Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Here is great way to use up leftover ham and create a wonderful comfort food casserole.

Ingredients:

3 pounds Potatoes, Washed (I like to mix Red and Yellow Potatoes)

4 Tablespoons Butter

1 whole Yellow Onion, Diced

2 cloves of Garlic, Minced

3 cups Diced Ham

1-½ cup Milk

1-½ cup Heavy Cream

¼ cups Flour

Black Pepper to taste

1 cup Cheddar Cheese, Grated

1 cup Monterey Jack, or other mild white Cheese, Grated

Chopped Parsley or Cilantro (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a large casserole dish.

Slice the unpeeled potatoes with a mandolin, or slicer, into 1/8-inch slices.  If you are using a knife, try to get the slices as thin as you can.  Soak the sliced potatoes in a bowl of water to leach out the starch. 

While the potatoes are soaking, melt the butter in a large skillet.  Sauté the onions for a minute or two, just until they start to turn translucent.  Add the minced garlic and quickly add the diced ham.  Cook another 3 minutes, until the meat is thoroughly heated. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine the milk and cream in a microwave-safe container and heat it just enough to take off the refrigerator chill.   Add the flour and black pepper and whisk it until the pepper and flour is totally combined. Set aside.

Grate and mix the two cheeses. Set aside.

Drain the potatoes and pat out most of the moisture with a clean dish towel or paper towels.

Now you are ready to assemble.  Make a layer of 1/3 of the sliced potatoes in the casserole dish; add a layer of 1/3 of the ham and onion, then 1/3 of the grated cheese, and top with 1/3 of the milk and cream. Repeat these layers 2 more times. 

Note:  Stir the milk and cream mixture between each layer because the flour tends settle on the bottom.

Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until bubbly and hot.  Test to make sure the potatoes are thoroughly cooked

Cut into squares and serve.  Top with chopped parsley or cilantro before serving!

Yield:  8 Servings

(Note: If you want to reduce the baking time, boil sliced potatoes for about 3 to 4 minutes before assembling the casserole.  You will need to drain and cool the potatoes a bit before assembling.)

Mac 'n Ham 'n Cheese Casserole - Grown-up Style

Ready for some grown-up macaroni and cheese with ham?  It is not your everyday Kraft and it takes a little work, but it is so worth it.

Ingredients:
1 large sweet pepper (a red, yellow or green bell works fine)
1 pound of uncooked Penne pasta
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Palmito cheese in Costa Rica (In North America, you can probably find "Queso Oaxaca" with the Mexican cheeses in the dairy case.)
1 cup diced cooked ham
½ cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1 teaspoon all purpose seasoning salt
½ teaspoon course ground black pepper
¾ cup of milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F
Place the whole sweet pepper on a cookie sheet and roast it in the oven for 15 minutes on each side. While the pepper is roasting grate the cheeses, mix them together in a bowl and set it aside. Dice the ham into small pieces. Cook the Penne pasta in salted boiling water about 10 minutes. It should still be firm since it will finish cooking when it bakes in the oven. Rinse the pasta in cold water. Mix the pasta with the cream cheese, mayonnaise, seasoning salt, pepper and ham until will blended and set it aside. The sweet pepper should be just about roasted by now, so take it out of oven and let it rest for 10 minutes so the skin loosens. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Rinse the pepper in cold water and the roasted skin should slip right off. Remove the seeds and stem and coarse chop the pepper. Fold the roasted pepper into the pasta mixture.

Place a layer of the pasta mixture (about a third) in the bottom of a casserole dish and top it with a third of the mixed cheeses. Repeat with two more layers of pasta and cheeses. Pour the milk evenly over the top and bake the casserole at 350° for 30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and it starts to brown on top.

Brined Fresh Ham with Roasted Potatoes

This week we tried something we'd never done before, we brined a fresh ham and cooked it outdoors, in our wood fired stone oven. All I can say is wow! It has been almost 2 years since we've enjoyed a whole ham, and this was a real treat.

Back in December we split the cost of a freshly butchered pig with a friend and have enjoyed some small pieces on the grill, but we've really wanted to make some sausage and ham. After a little research, we came up with the perfect recipe for the ham. We started to brine the pork on a Thursday morning and the following Monday morning we fired up our stone oven and prepared the ham for roasting. Let me just say, "John is an awesome chef!!

