What is the origin of Easter ham?

Well! Some pretty interesting responses to the "sermon" on Easter, pigs, and ham that I originally had posted here. If you need to read more here's the site: ( www.allaboutjesuschrist.org) I think from now on I'll just stick to things I know...like food.

Easter Dinner Menu

Spinach Salad with toasted almonds, blueberries, and Maytag bleu.
Baby Lamb Chops w/roasted shallot gravy
Crispy Polenta with wild mushroom ragout
Pan roasted Zucchini

Lemon Pound Cake, mixed berries, fresh whipped cream

CRISPY POLENTA w/ WILD MUSHROOM RAGOUT
Serves 8

Ragout
½ pound each Shitake, crimini, white button, oyster
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 Leek, minced
Flat leaf parsley, chopped

In a skillet sauté, all the mushrooms, garlic, and leeks in olive oil over medium/low heat until soft. Toss in parsley, salt & pepper to taste. Keep pan to deglaze for gravy.

Crispy Polenta
Fine Cornmeal
3/4 lb. Asiago Cheese, grated
3 cups water
1 cup milk
½ stick butter
2 cups veg or chicken stock, heated
Salt to taste
Blended oil for frying

Polenta is a funny thing. I never have an exact measure for cornmeal to liquid. I just wing it and stop adding cornmeal when it becomes the desired consistency. The key to perfect polenta with no lumps is to add the cornmeal at an even pace. Don’t stop and start. Keep whisking and let it thicken to a creamy, slightly stiff, batter. It sets up quickly so watch the heat. Lower it if it’s thickening too fast. And have a cookie sheet close and a rubber spatula handy. Avoid getting on your skin! It’s like hot, hot, glue!

Heat stock. In a separate deep saucepan, bring water, milk, and butter to a boil. Add warm stock. Slowly add cornmeal while quickly whisking. Reduce heat as it starts to thicken. While still whisking, add cheese until completely blended and creamy, salt to taste.

Pour polenta onto cookie sheet, spreading evenly, filling tray, (½” deep). Pop into fridge or freezer to stop cooking. When it is completely cooled, cut into desired shape with cookie cutter or knife.

Heat oil in skillet. Take piece of polenta, dust lightly in cornmeal. Fry in oil. 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Top with ragout, drizzle with gravy.

Roasted Shallot and Chive Gravy
¾ cup olive oil
4-5 shallots peeled
2 Tbsp. chives, diced
3 bsp.Balsamic vinegar
Pan drippings
3 Tbsp Flour mixed in ½ cup water
Salt & pepper

Place shallots in a glass baking dish with oil. Bake at 400◦ until shallots are soft. Cool.
Remove from oil, but keep oil, dice shallots. In mushroom pan, place over medium heat and deglaze with balsamic vinegar, whisking constantly. Add drippings from lamb if any. Add 1 Tbsp of shallot oil. Add shallots and chives. Still whisking, mix in flour water until it makes a thin gravy. Salt & pepper to taste.

A Cooking by Mistake Moment!

I recently ran into a friend of mine who is a great chef here in Cleveland. He used to own his own restaurant but sold it to go to culinary school so he could travel. He took a job after school with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel chain. He moved to the Cayman Islands to work as a chef in one of their top resorts.

After a couple of years he returned to Cleveland with a lot more experience and several additional pounds! Deciding he needed to cut back on drinking and work off some weight he went on a total Vegan diet. When I saw him last week he pretty much looked the same. I asked how the Vegan diet was going. He said he never lost any weight, but by doing it he inadvertently became a better cook. I love that!

Thanks Kev!

POTATOES ALA CAPE CORAL

I know. I know. I haven’t written for awhile, but hey! I’ve been busy!! Had a short little trip to Cape Coral to visit friends and escape the frigid Cleveland weather. It wasn’t long enough but it was truly quite lovely. It’s amazing what a little sun and vodka will do for the spirit!

My friend Alice has a sweet place right on the canal, sprinkled with hibiscus and orange trees, crazy jumping fish, and a really fast boat. (Mama likes speed!) The trip was perfectly timed to be there when our other friends D & K, were there with their adorable one year old son, S. We spent the days on the beach and the nights cooking together like we used to when everyone lived in Cleveland. We grilled steaks, crab legs, potatoes, veggies, and just hung around like we do so well.

Since being home I’ve been trying some new recipes and tweaking some old. Here’s a fun one!

These potatoes can be made in a 400◦ oven but I think they are best cooked on the grill. I suggest Yukon Gold potatoes for the best flavor. You can use redskin potatoes, but keep an eye on them. They cook much faster and burn easily. I suggest against Russets, they are just too dry and flavorless for this recipe. These potatoes are also awesome the next day with a poached or fried egg.

Serves 8-10
3-5lb Yukon Gold potatoes rough cut chopped
1 bunch asparagus cut into 1” pieces
1 red pepper diced
2 leeks cut in half and sliced
4 cloves garlic slivered
3 ears of corn cut off the cob
¼ cup fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
½ stick butter

In a large bowl toss all the ingredients in enough olive oil to coat. Salt and pepper.
Dump the entire bowl of ingredients onto doubled tin foil. Cut butter into small pieces and sprinkle over potato mixture. Fold up all the edges and seal shut. Make certain the seals are strong enough so it doesn’t open when you pull it off the grill. Cook on the grill about 30 to 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Using a cookie sheet or platter, carefully remove the foil package from the grill.

I usually just open the foil like Jiffy Pop and let guests serve themselves, but if you want to get fancy, flip the potatoes over onto a platter and pull away foil. The bottom potatoes will be crispy and yummy.