Today, ham is available in all its many manifestations year round, but a big, glistening Easter ham is still a pleasant tradition.
Cultural historians trace Easter back to pre-Christian spring equinox festivals, when the return of balmier weather and the revitalization of nature inspired celebrations of life renewed.
In northern Europe, forests of nut-bearing trees provided an excellent environment for fattening hogs on mast, the natural fall of nuts on the forest floor. In the fall, the hogs were butchered and the meat processed and preserved by drying, smoking, salting or brining.
After several months of curing, the prime cuts of these animals, the hams, were ready for consumption just in time for the first festival of the new year. Eating an Easter ham connected the bounty of the old year to the promise of the new season.
Today, ham is available in all its many manifestations year-round, but a big, glistening Easter ham is still a pleasant tradition. A relatively economical festival centerpiece, few will complain about its usually copious leftovers.
Easter arrives before the best variety of new vegetables, but what remains of the old harvest pairs up well with ham. Root vegetables such as parsnips handle winter well and, combined with potatoes and onions make a rich gratin. Quickly wilted spinach, tossed with some unexpected accoutrements such as raisins and pine nuts, adds a colorful and slightly exotic side dish for a festive seasonal dinner.
A tart using orange rind in the crust, juice in the custard and bright orange segments as decoration is a fine way to say goodbye to winter and look toward the new season.
COOKING AND SERVING HAM
• Basic roasting instructions are the same for both “fully cooked” and “cook before eating” hams: Heat oven to 325 degrees and put the meat fat side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.
Fully cooked hams need to be warmed to an internal temperature of 140 degrees (cook about 15 minutes per pound). Uncooked ham should reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees, about 20 minutes per pound.
• Almost any butcher can spiral-slice a ham for you.
• Cured ham – the pink, smoky meat most people associate with ham sandwiches and Easter dinner – is meat from the hind leg of the hog that has been brined and smoked in what is called a “wet cure” (as opposed to the “dry cure” of country ham). The brine is a solution of water that can contain salt, sugar, sodium nitrite and/or nitrate and various other additives.
• The highest-quality brined hams are labeled “natural juices.” The law allows these hams to weigh 8 percent more coming out of the cure than when they went in.
• “Ham, water added” is the most commonly available ham. It’s allowed to contain up to 10 percent liquid.
• Bone-in hams are available in a variety of shapes – whole, shank or butt half – and typically serve two to three people per pound. A boneless ham will yield roughly four to five servings per pound.
• To carve a bone-in ham, begin carving by placing the ham on its side on a firm cutting surface. Steady the ham with a large fork and cut several long slices off the thin side and turn the ham onto its flat, cut surface. Make perpendicular slices to the leg bone to the desired thickness. To loosen the slices, cut horizontally along the leg bone, removing each slice with the fork.
• To carve a boneless ham, cut several long slices off the side. Turn the ham onto its cut surface and slice to the desired thickness.
Source: The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal, the National Pork Board
Coconut cake crowns the Southern Easter table
JENNIFER JUSTUS
The Tennessean
When a restaurant in South Carolina sells a coconut cake for $100, you know it’s a dessert with diva status.
Chef Robert Carter of the Peninsula Grill created his Ultimate Coconut Cake based on his grandmother’s recipe. It stands 4 inches tall and weighs about 12 pounds.
But regardless of price tag, coconut cakes have long had a place on many Southern celebratory tables – especially at Easter, when they come shaped like bunnies or crafted into cupcakes with candied birds’ nests and jellybeans.
The various methods for making coconut cake could rank among epic epicurean duels such as whether sugar belongs in corn bread, what kind of barbecue is best or if gumbo should include okra. Many recipes included an old-fashioned seven-minute frosting. Legend has it that butter cream and cream cheese frostings – although popular now – couldn’t keep their grip on cakes in the Southern humidity before the days of central air conditioning.
