Holiday recipes: Traditional recipes are plated nostalgia
By Cynthia Reeves Photo by Blake Jones Photo
ORANGE-BOURBON GLAZED HAM
(Recipe from Atlas Oyster House’s Executive Chef Jason Hughes)
Hughes sees a vision of an all-American family gathered around a table when he prepares a staple dish like baked ham.
“Holiday recipes are special because you typically only make them one time a year,” he said.
His approach is to take modern classics and put a twist on them. He kicks ham up a notch with a delectable glaze: “Take something old and make it new again.”
Crunchy Baked Ham
1 8-pound bone-in, spiral-cut ham
1/4 cup honey
2 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pinch ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Place ham cut-side down in a roasting pan with a rack and pour about a half-inch of water into the bottom of the pan. Rub the outside of the ham with the honey, then cover the pan with foil. Bake for about 15 minutes per pound, approximately 2 hours total, until the ham is heated through to about 130 degrees. Remove the foil and baste the ham with drippings from the roasting pan once or twice during cooking if desired, replacing the foil before returning to the oven.
When the ham is finished cooking, remove it from the oven, remove the foil, and preheat the broiler.
Place the sugar, onion powder, ginger, cloves, and smoked paprika in a saucepan and add 1/2 cup of pan drippings from the ham. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
Pour half of the sugar mixture over the ham and place it under the broiler. Broil for 1-2 minutes until glaze starts to bubble, then remove the ham from the oven and pour the remaining glaze over. Broil for another 1-2 minutes until bubbling. Remove ham from oven and carefully separate the slices with a fork. Don’t touch the ham until the molten sugar crust has had a few minutes to cool. Serve with orange-bourbon glaze.
Orange-Bourbon Glaze
(prepare while baking ham)
2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup honey
1/2 cup bourbon
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
1 pound cold, unsalted butter, cut into chips
Combine all ingredients except butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce to a rapid simmer, taking care not to boil over. Let cook until mixture reduces and thickens to a syrupy consistency with large bubbles. Reduce heat to very low and whisk in the butter a little bit at a time. The butter will thicken the glaze and give it a glossy look. Season to taste and keep warm over very low heat or in a warm place until ham is ready to serve.
OYSTER AND CHORIZO CORNBREAD DRESSING
(Recipe from Jackson’s Executive Chef Irv Miller)
Miller likes to take his classic Sauce Pot Gravy and drizzle it over a flavorful Oyster and Chorizo Cornbread Dressing. The chorizo is a nod to his heritage.
“It’s a Spanish influence from my Pensacola roots,” he said.
He believes the oysters are for those who appreciate a little adventure.
“Oyster lovers will eat anything with oysters!”For the gravy, Miller shares his beurre manié method.
“I picked it up in culinary school,” he said.
It is a simple way to thicken a sauce without the effort of making a roux.
Miller shared nostalgia for holiday recipes.
“It became a neighborhood tradition. I made the gravy,” he said.
Cornbread
5 tablespoons pure olive oil (or bacon fat)
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or bacon fat) in a skillet. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
In a medium bowl add cornmeal, baking powder and salt.
In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, lightly beaten eggs, and whisk well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir briefly to combine.
Heat a 10-inch, cast-iron skillet over a low flame and pour in the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Swirl the skillet around so that the oil completely coats all parts of the pan, bottom and sides.
Pour in the cornbread batter. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
Remove the cornbread and allow cooling to room temperature. Set aside until needed.
Dressing
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cornbread (recipe above)
1 pint freshly shucked Gulf Coast oysters and their liquor
12 ounces ground chorizo sausage
1 cup small-chopped yellow onions
1 cup small-chopped green onions
1/2 cup small-chopped green pepper
1 cup small-chopped celery
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons small-chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 pint seafood broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Coat a 9 x 12 x 2 casserole dish with oil.
Break up cornbread into small pieces and place in a food processor with a cutting blade, and grind fine. Transfer corn breadcrumbs to a large bowl.
Strain the oysters and reserve the liquor.
Place a large, heavy-bottom skillet over medium-high heat, add the ground sausage and break up to cook, about 5 minutes.
Add onions, green onions, green pepper, celery, garlic, parsley and thyme, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
Add the oysters and 1/2 cup oyster liquor, stir in to blend and cook until oysters are firm and edges curl, about 3 to 5 additional minutes. Empty the contents of the skillet into an extra-large bowl for tossing. Add corn breadcrumbs and chorizo.
In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, 1 cup oyster liquor or seafood broth, salt and pepper, and blend together using a whisk.
