Ham and Cheese Corn Pudding

(4 servings)

I intended to make a plain corn pudding side, but before I knew it, I had turned it into a meal. As is usually the case with me, I found a few things in my refrigerator I wanted to use up.

1 tsp olive oil
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1 large sweet onion, chopped
3/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup ham, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 1/2-3 cups shucked fresh corn (3 large ears)
1/2 green onion, green part sliced (optional, I wanted the colour)
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 3.5 oz)
3 tbsp unbleached flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sour cream
2 eggs
hot sauce, to taste (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8 inch square baking dish (2 qt), set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a non stick skillet. Add the garlic and fry for about 1 minute. Add the onion and saute over medium to low heat until it's a nice even golden brown; about 12 minutes.

Remove from heat and set aside to cool somewhat.

Meanwhile, combine the red pepper, ham, corn, cheese, and green onion in a bowl. Sprinkle the flour over this mixture, the salt and pepper and toss to combine well.

Whisk together the milk, sour cream, eggs and hot sauce (if using). Pour this over the ham, cheese and corn mixture, add the sauteed onions and toss to combine everything well.

Pour this into the prepared baking dish and bake for about 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the pudding comes out clean.

Serve warm with a green salad.

Pork Terrine with Pistachios, Apricots and Prunes

(1 9"x5" loaf)

Terrines are quite wonderful. They often end up looking very impressive, yet they are easy to make. I had some ham I wanted to use up, and thought this would be the perfect vehicle.

This is a great party food, or just nice for a hot day because once it's done, it's served at room temperature. It keeps for about a week refrigerated, and is great with pickles, bread and salad.

I add a 1/4 pound of chicken livers which impart a wonderful flavour. If people either aren't told or have had enough drinks, they will devour this regardless of the liver, hehe. It's hard to stop eating it once you get started.

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped or 1/2 tsp dried
1/4 lb chicken livers, trimmed and roughly cut up (optional)
1 3/4 lb good quality sausage meat, (I used pork bratwurst from the Whole Foods butcher)
1 large egg
1/3 cup Port or Madiera
2-4 bay leaves
8-10 thin slices of bacon
1/3 cup shelled pistachios
1/2 lb ham, (give or take) cut into strips
about 4-5 dried apricots, cut in half lengthwise
about 4-5 dried prunes, cut in half lengthwise

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the garlic and fry for about 1 minute, then add the onion. Saute over low heat until the onion is a light golden brown; about 10-15 minutes.

Add the thyme and cook another minute, then remove from heat OR if you are using the chicken livers, then add those too, but cook for another 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.

When the onion mixture has cooled a bit, place that into a large bowl. Add the sausage meat (remove the casings if there are any), egg and Port or Madiera. Combine everything really well. I find hands seem to do the job best here.

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Place 1 or 2 bay leaves on the bottom of a 9" loaf pan and then line the pan with a single layer of bacon (cut them up as needed), with some strips hanging over the sides. Add a layer of sausage meat mixture. Sprinkle a few pistachios over this and then arrange a few strips of ham over that. Fill everything in with a bit more sausage meat,

Arrange the prunes and apricots in a row in the middle. Sprinkle a few more pistachios, then fill everything in again with a bit more sausage meat.

Sprinkle some pistachios, and arrange a few strips of ham. Fill in with the sausage mixture. I imagine everything should be used up at this point, but if it isn't just continue until it is, ending with a layer of sausage meat.

Cover the top with the bacon which was hanging at the sides. Top with another bay leaf or two.
Place the terrine into a larger roasting pan and fill with water about halfway up the sides of the terrine. Cover the top with foil and place into the oven.

Bake for about 2 hours in the water bath or until the juices run clear when you pierce the meat with a skewer.

Remove from the oven. Weigh down the top with a cutting board and cans or place a smaller loaf pan on top with something inside as a weight. Allow to cool, (in it's water bath), then refrigerate.

This can be made ahead a day or two, the flavours seem to improve as it ages. It will keep about 1 week refrigerated.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

(about 6 - 8 servings)

If there's any leftover, the cooked meatballs and sauce freeze quite well.

meatballs
1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb pork sausage meat
1 onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
small handful parsley, chopped
2/3 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs, (I made these in the food processor)
1 large egg, slightly beaten
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1-2 tbsp oil for frying

Combine all of the ingredients (except the oil) in a bowl and shape into 2" balls.

Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet and fry the meatballs in batches until browned on all sides. Set aside.

sauce
1 tbsp oil
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 onion, chopped
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced olives or 2-3 tbsp capers, (optional)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine or 2-3 tbsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the garlic and fry for about 1 minute, then add the onion and continue to cook until the onion softens and turns a light golden brown.

Add the tomatoes, olives or capers, tomato paste, and the red wine or vinegar and oregano. Stir to combine everything well, lower the heat and simmer, covered for about 25 minutes.

