Messy Ham Dinner
I took some nice photos of the Christmas dinner I made at my parent’s home.
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Haricot-vert (Green Beans) with Garlic and EVOO
- Lemon Oven Baked Potatoes with Garlic and Parsley
- Ciabatta Bread with Lemon Juice and EVOO
- Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Ham
- Chocolate Mousse with Ground Macadamias
The soup has been a favorite this holiday season. I roasted one butternut squash in the oven, and later scooped-out the flesh into a broth. For this recipe, I used one large sweet onion, garlic, brown sugar, salt, pepper, celery and boxed chicken stock. After simmering this for 20 minutes, I blended the contents together in a blender (in batches) until smooth, and added it back to the pot with nutmeg and heavy cream, more salt to taste.
You can thicken the soup with the addition of more squash, day-old bread cubes, or a roux mixture before blending.
The potatoes were popular (second best, according to my mom), based on Yukon Gold’s, placed on a hot sheet pan with EVOO and black pepper. These are baked in the oven, turned twice. Right before serving, add a mixture of lemon zest, garlic, and parsley. Stir, and return to oven for 5 minutes before plating. Add salt to taste.
The ham was dressed with a mixture that formed a glaze. I took one red onion, 4 cloves garlic, and sautéed these until translucent. I next added two types of mustard, cider vinegar, and water, and boiled the mixture down. I added two rings of canned pineapple, and some pineapple juice. Before cooling, I added brown sugar, orange juice, and black pepper.
This thickened glaze was scooped on top of the ham, which had been sliced to reveal crevices. 15 minutes before serving, I basted the ham with more glaze, uncovered. Ham directions said to cook it until an internal temperature of 135 F. Before carving, it had risen to 143, according to the digital thermometer.
The mousse was not as light as I had hoped. I made it one day ahead. I scooped into bowls with toasted and ground-up macadamia nuts.
- chocolate bars
- heavy cream
- egg whites
- sugar syrup
- vanilla
First, melt your chocolate over a low flame (double boiler method). Next, whip your egg whites to soft peaks. Create a sugar syrup (3:1, in favor of sugar) to around 300-325 degrees. Stream into the egg whites, while still beating. This creates a so-called cooked white mixture, or Italian meringue.
Next, whip the heavy cream, and fold into the cooled, yet melted chocolate. You will sacrifice some cream earlier on to temper (cool) the chocolate.
Next, add the meringue, with a folding motion. Our mixture was too dense; I think we used too much chocolate for the amount of cream/egg whites.
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