Easter Without the Bunnies

As promised, dear readers, I have a favorite Easter recipe that I would like to share with you.
I know it might sound a little "trailer trash-y" but this is so good that even I will have to force myself to stop extra trips to the fridge in the middle of the night with a knife to slice off illicit pieces when no one is looking!

Coke & Dr. Pepper Ham

Ingredients:

• 3 -4 lb fully cooked boneless ham
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 1(12 ounce) can Coca-Cola
• 1(12 ounce) can Dr. Pepper
• Whole cloves (4 or 5)
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Remove ham from packaging.
2. Lightly score ham in diagonal lines to form a diamond pattern, being careful not to cut any deeper than about a eighth of an inch. (You can score both sides if you like).
3. Make a paste of dark brown sugar and mustard
4. Rub paste into ham on sides
5. Pour the two cans of soda into bottom of crock pot and drop in cloves
6. Place prepared ham in pot and cover
7. Cook on low about 6 hours.

 If you'd like, remove ham from pot and place under broiler for a minute or two to caramelize the sugar/mustard topping.
I usually serve this with roasted vegetables (quartered brussels sprouts, carrots, and asparagus).

Trust me you're going to LOVE this!!!

Enjoy!

- SSG

YOU Seder. You brought her!

Howdy readers!

It's spring - trust me, no matter what the weather - it's spring.
And with spring comes some good things and some not so good things. Tax time? Blech! Rain? If I hear that old saw "April showers bring..." Feh! Rain brings wet streets, burgeoning winds and ruins the blossoms already on the trees. Blossoms on the trees? Woohoo! Milder temperatures? Jury's still out on that one but I have high hopes.
But there are two holidays on their way......Passover and Easter, both with their wonderful stories and traditions but the celebrations are a wonderful opportunity to indulge in some favorite foods and treats.

Now, being in a mixed marriage myself, I'm just as happy with either holidays traditional foods but I'm wedded to a man who says that he doesn't like lamb or fish (until I make a lamb stew and he takes multiple helpings and goes on and on about how extraordinarily good it is because I "accidentally" forgot to tell him it wasn't beef and who, now and then , shocks me by saying things like, "It's been a long time since you made those great salmon patties I like so much." As for ham, he's not all that enamored but will eat it on occasion so making a whole ham isn't really in the cards for us if we're not planning a gathering of sorts.

This being the case, I've decided to share a few recipes that can be used to round out either holiday's gustatory agenda. First, the aforementioned salmon patties, a really tasty luncheon entree or an appetizing appetizer with dinner. I have many variations of this recipe but I'll share the basic one with you today. If you want to know the variations, let me know.

SALMON PATTIES

Ingredients:

• 1 (14.75 ounce) can salmon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 or 4 scallions, chopped
• 2/3 cup matzo meal
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• powdered garlic to taste
• hot paprika
• 3 tablespoons  peanut oil for frying

Sauce:

• Reserved liquid from can
• 1 handful or 2 frozen peas, thawed
• cornstarch
• freshly ground pepper and kosher salt

Directions

1. Drain the salmon, reserving  the liquid. Flake the meat with a fork. 
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium- high heat. Add scallions, and cook until tender.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the scallions, 3/4 cup of reserved liquid, 1/3 of the matzo meal, eggs, parsley, mustard, garlic and salmon. Mix until well blended, then shape into six patties. Coat patties in remaining cracker crumbs and sprinkle with paprika.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook patties until browned, then carefully turn and brown on the other side. 
5. In a small saucepan, gently heat the remaining salmon liquid 
6. Make a slurry with cold water and cornstarch and mix into hot liquid stirring well to thicken, season to taste and throw in peas right before serving. 
7.  Enjoy!!

I'll come back VERY soon to share a little something for Easter!

- SSG

The Easter/Passover Conundrum

Hello dear readers,
Can you ever forgive me for forsaking you as I have these past weeks?

I sincerely hope you can. It has been so busy lately what with new projects and new students, spring cleaning and rearranging that I haven't been able to sit still long enough to get a blog entry logged.
But busy is a good thing, right? I have to believe that if only to pacify my urge to pack it all in and exile myself to a tropical island where I can sip rum-laden drinks and the only interior decorating I am called upon to perform is moving that palm frond slightly to the left to temporarily block the sun from glaring off the pages of my book!
SO, busy I will remain.

Well, a new holiday season is upon us...Whether you celebrate Passover, Easter or no holiday at all, you can definitely  celebrate the arrival of Spring and one of the best things about the mild weather is being able to throw the windows open and enjoy a nice breeze through your home. Even here in midtown Manhattan, the capital of dirt, dust, soot and grime, it's kind of nice to have the opportunity to circulate some fresher air than we have been stuck with since winter - otherwise known as "last week"!

So, just to make up for it I will be making a more concerted effort to stay in touch with my blog and, by result, with you. I have a few ideas you might enjoy whether you're celebrating Passover, Easter or neither and just want to save some time, money and eat well.

"See" you soon!
- SSG