Pour the egg mixture over the cornbread and gently mix everything together with your hands, and then form into the casserole dish. Cover with foil and place in refrigerator.
I like baking the dressing just before serving the meal (the oysters remain plump and are best served that way). Just before serving, bake, covered, for 35 minutes. Uncover and serve right away.
Note: If you can’t find ground chorizo, remove the casing from cured link chorizo, place in the food processor, and pulse to grind fine.
Note: For extra-moist dressing, pour any remaining oyster liquor or seafood broth into a small saucepot. Bring to a boil and spoon over dressing just before serving.
SAUCEPOT GRAVY
(Recipe from Jackson’s Executive Chef Irv Miller)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 smoked small turkey neck, smoked ham hock, or smoked hog jowl
2 cups small-diced yellow onions
1 cup small-diced celery
1 cup small-diced carrots
2 tablespoons peeled garlic cloves, rough chopped
3 pints chicken broth or water
1-2 tablespoons poultry and herb seasoning
1-2 bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, removed from stem
Cracked black pepper to taste
Kosher salt to taste
Beurre manié (1/2 cup softened butter kneaded with 3/4 cup flour) to thicken
Place the oil in a large, heavy-duty saucepot over medium-high heat for 3 minutes and add oil to brown turkey neck or pork meats.
Stir in small-diced vegetables and stir for 3 minutes. Add garlic and stir until blended.
Add seasoning and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer.
Over low heat, whisk in small pieces of the beurre manié until gravy thickens. Season with salt and pepper and gently simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.
Remove from heat and let sit until needed.
Remove any meat off the bone from ham hock and chop meat. Add back to gravy.
Remove bay leaves before serving. Do not strain.
PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE
(Recipe from Atlas Oyster House’s Executive Chef Jason Hughes)
Hughes’ Pumpkin Cheesecake ends a holiday meal with a twist on the old back-of-the-can pumpkin pie recipe.
“It reminds you of something you’ve had a million times, but it is something different and unique,” Hughes said.
Gingersnap Crust
1 box (16 ounces) gingersnap cookies (yields about 3 cups of crumbs)
5 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 stick (1/4 pound) unsalted butter, melted
Crush cookies in a food processor as fine as possible. Place in a bowl, add brown sugar, and
mix well. Stir in warm, melted butter until totally incorporated. The mixture should hold its shape when pressed firmly in hand.
Press the crust into the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan, then place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to chill while you make the cheesecake batter.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Batter
2 pounds cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
3/4 cup Steen’s cane syrup*
3 cups pumpkin puree
1½ teaspoons flour
4 eggs, room temperature
1 egg yolk, room temperature
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Set cream cheese and eggs out an hour or so before you begin – cold cream cheese will not whip up smooth, and adding cold eggs to your batter will cause lumps. Place cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. If you do not have a stand mixer, you can use a handheld mixer with beaters. Beat cream cheese on medium speed until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Combine sugar, cinnamon, and ginger in a small bowl and mix together, then add to the cream cheese. Mix on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom a few times, until mixture is smooth. Add pumpkin puree, cane syrup and flour. Mix for another 2-3 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom again, until all incorporated.
Add the eggs and egg yolk one at a time while mixing on low speed, scraping the bowl after each addition. Do not whip the batter at this stage, as whipping the eggs will incorporate air that can cause your cheesecake to rise too much and crack while cooling. When all eggs are in, scrape the bowl again to make sure you have no unmixed ingredients, then pour into your chilled crust. Your batter should be free of lumps if all ingredients were at the correct temperature, but if you find any lumps, you can pass the batter through a tamis or fine mesh sieve to remove them.
Place an oven-safe dish of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven. Place the cheesecake on a baking sheet, loosely cover it with some aluminum foil to protect the top from browning, and place it on the middle rack of the oven. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the cheesecake appears mostly set. To check for doneness, give the cheesecake a gentle shake. The center will wobble like Jell-O when finished. If the jiggle in the center of the cake is more like a bowl of water or cream, continue cooking.
When cheesecake is set, turn off the oven and crack the door open. Allow the cheesecake to cool in the open oven for an hour, then remove and place on the counter. Let the cheesecake cool to room temperature before refrigerating. This gradual cooling will prevent the top of the cheesecake from cracking while cooling. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce. If your cheesecake does crack at all, rest assured that it happens to everyone and cover it up with a little more whipped cream!
*Note: Steen’s cane syrup is a small batch, open-kettle cane syrup made in Louisiana. It can be found in some grocery stores or online. Molasses works as a substitute, but cane syrup is worth having in the pantry.
