Score fat on top of ham in a diamond pattern, each one to two inches, cutting about 1/4 to 1/2 inch through the fat and into meat. Baste with honey mixture. Add enough water to roasting pan to fill the bottom by about 1/4 inch.
  4. Return ham to oven, and cook one hour more, basting often with remaining marinade (do not baste with pan juices). If necessary, add water to pan to keep juices from burning. Remove from oven; transfer ham to a serving platter; discard orange, onion, and rosemary. Let stand 30 minutes before carving ham.
  5. Meanwhile, make gravy: Strain liquid from roasting pan into a liquid measuring cup or bowl, and skim off fat from surface with a large spoon. Place roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add cider vinegar, and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated. Return defatted juices to pan along with two cups stock. Bring to a boil, and let simmer.
  6. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1 1/2 cups stock and the flour; whisk into sauce. Continue simmering until liquid is reduced by half and slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with ham.
Grilled Sweet Potato and Scallion Salad
Bobby Flay Boy Meets Grill

  • 4 large sweet potatoes, par-cooked and cut into 1/2-inch slices
  • 8 scallions
  • 3/4 cup olive oil, divided
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Preheat grill to high. Brush potatoes and scallions with oil and arrange on grill. Grill potatoes for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until just tender. Grill scallions until softened and marked. Remove scallions from the grill and cut into thin slices.

In a large bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup olive oil, the mustard, vinegars, and honey. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add potatoes, scallions, and parsley and toss until potatoes are well coated. Transfer to a platter and serve.


Mushroom Ragout
seasaltwithfood blog

Ingredients

16 oz White and Brown Button Mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 Big Red Onion, chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, chopped
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Fresh Italian Flat Parsley, chopped
I Tbsp chopped Chives
Sea Salt To taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Heat the olive oil and cook the onions over a moderate heat until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Turn the heat on high and toss in the mushrooms. Cook until all the mushrooms have become browned and wilted, about 4 minutes.
Add the parsley, butter and balsamic vinegar and season with sea salt and black pepper. To serve top with some chopped chives.Strawberry Cucumber Basil Salad
Cooking Light

Ingredients
  • 4 cups hulled strawberries, quartered (1 pound)
  • 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
  • 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 medium cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
  • 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl, and toss gently to coat. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

Combine cucumbers and juice; toss to coat. Add cucumber mixture, salt, and pepper to strawberry mixture; toss gently to combine. Serve immediately.

Pan-Fried Asparagus Tips with Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest
(Makes 2 servings. Recipe created by Kalyn, with inspiration from a recipe for sauteed asparagus in Fine Cooking.)

1/2 lb. asparagus tips (from one pound of asparagus, save the rest of the asparagus to cook another way)
1 T good quality olive oil
1 lemon, remove all zest, then cut lemon in half

Cut 4-5 inch long tips from one pound of asparagus (saving the thicker stalk ends for another recipe.) Zest the lemon, then cut lemon in half and remove any noticeable seeds.

Heat the olive oil in the largest frying pan you have. (I used a non-stick pan, but any good frying pan will work.) Add asparagus in a single layer and turn heat to medium-high. Cook asparagus 4-5 minutes, turning about once a minute. Asparagus is done when the thickest part of the stalk can be pierced fairly easily with a fork but asparagus still has some snap to it, and asparagus is starting to brown.

Turn off heat, the squeeze over juice of half the lemon (or use the whole lemon if it's not especially juicy.) Arrange asparagus on a plate with all stalks facing the same way, sprinkle with lemon zest and serve immediately.




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