Scalloped Potatoes

These scalloped potatoes are the perfect, classic accompaniment to our Baked Ham. This recipe would be a great side to most any roasted meat or fish of your choosing.   

3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced paper thin

2-3/4 - 3-1/2 cups milk

1-1/4 cup heavy cream

2 - 4 cloves of garlic, finely grated

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

5 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees with a rack set in the lower third of oven. Combine sliced potatoes and milk in a large saucepan or large pot, over high heat. Add enough milk to cover potatoes.  Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until potatoes are just tender, about 3 minutes.

Place a colander over a large bowl and drain potatoes, reserving milk. Add heavy cream to milk and stir to combine.

Rub a 2 1/2-quart oval baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter and the garlic.  Arrange sliced potatoes, sprinkling cheese between the layers, in the baking dish.  Season with salt and pepper. Dot with remaining 2 tablespoons butter and pour reserved cooking milk and cream mixture over.  Be cautious not to overly saturate.  Only add liquid enough to cover the top layer.

Transfer baking dish to oven and bake until cheese becomes deep golden brown and milk has reduced and thickened, 80 to 90 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

**Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Baked Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze

At Easter, both the McCormicks and the McQuaids have long agreed that nothing beats a classic baked ham as the centerpiece of our feast. My mom always chose a boneless Hormel ham, simple and reliable, while the McQuaids swear by a generously sized, bone-in ham for the extra depth of flavor the bone provides.

Portion guide:

• Boneless ham: plan on ¼–⅓ lb per person
• Bone-in ham: plan on ⅓–½ lb per person

Cooking times (@ 300–325 °F):

• Bone-in: 18–20 minutes per pound
• Boneless: 30–35 minutes per pound
• Fully cooked (to reheat): 10–15 minutes per pound

With these simple guidelines, you’ll end up with a beautifully tender, flavorful ham that honors both family traditions and keeps everyone coming back for seconds.

A great use of the leftover ham is to make a Ham and Bean Soup. Which is reminiscent of one of our favorite restaurants Herrera’s bean soup and is another favorite comfort food of our’s. 

8 - 12 lb bone-In ham

6 TBSP red wine vinegar

3 TBSP brown sugar

6 TBSP Gray Poupon, original, but a grainy mustard works well too

3 TBSP Honey

Pineapple slices (optional)

Cherries, candied (optional)

15 whole cloves

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Place ham in shallow roasting pan.  Mix together the vinegar, sugar and mustard. Pour over the ham.  Cover with foil.  Bake for about 20 minutes per pound. The last 30 minutes cut 1/4" deep crosses on the top of the ham. Stick cloves all over the ham. Secure pineapple slices and cherries with toothpicks on top of the ham if you are adding them to the ham. Bake another 30 minutes without covering, basting often. Remove from the oven. Cover with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes before carving. 

Mediterranean Roasted Chicken with Lemony Potatoes

I had a chicken breast defrosting for dinner tonight and wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to prepare it. Then I came across a delicious-looking recipe in a Pottery Barn reel and couldn’t resist giving it a try. It was super easy to throw together and made the whole house smell amazing!

The dish turned out really flavorful. While the original recipe called for chicken thighs, which I think would be even juicier, the breast I had on hand worked just fine. Next time, I might add a light lemony sauce to drizzle over the top, just to bring in some moisture and brighten the flavor even more.

Serves 8 - 10

8 - 10 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs

3 TBSP Olive Oil

2/3 cup Greek yogurt

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 TBSP cumin

1 TBSP paprika

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp coriander

5 cloves garlic, mashed

6 potatoes of choice (I like russet)

2 lemons, 1 zested

Garnish: chopped parsley

White rice, prepared for serving

Preheat oven to 425F.  Pat chicken dry.  In a large bowl mix olive oil, yogurt, tomato paste, all seasonings and garlic.  Mix well.  Add chicken coating well in sauce.  The more you coat with the sauce the better.  Arrange chicken in casserole dish.  Keep the bowl with the sauce in it.  Wash, dry and cut potatoes.  Add them to the bowl that the chicken was in and squeeze and squeeze one lemon and add the zest.  Toss to coat well and add the potatoes to the casserole dish, arranging around the chicken.  Cover with foil.  Bake one hour and ten minutes.  Remove foil.  Turn broiler on high and make sure rack is high.  Broil 3 minutes or so until the skin gets crispy.  Remove from oven.  Plate and place chicken and potatoes on the rice.  Drizzle juices from the chicken on top.  Garnish with parsley.  Serve with lemon wedges and sriracha.

NOTE: A good substitute for Greek yogurt is sour cream

**Recipe adapted from Pottery Barn