Bear Cuisine

Christmas Dinner

My favorite Christmas dinner is an aged, prime standing rib roast. Kay's favorite Christmas feast is ham. I've had my way for several years;so, this year it was Kay's turn to have her choice. I found a beautiful ham at the Chef Shop in Seattle. ( You can look forward to subsequent posts about using ham leftovers in a myriad of ways.)

Glazed Baked Ham

 

The glaze recipe is from Volume 3 of Canal House Cooking.

1. 1 small jar of Dijon mustard
2. 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3. 1 cup real maple syrup
4. 1 cup orange marmelade
5. One twenty-pound bone-in smoked ham

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Mix together the mustard, brown sugar, maple syrup and orange marmalade in a mixing bowl and set aside.

Remove the rind from most of the ham, leaving a band around the end of the shank bone. Leave a thin layer of fat all over the am and score the fat. Spread the sugar and mustard mixture over the whole ham. But the ham in a large roast pan or other big pot.

Bake the ham for about 6 hours, basting it every now and then. Remove from the oven and allow it to reast for 30 minutes before slicing.

If your ham is smaller, you adjust the cooking time accordingly. The important thing is for the ham to reach an internal temperature of 135 degrees F. Cooking at this lower temperature keeps the meat juicy and flavorful.

 

The accompaniments for this meal were Cauliflower Gratin and Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts.

Cauliflower Gratin

1. 1 cauliflower
2. 2 tablespoons butter
3. 4 tablespoons flour
4. 2 cups milk
5. Salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Generously butter a gratin dish and set aside.

Cook the whole cauliflower in salted water until just done. Break into flowerets and put in the gratin dish.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and whisk in the flour. Cook for 30 seconds. Add the milk and whisk until the sauce is thickened.  Season with salt, nutmeg and just a bit of pepper. (You don't want the bechemel to get too thick because it will cook with the cauliflower and will evaporate in the oven.)

Pour the sauce over the cauliflower and put in the preheated oven. Cook for 35 minutes or until bubbling and brown on top.

Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts

(6 servings)

1. 1 pound Brussels sprouts
2.  1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3. 1 shallot, finely chopped
4. 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
5. 1/4 cup butter
6. 1 cup cooked chestnuts

Wash and trim sprouts. Soak in 4 cups cold water, in which one teaspoon salt is dissolved, for 20 minutes. Drain.

Place sprouts in saucepan with onion, broth and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil; cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

Cover and cook for 10 to 12 minutes longer or until tender. Drain.

Melt butter; add chestnuts and cook until butter is golden brown. Pour over sprouts and toss lightly to mix.

(adapted from Christmas Memories Cookbook published by Mystic Seaport)

Breakfast Across America:Biscuits with Sausage Gravy

Biscuits 'n Gravy was Kay's breakfast of choice on this trip. A true Southern classic which is popular all over the country. Here is James Villas' take on this perennial favorite.

Biscuits with Sausage Gravy

FRESH COUNTRY SAUSAGE

(makes 3 pounds of sausage meat)

1. 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, chilled
2. 1 pound fresh pork fat, chilled
3. 1 tablespoon salt
4. 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5. 2 teaspoons ground sage
6. 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
7. 2 tablespoons cold water

Cut the pork and pork fat into 2-inch chunks and pass first through the coarse blade, then through the fine blade of a meat grinder into a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, moisten both hands with water and knead the mixture till well blended and smooth. Wrap the sausage in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator at least 2 hours before using.

Biscuits with Sausage Gravy

(4 to 6 servings)

The Biscuits

1. 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2. 2 teaspoons baking powder
3. 1/2 teaspoon salt
4. 3 tablespoons chilled vegetable shortening
5. 3/4 cup milk
6. 1 pound bulk sausage

The Gravy

1. 4 tablespoons butter
2. 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3. 2 1/2 cups milk
4. Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.

To make the biscuits, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the shortening and cut in with a pastry cutter or rub with your fingertips till the mixture is mealy. Gradually add the milk and stir just till the dough holds together and is still sticky. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface, knead about 8 times, and form the dough with your hands into 8 smooth rounds about 1 inch thick. Arrange the rounds on a baking sheet about 1 inch apart, bake in the upper third of the oven till golden brown, about 15 minutes,and keep warm.

With your hands, form the sausage meat into 8 patties, fry the patties on both sides in a large skillet over moderate heat till nicely browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes, drain on peper towels and keep warm on a plate. Set the skillet with the fat aside.

