Cumberland Sauce

This is a traditional British sauce, apparently - i made it for the first time this Easter, to serve with baked ham. It was impressively tasty - so much so that i helped myself to an extra piece of ham, just to have an excuse to eat more sauce! It is served cold, and will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for a week or so.

• zest of 1 lemon, cut in wide strips
• zest of 1 orange, cut in wide strips
• juice of 1 lemon (use the one you just zested ... and the orange can be cut up for a pineapple glaze)
• 1/2 cup of red currant jelly
• 1 Tblsp port
• 1 Tlbsp powdered sugar
• 2 tspn Dijon mustard
• pinch ground ginger
• pepper

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil; add the lemon and orange zest, and boil for 5 minutes, 'til zest is soft. Drain and rinse, discarding the water. 

Cut the zest into very thin strips, and return to saucepan. Stir in lemon juice, currant jelly, port, sugar, mustard, and ginger, and place on very low heat. Cook, stirring often, very gently, until jelly melts and mixture is smooth; be careful not to let the sauce boil or scorch. Use a small whisk to remove any final lumps of jelly or mustard, and remove from heat. Season with pepper, to taste, and refrigerate 'til ready to use.

If the sauce seems more thick than you like, use a bit of port to thin it.

Traditionally served with ham, venison, beef, and other "non-white" meats.

Easter Ham with Pineapple Glaze

We had a hickory-smoked ham this year for Easter (i know, ever-so-Kosher!), mostly because i waited too long to go shopping for a ham, and they were completely out of the honey-glazed, spiral-sliced one that i usually buy. This one was bought at Aldi, for $1.29/lb.

• Smoked ham - butt or shank portion
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped fresh pineapple
• 1 Navel orange, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• whole cloves

Preheat oven to 325. Place ham in a shallow pan - make sure you've taken off ALL the wrappings ... i failed to do that, one year - and cover. Cook for 15 minutes per pound.

While ham is cooking, combine pineapple, orange, brown sugar, and ginger for glaze, and set aside.

45 MINUTES BEFORE HAM WILL BE FINISHED

Remove ham from oven, and uncover. Score the fat in whatever pattern you like - i prefer the traditional diamond pattern - and stud with whole cloves. Apply pineapple glaze mixture, and return ham (uncovered) to the oven for the final 45 minutes of cooking.

If you have extra pineapple mixture, it can be heated up gently, on very low heat, in a small saucepan, and passed at the table.

Excellent served with Cumberland Sauce.

A New Take On London Broil

We grilled this for dinner one night whilst in the Mountains over the Independence Day weekend. It was positively delectable; we had leftovers served with rice and spinach salad last night, and it was still amazingly tasty. There is another portion left, which I’ll use for fried rice tomorrow night’s supper. Definitely a keeper, from Cooking Pleasures magazine.

Honey-Soy Marinated London Broil

1 small onion, finely chopped
½ cup canola oil
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup honey
2 Tspns balsamic vinegar
1 ½ tspns minced garlic
1 ½ tspns grated ginger
2# flank steak

1. Combine all ingredients except steak in resealable plastic bag. Add steak; refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
2. Heat grill. Remove steak from marinade, shaking off excess; discard marinade. Grill, covered, over medium heat or coals 8-10 minutes for medium-rare, turning once. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Thinly slice.

Chicken Piccata

This is one of my favourite recipes, and is really very easy. We had a variation last night, using Ocean Perch filets, which was very good but not as good as the “real deal.”

Slicing the lemon very thin is very important, as you want it to essentially become candied whilst cooking in the broth. Also, make certain your butter is a room temperature.

I don’t remember where I came across the original recipe for this; it is transcribed from memory and checked against a hand-written recipe I keep in my Pillsbury cookbook, marking the page for my favourite recipe for Chicken Kiev.

Chicken Piccata

2 lemons
1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
½ cup flour
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 shallot OR 1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup chicken stock
2 Tablespoons capers
3 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons parsley

1. Cut the ends off of 1 lemon and cut in half lengthwise. Slice one half into thin slices and set aside. Juice remaining 1 ½ lemons; you want ~ ¼ cup lemon juice.
2. Preheat the oven to 200° F and place an ovenproof platter in there to preheat as well.
3. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; coat with flour.
4. Heat 12” skillet on Med-High for 2 mins; add ½ the oil. Cook ½ the chicken 2-2 ½ mins. Per side. Transfer to oven.
5. Add remaining oil and cook remaining chicken.
6. Sauté shallot 30 seconds or garlic 10 seconds.
7. Add stock and lemons slices; increase heat to High and cook for 4 mins.
8. Add lemon juice, pepper to taste, and capers; cook 1 min.
9. Remove from heat; swirl in butter and parsley.
10. Spoon sauce over cooked chicken breasts and serve immediately.