Add the meatballs, and continue to cook (uncovered) until the meatballs heat through and are done; about another 15 minutes or so. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.

spaghetti
about 1 1/2 lbs dried spaghetti, cooked according the package directions
grated parmesan or romano cheese

Portion out the spaghetti between plates and top with the meatballs and sauce.
Serve with grated cheese.

Kimchi Mandu, Korean Dumplings

(about 90-100 dumplings; they freeze really well)

My first introduction to Korean food was many years ago in Edmonton, Canada, of all places. We used to order these with Bibimbap, a rice dish with veggies which was topped with a raw egg.

Back then we dipped the Mandu into soy sauce and sugar we mixed together at the table. Now I make a sauce similar to one I make for most asian dumplings, except that I add sugar to this one.

Filling
1 1/4 lb lean ground pork
5-6 fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped or 6-7 dried, soaked in water overnight, chopped
1 cup kimchi, finely chopped
2/3 cup firm tofu, crumbled
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp salt

2  12 oz. pkgs gyoza wrappers, about 90-100 total
water

Place all the filling ingredients into a large bowl, and mix gently with your hands until everything is well combined.

Place a small amount of  filling in the centre of each circular gyoza wrapper. Dip your finger into the water and wet the edges; bring them together in a half moon shape. Press firmly to seal.

*At this point the mandu can be frozen. I place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet  and freeze them for 10 minutes or so before packing them together into plastic bags for further freezing.

Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup  rice vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp chili paste, (optional)
1 tbsp green onion, finely chopped

Combine all of the sauce ingredients, and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

*Place a steamer in a wok filled with water. Either spray oil or place cabbage leaves over the bottom. Place the dumplings in one layer, cover and steam for about 10 minutes, or until done.

OR

Place them in an oiled skillet and fry for a few minutes over medium-low heat, then flip them over. Add about 1/4- 1/3 cup of water and cover the skillet with a lid. Cook for an additional 8 minutes or until the water is gone. Adjust the heat if necessary so they don't burn.

Serve with the dipping sauce.

* they can be reheated by pan frying.

Homemade Chorizo

(about 1 lb of raw sausage meat)

I love chorizo. It's a spicy sausage usually made from pork. I had never tried it before moving to Texas where I've had it served to me as a side, scrambled in eggs, in soup, as fillings.. yet I had never actually cooked with it.

When I decided to make some tamales this weekend, I thought chorizo would make a nice filling. Trying to decide which package of chorizo looked better at the grocery store, I did as I always do in those situations, I checked out the ingredients. Pork salivary glands, pork lymph nodes, pork fat... what? All of a sudden I didn't feel like chorizo tamales anymore.

I felt stupid because I love the taste of chorizo and usually I don't shy away from the ingredients. I know what's in haggis for heaven's sake and I still eat the stuff, lol. I'm usually willing to try most things at least once. (At the moment the only things that come to mind that I don't care for, are tripe and brains [texture] and chitterlings [can't stand the smell].)

When I got home I decided to google chorizo and get a bit more information. Although I didn't come across a single recipe that called for salivary glands, I did find mention of it in wikipedia, "Chorizo can be made from a variety of meat cuts, including lips, lymph nodes, and salivary glands.

The following is a recipe I found on Chow which I changed up a little bit.


1 pound ground lean pork
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp hot paprika
2 tbsp sweet paprika
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp lemon zest, finely minced

Combine all the ingredients thoroughly and refrigerate at least overnight to give the flavours a chance to blend together.

Use or freeze.

Deviled Ham

(about 1 1/4 cups)

I decided to make some deviled ham with the last bit of ham I had left after all, and it was worth it. It turned out to be faster to make than the Croque-Madame.

1/2 lb ham, cut up
1/3 cup mayonnaise, (perhaps 1 tbsp more, check after you process)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne, or more to taste
freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp green onion, chopped

Place everything except the green onion into the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Adjust for seasoning and add the extra mayonnaise if the mixture is too dry.

Add the green onion and pulse until it's just combined.

Croque-Madame, Grilled Ham Sandwich with Fried Egg

(1 sandwich)

I still had some leftover ham from last weekend and although I was thinking about making deviled ham all week, I made this instead.

There's still quite a bit of ham left, so who knows. :P

2 slices of bread
2 tsp butter, softened
1-2  slices swiss cheese
2-3 slices of ham
1 large egg
1 tbsp water
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


Butter one side of each slice of bread with 1 teaspoon of butter, reserving the rest for the egg.

Place one slice of bread, buttered side down, in a non-stick skillet. Top it with the cheese, and ham, then place the remaining slice of bread on top, the buttered side facing up.

Turn on the heat to medium-low and toast until the bottom layer is nicely browned, flip the sandwich over and cook until the other side is nicely browned too.

While the bread is toasting melt the remaining butter in another skillet and crack an egg into that. Add the water and cover the skillet with a lid. Cook for about 3 minutes if you like your yolk soft; a couple of minutes longer if you prefer it firmer.

Place the toasted sandwich on a plate and top with the fried egg. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the egg and enjoy!