Connie Maynord of Goodlettsville, Tenn., remembers the smell of vanilla and fresh coconut while watching her mother bake Easter coconut cake in 1960. As Maynord sat on a chrome turquoise kitchen chair, she watched her mother measure sugar and flour from metal canisters, mixing ingredients on a Formica-top kitchen table. Her mother would make the Easter cake on a Saturday two weeks before the holiday. She wanted to bake and freeze it beforehand to allow “the coconut to have time to seep into the cake.”
This year, Maynord said her 77-year-old mother will bake her cake again, and she’ll call her daughter to say she misses “her helper in the kitchen.” Even though she’s more than 150 miles away, Maynord says the sweet smell of coconut cake will come rushing back.
And no offense, Chef Carter, but that’s worth much more than $100.
Contact Jennifer Justus at jjustus@tennessean.com.
Catalan spinach garners its sweet chewiness from raisins and its crunch from pine nuts.
A tart using orange rind in the crust, juice in the custard and bright orange segments as decoration is a fine way to say goodbye to winter and look toward the new season.
This coconut cake from Sweet 16th-A Bakery is flavored with vanilla and frosted with cream cheese icing. Coconut cakes have long had a place on many Southern celebratory tables – especially at Easter, when they come shaped like bunnies or crafted into cupcakes with candied birds' nests and jellybeans.
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Tips for setting your Easter table, Friday in Weekend Plus.
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EASTER RECIPES
Two people and a ham may seem like an eternity, but a family and a ham is a robust dinner, a day or two of hearty sandwiches, and perhaps a casserole and a thick bean soup. Once your family has exhausted the possibilities of this Easter dinner menu, log on to the National Pork Board’s consumer Web site, www.TheOtherWhiteMeat.com, for leftover recipe ideas.
Baked Ham with Bourbon Glaze
Half-hams come either from the top of the leg (the butt end) or the bottom (the shank). Shanks are easier to carve but have less meat to bone. Depend on a minimum of 2 servings per pound.
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 bone-in smoked ham, butt or shank end, about 10 pounds
Whole cloves, as needed
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place rack in lower part of oven.
Microwave honey and molasses in a microwave-safe measuring cup at high 30 seconds to thin; whisk to blend. Whisk in bourbon, orange juice and mustard.
Remove skin and excess fat from ham, leaving 1/4-inch or so of fat. Score the surface of the ham on the diagonal to create diamond shapes, and stick a whole clove into the center of each diamond. Place ham in a roasting pan. Brush liberally with the bourbon glaze.
Bake for 90 minutes, uncovered, or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 140 degrees, basting every 20 minutes or so with honey-bourbon glaze.
To carve, place cooked ham on a cutting surface. Determine which side of the ham is thickest in relation to the bone. Slice off a slab opposite the thickest side, to make a stable surface on which to rest the ham. Move ham to the serving platter.
At the narrow end of the ham, about 2 or 3 inches from the end, cut straight down to the bone, and then cut in at an angle, to remove a wedge of ham, with one vertical side. Starting at the vertical cut, slice down vertically to the bone, as thick as you want to make the servings. After cutting as many servings as you need, place the knife horizontally along the bone and slice in to free the slices. Serves about 20.
Source: The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal
Potato and Parsnip Dauphinois
The French give this wonderfully snooty-sounding name to layered potato dishes that most people call gratins. The name refers to the region of France, not to the onetime heir-apparent to the French throne. The mix of potatoes with the sweet parsnips makes a great accompaniment to ham.
4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
1 pound parsnips, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated Asiago or Gruyere cheese
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks (optional)
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into matchsticks (optional)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup milk
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a 2-quart ovenproof casserole. Put down a layer of 1/3 of the potatoes, covered by a layer of 1/3 of the parsnips and a similar layer of onions. Scatter over the vegetables about 1/3 of the grated cheese and, if using, half the bell pepper strips, and about half the garlic.
Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Layer on a similar mixture of vegetables, seasonings and cheese, and then a final layer, ending with the cheese. Sprinkle top with nutmeg. Mix together half-and-half and milk and pour over the vegetables in the casserole. Bake 45 to 60 minutes, until potatoes and parsnips are fork tender, cheese is melted and top is nicely browned. Serve hot. Serves 6.
Source: The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal
Catalan Spinach
The addition of raisins gives a sweet chewiness, and the pine nuts provide a crunch to the heartiness of the spinach. Frozen whole spinach is usable, but this is fresh-spinach season.
1/3 cup golden raisins, plumbed for 15 minutes in hot water, then drained
1/4 cup olive oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled
2 1/2 pounds fresh spinach
1/2 cup pine nuts
salt and pepper, as needed
Combine raisins with hot water to cover, and set aside to soak for 15 minutes.
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Smash the peeled garlic cloves with the blade of a knife, add them to the oil and sauté until golden, 5 minutes or so. Remove with a slotted spoon, and discard.
Wash the spinach, and pick over the leaves, removing any thick stems, or any split and unappealing stem ends. Add the spinach in batches, leaves still slightly damp from washing, to the oil in the pot, and stir until spinach wilts.
Add more spinach as first batch wilts down, and stir. When all spinach is added and wilted, add drained raisins and pine nuts. Stir well. Taste, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Serves 6.
Source: The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal
Double Orange Custard Tart
Crust
3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons orange zest (orange layer of the peel)
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
Combine flour, cornmeal, powdered sugar, orange zest and salt in a bowl. Add softened butter, egg yolk and vanilla. Blend until coarse crumbs form. Pat this soft, crumbly dough onto the bottom and up the sides of an 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Press into place, trim excess dough and freeze 20 minutes.
Line crust with foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Press crust up sides of pan with the back of a spoon if necessary. Bake 10 minutes longer until it just begins to brown. Cool.
Custard
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon orange liqueur
1 tablespoon orange zest
3 oranges, peels cut away, and segments cut out of membrane
1 pint raspberries
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, mix whipping cream, orange juice, egg yolks, sugar, orange liqueur and orange zest. Pour filling into crust, and bake until barely set, about 30 minutes. Cool 20 minutes, and refrigerate until custard is firm, about 3 hours.
Drain orange segments, and decorate custard with oranges and raspberries. Serves 8.
Source: The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal
Aegean Island Ham Sandwich
Serve this Mediterranean-flavored pita sandwich with marinated olives.
1/2 cup shredded ham
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup spinach leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 pita bread halves
In a small bowl, toss together ham, olive oil, lemon juice, spinach and oregano. Divide ingredients evenly between pita halves. Serves 2.
Source: www.theotherwhitemeat.com
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Coconut cakes to make Mama proud
JENNIFER JUSTUS
The Tennessean
Says Alisa Huntsman, pastry chef at Nashville’s Loveless Cafe: “Coconut is a flavor people tend to love or hate. For those who love it, here’s the cake. A white cake subtly flavored with coconut milk is covered with a rich, creamy frosting and drenched with loads of flaked coconut. It’s a white-on-white creation that will look perfect on the frilliest of tables.”
Southern Coconut Cake
5 egg whites
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
2 1/3 cups sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at warm room temperature
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
cream cheese buttercream frosting
2 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom of three 8-inch round cake pans or coat with vegetable cooking spray. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.
Put the egg whites in a mixing bowl and whisk slightly. Add the milk and the vanilla and whisk to mix thoroughly; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combing the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low, beat to mix well and break up any lumps, about 30 seconds. Add the butter and coconut milk and with the mixer still on low, beat to combine. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the egg white mixture in 2 or 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing just long enough to incorporate between additions. Divide the batter among the prepared pans.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes. Then turn them out onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely.
To decorate the cake, place one layer flat side up on an 8-inch cake board. Cover this layer with 1 cup of the buttercream frosting, spreading it evenly right to the edge. Sprinkle 1/2 cup coconut over the frosting. Add the second layer of cake and repeat with another 1 cup frosting and 1/2 cup coconut. Top with the final layer of cake and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting.