To make the gravy, pour off about half the fat from the skillet, add the butter to the skillet, and stir over moderate heat till the fats are incorporated, scraping the browned bits off the bottom. Gradually add the flour, stir till it has absorbed the fats, and cook, stirring constantly,till the flour turns golden brown,about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly, till the gravy is thickened, smooth and slightly browned. Season with salt and pepper and stir well.

To serve, split the biscuits in half and place the bottoms on warm serving plates. Top each bottom with a sausage patty, arrange the biscuit tops at an angle, spoon hot gravy over the tops, and serve immediately.

Bringing Home the Bacon

Last fall we found that a neighbor of a friend of ours was raising pigs for sale. We split one with another friend and have been enjoying various pork products ever since. I asked the processing plant not to cure the bacon so that I could experiment with making our own. I had no idea that making bacon was so easy or that it would taste so good.

Bruce Audell's Complete Book of Pork proved a reliable guide and our Bradley Smoker was just the ticket for cold-smoking the meat.

Here's the formula for the curing solution.

• 6 cups water
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 21/2 tablespoons Insta-cure No. 1*

 

Steps to make bacon

1.Make a brine by dissolving salt, sugar, and Insta-cure No. 1 in water and chill to 45 degrees.

2. If using a whole pork belly, cut into 3 equal pieces. If using boneless Boston butt, butterfly and cut it into 2 equal pieces. Put the meat into a pleastic storage container and submerge it in the brine. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 days then remove from the brine, Pat dry.

3.Now the meat is ready to be cold-smoked. The goal of cold-smoking is to keep wood smoldering to produce smoke, but not to produce enough heat for cooking. For a nice smoky flavor, Aidell's smokes the meat for 6 to 8 hours. When the bacon is done take it out, cool it, wrap it tightly in plastic before storing it in the fridge. Smoked bacon will last a week to 10 days in the refrigerator. It can be frozen if well-wrapped for up to 2 months.

The Bacon after being smoked

Bacon cooking

* Insta-Cure is availabe from The Sausage Maker.

Asian Spaghetti

The other day I was looking in the freezer and the pantry as I was trying to decide what to cook for dinner.The freezer offered up a pound of hamburger and ground pork while the pantry revealed a package of spaghetti just waiting to be cooked. I remembered that Ming Tsai's latest cookbook, One-Pot Meals had a recipe that would use all three of these ingredients. Even though the kid wasn't around I know that this would have pleased her; she might even have asked for seconds.

The soy sauce adds a mysterious dimension to the sauce and gives it great depth of flavor. Ming says that this will feed four. I would say that it would satisfy six hungry people.

Asian Spaghetti

1. 1 pound spaghetti
2. Kosher salt
3. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for coating the pasta
4. 2 large onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
5. 2 tablespoons minced garlic
6. 1 pound ground beef
7. 1 pound ground pork
8. freshly ground black pepper
9. One 32-ounce dan roma tomatoes with their liquid
10. 1/4 cup soy sauce
11. 2 tablespoons tomato paste
12. 1/2 cup loosely packed Thai basil

 

Fill a large bowl with water and add ice cubes. In a large pot, cook the pasta in abundant boiling salted water until al dente, about 11 minutes, drain, and ad to the bowl. When the pasta is cold, drain, coat lightly with oil, and set aside.

Heat the pot over medium-high heat. Add the 1 tablespoon oil and when hot, add the onions and garlic. Saute, stirring, until the onions are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the beef and the pork, season with salt and pepper, and saute, stirring to break up the meat, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their liquid, the soy sauce, tomato paste, and basil and bring to a simmer. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by a quarter about 25 minutes. Add the reserved pasta to the pot and stir gently. transfer to a platter and serve.

Josh' s Barbecue

Strip Malls are an unattractive feature of the American landscape, but every once in a while they hide a treasure behind their unlovely facades. Such a gem is Josh's Barbecue in Santa Fe. Located on Zafarano Drive shortly after you take the Cerrillos Rd. exit from I-25 North, Josh's is as fine a BBQ establishment as any I have found in the west or southwest. Texas usally gets all the credit for good BBQ west of the Mississippi, but Josh's can give any place in Texas a run for its money. Our ribs were tender and succulent with a beautiful smoke ring. The smoke was pronounced, but not overwhelming. I don't know when I've tasted better.

If you find yourself near Santa Fe and have a hankering for good Q, drive over to Josh's. 
You won't be disappointed.

 

Josh's Barbecue

3486 Zafarano Drive

Suite A

Santa Fe, NM 87507

505-474-6466