Martha Stewart's Scalloped Potatoes

Ham dinners wouldn't be complete without a side of scalloped or au gratin potatoes.  I've had mixed luck with these dishes in the past.  Often, towards the end of baking the sauce will begin to clump or congeal instead of keeping its creamy consistency.  The lack of flour and short boil in milk helps resolve these problems in this version.

Almost any cheese will work as well, though I opted to stick with this mild Gruyere.  I love the slightly funky smell of the cheese, and the slight nuttiness it offers.  Gruyere isn't quite as pungent as Swiss, it melts and browns beautifully, and the flavor blends right into the smooth, creamy base.

Recommended beer pairing: a funky saison or spicy witbier.  The Gruyere in the potatoes has a distinct nuttiness that is complimented by the crisp wheat backbone and spicy yeast character of these beers.  Saisons will often lend a grassy or hay-like finish, while the witbier leans towards coriander and citrus spice.  The crispness of both will help cut through the richness of all of that cream...

adapted from Martha Stewart

serves 10-14

The Ingredients:

3 pounds Yukon  potatoes
1 small onion, thinly sliced

3 cups milk

2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 Tbsp butter, softened
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
5 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

The Process
Preheat oven to 325.

Peel the potatoes and slice them paper thin.

In a large saucepan set over high heat, combine the sliced potatoes, onion and garlic. Bring to a boil, and immediately reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 3 minutes

Place a colander over a large bowl and drain the potatoes, reserving about 2 cups of the milk.

Rub a 9 x 13 baking dish with 1 Tbsp butter. Arrange sliced potatoes and onions in the baking dish, sprinkle generously with  pepper. Dot with remaining 2 Tbsp of butter.  Pour the reserved milk and heavy cream over the top.  Sprinkle evenly with Gruyere.  

Bake, uncovered, until cheese toasts to a deep golden brown, the potatoes are tender and sauce has thickened, about 80 to 90 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Tangerine-Glazed Ham

Ham is an interesting meat.  Hickory smoke and salt overwhelm the flavors.  A mighty powerful glaze is needed to cut through all of the fat and salt to compliment and play off of the whole.  Sweet pairs well with the smokey.  And citrus manages to cut through the rich smokey flavors to bring a bit of balance.  It's a fine line.  One I truly enjoy playing with round about this time every year.

Sage brings a nice burst of earthy fragrance to the super sweet tangerine glaze.  I adored the carrots sopping up all of the flavor as they simmered below during the last half hour of cooking.   And the tangerine rings are absolutely edible.

Recommended beer pairing: a Belgian Tripel or strong Pale Ale.  The high carbonation will help cut through the richness of the meat, while the citrus-y spice from the yeast will compliment the tangerine. 

adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe

serves 10-12

The Ingredients:

1 - 8 to 10-pound smoked ham, bone-in, skin on  

freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch fresh sage leaves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut in chunks 

4-6  tangerines

1 cups light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon whole cloves 

1 cinnamon stick
1 1/2 pounds baby carrots

The Process:

Preheat the oven to 300

Place the ham on the rack of a roasting pan, fat side up.  Score into the fat, about 1/4-inch deep, in a diamond pattern.  Sprinkle generously with pepper.

Coarsely chop 8-10 large sage leaves. In a small bowl, or with a mortar and pestle, combine the chopped sage and oil until a thick paste is formed.  Rubbed all over the surface of the ham. 

Bake, on a lower rack in the oven for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Meanwhile for the glaze:

Juice 3-4 tangerines, yielding about 1 cup of juice.  Strain out any seeds and pulp.  Thinly slice the remaining tangerines, removing seeds.  In a medium saucepan, combine the juice and fruit with the butter, brown sugar, water and spices.  Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, and reduce to a simmer.  Continue to cook at a simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the mixture has reduced to a thick syrup. 

After 1 1/2 hours of cooking, moving the ham and coat with the tangerine glaze, studding the top with the sliced fruit.  Return to the oven for an additional hour.  Remove and add the carrots around and under the ham.  Toss to coat with the glaze.  Return the ham to the oven and bake an additional 30 minutes, or until carrots are tender.

Allow to rest 10-15 minutes before carving.

Buried Cherry Almond Cupcakes

Hello Spring!  We've missed you!  How about a cheery cherry cupcake to celebrate?

Cherries and almond extract blend together beautifully in this wonderfully, but not overwhelmingly sweet cupcake.  And as I'm a sucker for good frosting, and lots of it, I halved the cake recipe, but kept the frosting proportion the same.  Twelve cupcakes is really more than enough for a small dinner party anyway...the full 24 would have just gone to waste.

adapted from BHG

yields 12 cupcakes

The Ingredients:
for the batter:
1/4 cup butter
2 egg whites
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 oz buttermilk
2 1/2 Tbsp maraschino cherry juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
12 maraschino cherries

for the frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp maraschino cherry juice
1/2 tsp almond extract
1-3 Tbsp milk

12 maraschino cherries with stems

 The Process:
Allow butter and egg whites to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, line twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with paper liners.

