Cooking
a holiday dinner can be intimidating. However if you plan it out and
write up a time line things will go smoothly and the results will be
impressive. Read the recipes below all the way through. After them
slave will provide a simple time line for cooking to make this a
breeze.
Here
is a simple Easter dinner. A fantastic southern style ham, a
definitive potato gratin, and some green beans. Basic yet
extraordinary.
Ham
Ingredients:
½
cup chicken broth
½
cup creamy peanut butter
½
cup brown sugar
1
clove garlic, chopped
2
teaspoons soy sauce
Directions:
Preheat
oven to 300°F.
Cut
open the plastic around the ham and cut the string off. Best to do it
now and not try once it has a sticky crust baked on to it.
Place
ham on a big sheet of foil in a roasting dish, bring up the sides.
Add ½ cup of chicken broth and seal the foil. Bake 1 hour,
until heated through.
In
a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, peanut butter, garlic, soy
sauce and ½ cup broth, and bring to a simmer until melted and
smooth, then remove from heat.
Raise
oven to 400°F. Remove foil from ham, pour on glaze, and
return to oven uncovered for about 20 minutes or until glaze
is caramelized. Let rest 30 minutes before serving.
================
Simple
Green beans:
Ingredients:
1
package frozen green beans
½
Cup chopped onion
½
Cup beef broth
Directions:
Mix
the onion with the beans and pour on the broth. Cook according to
package directions in microwave.
=================
Zen of Potato Gratin
Ingredients:
1
C heavy cream
2
C whole milk
2
medium garlic cloves, smashed
½
cup chopped onion
1/8
tsp nutmeg
6
springs fresh thyme
2
tsp black peppercorns
1
½ tsp. salt
3
large russet potatoes
2
oz. Parmigiano-reggiano cheese
4
oz grated Gruyere cheese*
1
Tbs butter softened
-------------------------------
*Gruyere
cheese has a wonderful complexity of flavors – at first fruity then
becomes more earthy and nutty. Ask for it!
Directions:
In
small saucepan, combine cream, milk, garlic, onion, nutmeg, thyme,
peppercorns and salt. Bring to boil, remove from heat, cover and
steep for 1 hour.
Pre-heat
oven to 300
degrees.
Peel
the potatoes and cover with damp paper towel.
Return
to dairy mix to boil and strain into a large heatproof bowl, pressing
gently on solids.
Using
a mandolin, slice potatoes 1/8 inch thick directly into the hot mix.
Stir gently to fully coat each slice.
In
small bowl combine cheeses.
Spray
a 2-quart baking dish. Lay slices in an even layer on bottom,
then sprinkle with cheese mixture.
Repeat
layering until all potatoes are used and half cheese mix remains:
leave the top layer without cheese. Pour any remaining milk mixture
over the potatoes.
Bake
until tender and the surface is lightly golden brown,
about
1½
hours.
(after
30 minutes put the ham in)
Then
top with remaining cheese, Raise heat to 400 continue to bake
for 20 minutes or until evenly browned on top.
Allow
the gratin to rest 30 minutes before serving!
=============================
As
gratin bakes, two actions produce the creamy filling.
First,
potatoes
release some of their starches, which thicken the surrounding liquid.
Second,
the dairy reduces – some of its liquid is absorbed by potato while
rest slowly evaporates. As the liquid in the dairy is reduced,
protein and fat are left behind, forming creamy curds throughout.
This
2 to 1 ration is important. Too much cream breaks during the cooking,
coating the potato slices in a slick of fat and masking their flavor.
Too
much milk gives you a dry potato dish filled with crumbly curds.
Results are about the same using evaporated milk or with fresh, so
take you pick.
The
challenge is to create layers of flavor so we steep the milk first.
This infuses the gratin with layers of complex aromatics. Yes you do
appear to over salt the milk but this is necessary to season the
potatoes. When mixed into the milk this makes the seasoning uniform
throughout.
Here
we use a high starch russet potato. These are low in moisture and
best absorb the flavorful dairy. This is important because as they
cook, they release plenty of starch, which helps thicken up the dish.
These
potatoes quickly oxidize becoming brown and discolored. Cover them
with a damp paper towel as you peel instead of dumping into a bowl of
water. That would wash off some of the starches you want! Instead
slice them directly into the warm milk. This prevents the
discoloration and keeps the starches where you want them! By added to
the heated mixture it reduces the amount of baking time necessary.
Some
old cookbooks recommend the addition of egg or egg yolk. Even the
smallest amount with result in a subtle texture of a flan. This makes
it easy to slice but does not give the soft creaminess.
The
Cheese Question:
Some
say there is no place for added cheese in a gratin. It should make
its own creamy curds. However this dish uses cheese to brighten and
the gruyere puts a bit of nuttiness into play. The cheese forms a
crunchy – chewy crust that gives it the name of gratin.
The
two temperature cooking gives the best results. Starting at 300
degrees gently reduces the milk and cream, while the potatoes
become tender.
Then
adding more cheese on top and broiling gives a nice chewy crust.
Your
timeline:
Always
start out with your cutting. Use small bowls and get this done first.
The exception is the potatoes. Don't cut them until they are needed.
First
step is to prepare the potatoes for they take the longest.
After
they are in the oven, start putting together the ham. It goes in 30
minutes after the potatoes did.
When
you reach the 1.5 hour mark on potatoes, the ham will be at the 1
hour mark.
Make
your glaze because now is the time to add that to the ham as you
raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees.
The
green beans take hardly any time at all so you can start them AFTER
the ham and potatoes are out of the oven and resting.
If
you want hot rolls to go with the meal, they can be put in the oven
when you remove the ham and potatoes.
This
way the elements finish together.
The
long baking times give the opportunity to set the table and prepare
any Easter decorations you might wish.
Put
out the deviled eggs
So
excited to be serving my Master Indy!
socialslave
To
satisfy and restore.
To
nourish, support and maintain.
To
gratify, spoil, comfort and please,
to
nurture, assist, and sustain
…..I
cook!
Please
buy slave's cookbook:
The
Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes
by
