Easter Ham and Biscuits

Easter is not my most favorite of holidays, but when it comes down to it, I love any holiday that gives me an excuse to cook for my family. Since my ham and rolls were so delightful the last time I made them, I thought it was time for an encore. I mean, Easter equals ham in my opinion.

On the menu today was ham and rolls, done in the style of my post from Sunday, March 16th, prosciutto wrapped asparagus and homemade buttermilk biscuits. I know, gluten intolerant beware, but this was my first attempt at biscuits so I wanted to have back-up rolls just incase. Well I'm proud to report the rolls were not needed, but still eaten none the less.

First step to making Easter lunch is, make yourself a mimosa! Don't worry, I wasn't drinking alone. Not that that would be frowned upon or anything. The reason I mention the drink though is I like to add a splash of grenadine to my OJ and champagne, so this was a perfect opportunity to use my freshly canned cherry juice (homemade grenadine of sorts.)

My latest rec department class I learned how to can maraschino cherries, cherry juice, and flavored simple syrups for cocktails. We made basil and ginger flavored syrups, so I hope to be using these in a craft cocktail soon. The cherry juice came from leftover liquid from the maraschino cherries and was pretty tasty. Not as super sweet as grenadine, so it was a nice change. The cherries had to sit for 2 weeks, so they weren't quite ready for tasting.

OK, now with breakfast cocktail in hand, time to cook! I'll start with the biscuits since this was the newest to me and honestly the scariest. I researched some recipes, reading and re-reading the directions with them all saying 'do not overwork the dough' and this scared me. I thought, one kneed too many and my biscuits are finished. Thankfully they turned out just right and I can now make them with confidence and experience.

I did make my own buttermilk, which I have also never done before, and it was super easy.

DIY Buttermilk

-Just under 1 cup of milk (I used vitamin D milk/whole milk)
-1 tablespoon of lemon juice (you can use lemon juice or white vinegar)

Add lemon juice to a glass measuring cup. Pour in milk to reach the 1 cup line. Let stand for 5 minutes. Once it has rested, it is ready to be used.

I doubled the recipe because I needed just under 2 cups for the biscuits.

Buttermilk Biscuits

-4 cups flour
-1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon sugar
-2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
-1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until the mixture forms crumbles.
Pour in buttermilk and fold it into the mixture, working in all directions, until the dough just comes together. The dough will be sticky; do not over mix.
Lay out dough on a lightly floured workspace. Gently spread out dough to a circle at about a 1 inch thickness. Again, do not overwork the dough. Use floured circular dough cutter, or glass to cut out biscuits.
Place biscuits on an unlined baking sheet. Brush tops of biscuits with leftover buttermilk.
Bake, rotating sheet half way through, until the biscuits are golden brown, about 18-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

 



Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

-1 bunch of asparagus
-18-20 slices of prosciutto
-salt and pepper
-2 tablespoons of olive oil

Marinate asparagus in olive oil, salt and pepper. I used a flavored balsamic salt and fresh ground pepper. Once marinated for however long you choose, I did about an hour, take the strips of prosciutto and wrap, starting just under the top part. Arrange on a baking sheet.

Adjust baking rack in oven to top rack or 5-6 inches below the broiler. Broil for 3-4 minutes, remove from oven, flip each one over, and return to oven. Broil another 3-4 minutes until prosciutto is crisped and browned.

I am tempted to try this with bacon next time, but the thinness of the prosciutto was definitely desirable.

One last shot of the ham. It turned out amazing again.

 

Happy Easter! Or Happy Ham Day!

Tailgate Time

Spring is in the air! Spring, baseball, and tailgating! This also means it's time to start smelling the smells of sizzling food on a hot charcoal grill.

This past week my brother and I prepared and organized a tailgate for Opening Day for Brewers baseball. Besides having the obvious and necessary sausages and beers, I had made some finger foods and a French onion dip to go along with the staples.





French Onion Dip

Homemade French onion dip is not only relatively easy, but I think tastes much better than the already prepared dip from the store.

2 tbsp butter
2 onions, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup mayo
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp Worcestershire
chopped green onions
salt and pepper

In a pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. I also added a tablespoon of bacon grease I had laying around from breakfast just for good measure.

Add the onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and caramelized. Add the shallots and continue to sauté, until the onions and shallots are dark brown. I also added turmeric, celery salt, regular salt and pepper. Then add the garlic and sauté a bit more. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

In a bowl, mix the sour cream, mayonnaise, a bit more celery salt, turmeric, salt, pepper and Worcestershire. Fold in the onion mixture once it's cooled. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. You can garnish with green onions or just mix 'em in like I did. Serve with chips.



Tortilla Roll Ups

The other snack I made has been a new favorite of mine and those I cook for, tortilla roll ups. Of course I made way to many, as I like to do and took my left overs to work. They were devoured quickly and I was even offered money to make more.

 

So these are easy, but time consuming. I made two kinds, Italian and Southwest. Both start with a flour tortilla, I used 10 inch in size. Spread cream cheese on the tortilla, sprinkle with shredded cheese and layer lunchmeat. Roll up and secure with plastic wrap or tin foil. Keep in the fridge for a couple hours and cut into bite sized pieces, cutting off the ends and eating while making or save for later.

For the Italian variety I used chive cream cheese, mozzarella shredded cheese, salami as the lunchmeat and added chopped fresh basil.

For the Southwest I used chipotle flavored cream cheese (it's new from Philadelphia, it's amazing and gives a nice kick!) cheddar jack shredded cheese, turkey for the lunchmeat, bacon pieces and some green onions.

I even brought in the ends to work the next day and they were almost all eaten before lunch time in my office. This has become a new go-to snack for me.