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. In a small bowl combine buttermilk and cherry juice; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, vanilla, and almond extract and beat until combined. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to batter, mixing until just combined.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about half full.  Gently press a cherry into the center of each cup.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in muffin cups on wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, for the frosting:

Beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add 1 cup of the powdered sugar, beating well. Beat in maraschino cherry juice and almond extract. Gradually beat in additional powdered sugar. If necessary, beat in additional juice or milk, a little at a time until frosting reaches spreadable consistency.

Pipe or spread the frosting on to the cooled cupcakes.  Top with a stemmed cherry.

Sweet Ginger Soba Noodles with Shrimp

Shrimp, soba noodles and a delectable sauce.  Quick, simple and absolutely packed with flavors.  When I first read over the recipe, I had my reservations about the amount of scallions compared to the amount of liquid in the sauce.  In the end it came together beautifully.  

adapted from Reem Rizvi recipe at Simply Reem

serves 3-4


The Ingredients:
for the sauce:
1 1/2 cup scallions, diced
2 Tbsp ginger, minced
1/4 cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper

for the pasta
12-16 large shrimp, raw and thawed if frozen
1 large broccoli stalked, juilienned
1 carrot, juilienned
9 oz soba noodles
2 Tbsp sesame seeds

The Process:
Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl.  Adjust soy sauce, honey and pepper flakes to taste.  Cover and set aside for 10-15 minutes.

Cook the soba noodles according to package directions.  Set aside.

Heat about 2 Tbsp sesame oil a large skillet set over high heat.  Add the shrimp and sear until browned and opaque, 2-3 minutes per side.  Set aside.

In a small skillet, dry roast the sesame seeds until toasted.

In a large bowl, toss together the noodles, juilienned vegetables and sesame seeds.  Top with shrimp.  Serve warm or cold.

Vegetarian Smoked Porter Chili

The Beeroness strikes again.  I tagged this recipe a while back, waiting for the ideal smoked or chipotle beer to come my way.  Amazingly the two came together in one collaboration between two of our local breweries: Indeed and Northbound Smokehouse.  Northbound smoked the malts and peppers.  Indeed brewed the beer.  The result was a rich smoking imperial porter with a slight burn on the back end.  I'm not a huge fan of Indeed's other beers, but this beer was stellar.  And perfect for this chili. 


Thank you again Jackie.

adapted from the beeroness

serves 6

The Ingredients
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
8 oz mushrooms, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 - 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 15 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 15 oz can stewed diced tomatoes
1 or 2 large chipotle peppers in adoboe, minced
1/2  cup quinoa
1/3 cup bulgur wheat
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups smoked porter

The Process:
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat.  Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms and red pepper.  Saute until the garlic is fragrant and the veggies are tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the broth, tomato paste, beans, diced tomatoes, and chipotle peppers.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until beans have heated through.  Stir in the quinoa, bulgur and spices.  Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes . The quinoa should be tender and the chili should begin to thicken.  Stir in the porter, and heat through, but do not bring to a boil.

Serve warm with garnishes as desired.

Balsamic Pot Roast

Is anything quite as satisfying as a fork tender roast and a heaping pile of garlic mashed potatoes?  Of course there is.  But on a night like tonight, this pot roast takes center stage.

I adore pot roasts in the crock pot.  This one had a lovely tang from the vinegar.  And the roast shredded just lifting it out of the pot.  During dinner the meat needed a little drizzle of juice to keep it moist.  Magically, the next day, the meat retained most of the moisture.  I love when dishes are even better the next day around...

adapted from In a Pinch

serves 6-8

The Ingredients:
1 3-4 pound boneless roast beef
1 cup beef broth
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
½ tsp red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, crushed

The Process:
Place the roast in the slow cooker.  In a small bowl or measuring cup combine the remaining ingredients.  Pour liquid over the roast.  Cover.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

Slightly shred the beef and transfer to a serving dish.  Ladle about 1/2 cup of the juice over the meat, serve hot.

Ginger Curried Chicken with Leeks and Lentils

This recipe caught my eye for the combination of curry, leeks and oranges.  I was very excited.  And about halfway through I realized I could have sent the dish a little more through the roof had I vamped on the curry powder instead of relying on the turmeric-heavy store blend.  In the end, the lentils sort dominated the dish.  And the citrus didn't add as much as I had hoped. 

So lesson learned...better curry powder and orange juice instead of wine.

Still, this was a satisfying dish.

adapted from BHG

Serves 2-3

The Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds meaty chicken pieces

2 Tbsp curry powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced 

2 leeks, halved lengthwise
1 tangerine, cut into wedges
1 cup lentils
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup white wine


The Process
In a gallon zip top bag, toss chicken with salt and 1 Tbsp of the curry powder.  Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium- high heat. Add the chicken and brown on both sides.  Remove from pot. Add ginger, leeks, tangerine wedges, and remaining curry powder. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes or until leeks are tender and ginger is fragrant.

Stir in lentils, broth, and wine. Return chicken pieces to pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 55 to 60 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink.

Remove the chicken to a serving platter.  Serve along side lentils.