Place the remaining 1 1/2 cups coconut on a large baking tray. Pick up the cake and hold it on the palm of one hand over the tray. Using the other hand, scoop up some of the coconut and press it onto the side of the cake. Continue to do this, rotating the cake slightly each time, until the sides are completely coated.
Set the cake on a serving plate and sprinkle any remaining coconut over the top. Chill for at least 1 hour to allow the frosting to firm up before slicing. Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake; serves 12 to 16.
Source: “Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes,” by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne, (2007, Chronicle Books, $35)
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
12 ounces cold cream cheese
1 stick plus 6 tablespoons (7 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted after measuring
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
3 egg whites
Place the cream cheese in a mixer bowl and mix on medium until slightly fluffy and smooth. Add the butter 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing until smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and mix until fluffy. Set this aside at room temperature.
Combine the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 238 degrees on a candy thermometer.
Meanwhile, put the egg whites in a mixer bowl and have the mixer set up and ready to go. When the syrup is ready, turn the mixer to medium-low and begin mixing the egg whites. Slowly add the hot syrup to the whites, taking care not to pour it directly onto the beaters, or it may splash. When all of the syrup is incorporated, raise the speed to medium-high and beat until the egg white mixture has cooled to body temperature and a stiff meringue forms.
With the mixer on low speed, begin adding the cream cheese mixture by the spoonful. When all is incorporated, raise the speed to medium and whip until the frosting is smooth and fluffy. Makes about 5 cups.
Source: “Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes,” by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne, (2007, Chronicle Books, $35)
Recipes from Tennessean readers
Mama’s Fresh Coconut Cake
For the icing that goes on this cake, Connie Maynord’s mother grated fresh coconut for her cakes, but Maynord substitutes 1 package frozen coconut and canned cream of coconut.
3 cups plain flour
3 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Icing (recipe follows)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks; set aside.
In large bowl with mixer at low speed, cream sugar and shortening together. Add milk and flour mixture, alternating, into the sugar and shortening mixture. Beat at medium speed 5 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl. Stir in vanilla. Fold in egg whites, lightly.
Pour mixture into pans; bake 25-30 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely on racks before adding icing (recipe follows).
Mama’s Coconut Cake Icing
1 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons canned cream of coconut
2 6-ounce packages frozen coconut, thawed (or 1 1/2 to 2 cups freshly grated coconut)
Cook the milk, flour and salt in a double-boiler until thick, stirring constantly. Let cool.
Beat the shortening, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add the milk mixture (once cooled) to the shortening mixture and beat together until fluffy.
Place bottom layer of cake on your best cake dish and sprinkle on 2 tablespoons of canned coconut milk. Let cake absorb the milk. Frost bottom layer and cover with coconut. Place top layer onto bottom layer and sprinkle on 2 tablespoons of canned coconut milk. Let cake absorb. Frost top layer and sides of cake. Add coconut to top and sides.
Let cake sit uncovered for 1 hour, then wrap loosely with plastic wrap and place into large plastic cake keeper. Freeze. Defrost in refrigerator 1 day before serving. Cake is best after being frozen for a couple of weeks.
Source: Connie Maynord, Goodlettsville, Tenn.
Easter Basket Cupcakes
white cake mix or recipe of choice
wwhite cake icing of choice
1 14-ounce bag grated coconut (or more to taste)
green food coloring
jelly beans (see directions)
pipe cleaners (see directions)
Bake and frost 24 cupcakes according to package directions. Place bag of grated coconut inside a zip-top freezer bag. Place a few drops of green food coloring in the bag, seal it well and shake until the coconut is green.
Sprinkle each cupcake with the green coconut. Then place 3 jelly beans on top of each cupcake. Then use a pipe cleaner to make a handle for your Easter basket.
Source: Stacey Massaglia, Nashville, Tenn.