Ingredients:
Brine:
4 cups kosher salt
4 cups sugar
6 bay leaves
1 cup fennel seeds
½ cup mustard seeds
3 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes
2 sprigs rosemary
25 garlic cloves, or garlic bulbs, cut in 1/2 equatorially
1½ large onions, coarsely chopped
5 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
3 gallons water
3 teaspoons of Prague Powder #1 (or Insta-Cure #1)
1 (15-18 pound) bone-in fresh ham

Paste:
6 sprigs of fresh rosemary, picked and leaves finely chopped
½ cup of finely chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup of finely chopped fresh oregano
1 pod of garlic, smashed, peeled and rough chopped
2 large pinches crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
½ cup Extra-virgin olive oil

Glaze:
¾ cup Dijon mustard
¾ cup whole-grain mustard
1 tablespoon of mustard seeds
¾ cup honey
¼ cup molasses

Potatoes:
2 pounds medium size unpeeled potatoes, washed and cut in ½
Olive oil
Salt
2 cups chicken stock

Directions:
To brine the pork:
Combine all of the ingredients in a large container. Submerse the ham in the brine and let it soak for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. Weight the ham down with a plate and bricks so that it is totally submerged in the brine. (This is a plan-ahead meal, but worth it!)

To cook the pork in wood fired stone oven:
We cooked the ham outdoors in our wood fired stone oven. We brought the temperature up to 500°F and let the oven soak up the high heat for about an hour. Then the oven heat gradually drops to the perfect roasting temperature for the duration of the cook time. If the oven cools below 300°F, you can always add a little fuel (lit wood or coals) to bring the temperature back up to around 350°F. Follow the instructions below for basting and glazing. After following the instructions for the first hour, we found the potatoes nicely roasted, so we removed them prior to adding the chicken stock. We then covered the ham loosely with aluminum foil and returned it to the oven (now at about 375°F) to finish cooking. When the ham’s internal temperature reaches 150°F to 160° F. deep inside, near the bone, its done. A 15+ ham could take up to 5½ to 6 hours.


To cook the pork in conventional oven:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Remove the ham from the brine, pat dry and make slices in the skin to create a diagonal cross-hatch pattern.

To make the paste:
In a food processor, combine the rosemary, cilantro, oregano, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt, to taste, and about 1/2 cup of olive oil. Massage this mixture generously all over the outside of the ham.

Put the potatoes in a roasting pan large enough to accommodate the potatoes and the ham. If the ham hock is exposed, you may want to wrap it in aluminum foil so it doesn’t cook faster than the rest of the meat. Toss the potatoes generously with some olive oil and salt. Nestle the ham on top of the potatoes and place the roaster in the preheated oven. Check the pork in about 30 minutes, and you should find the skin is starting the get brown and crispy. Remove the ham from the oven and rotate it so you can baste the other side with any leftover herb/olive oil paste and rearrange the potatoes so they don't burn. Nestle the pork back onto the potatoes and return to the oven. Roast for another 30 minutes.

Remove the ham from the oven after the first hour. Check the potatoes to see if they are getting a little crispy, rearrange them and add the chicken stock to the bottom of the pan to keep things really moist and juicy. Reduce the heat in the oven to 350°F and roast for another 2 to 3 hours. When the potatoes are done, go ahead and remove them to serve when the ham is finished

To make the glaze:
While the ham is cooking, combine the Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard, mustard seen and honey in a small bowl. When the meat’s internal temperature reaches 125°F, remove the ham from the oven and brush it, generously, with the honey mustard mixture. Return the ham to the oven and roast it for about 30 minutes. Flip it over and brush again with the honey mustard mixture (really slather it on the pork). Roast until it reaches an internal temperature of 150°-160°F on an instant-read thermometer.

Remove the ham from the oven, to a cutting board, tent it with aluminum foil and let it rest for at least 20 to 30 minutes before slicing.

Carve that puppy across the grain, and arrange the slices on a serving platter. Re-warm (if necessary) the potatoes and transfer them to a serving bowl to serve with the ham

Dig in and enjoy!!!!

Many thanks go to Anne Burrell of the FoodNetwork for the inspiration behind this fabulous recipe.