The Leftovers - Ham

Sorry it's been a while.  A lot of stuff was going on post-op, so now that things are starting to slow down a little (or not), I thought I'd share with you a quick casserole recipe I came up with over the weekend.

I have a motto this year: Shop Less and Use What You  Have Already.

Taking that motto into the kitchen, I've started to realize just how much food I've wasted over the years.  Or, I buy in bulk, store it, then forget about it.  Then when the fridge cleanout comes, there's all this wasted food that goes into the trash.  To minimize that, I've been creating a few new recipes to use up leftovers and the stuff I already have.

While this may be a little late, you should keep it in your thoughts on how to use leftover ham when the next holiday comes around. 

First off, the trick to any amazing ham recipe is a well-cooked ham.  One of my favorite ham recipes that I go back to every single time is a country baked ham recipe from the 1950's.  [Here's a similar recipe, but add 1-2 cups of apple juice to the pan to baste.  Also, do yourself a favor...buy a ham that is pre-sliced and pre-baked.]

What you'll need for this recipe:

Leftover ham (cut up into bite-sized pieces)
Corn (I used frozen)
Peas (I used frozen)
Green Beans (I used frozen)
Leftover Dressing (I used leftover dried bread crumb dressing)
Fresh Cranberry Sauce (do not use the jellied version, use the whole berries version or fresh sauce)
Mashed Potatoes*
Cream Cheese (room temperature)

If you notice most of this recipe follows the basic shepherd's pie.  It's very similar to that, but with modifications.

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. While the oven is pre-heating, in a casserole dish, add a layer of corn, peas and green beans [the first layer is a mixture of these veggies].
3. Add the ham as a second layer.
4. Add a layer of cranberry sauce on top of the ham.
5. Add a layer of dressing (I didn't have a lot of dressing, so it was sparsely added as a layer).
6. Add a layer of mashed potatoes.*
7. Spoon cream cheese on top (try to spread out as much of the cream cheese as you can).
8. Cover with aluminum foil.
9. Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes.
10. After 25 minutes, remove aluminum foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes (to lightly brown the top).
11.  Remove from oven and let cool. 
12.  Enjoy!

*Modification for mashed potatoes: I had 1 potato and a bag of frozen cauliflower.  I boiled the potato until soft, then added the frozen cauliflower to the pot.  After the cauliflower was hot, I transferred everything over to a bowl and mashed them.  I added salt, pepper, butter, and milk (like in a traditional mashed potato recipe).  I prefer this version over regular mashed potatoes, because you can't tell the difference and it remains moist and doesn't dry up like regular mashed potatoes.

What's interesting about this recipe is that it's like having your entire holiday feast in one dish, plus dessert on top of it all.  The cream cheese tames the tartness of the cranberry sauce and makes you think you're eating pie...and your dinner altogether.  Kind of reminds me of Violet's Willy Wonka Every Flavor Gum in casserole form!  Trust me...this was so good, I had a hard time not eating the whole thing in one sitting.  

I don't use measurements, because it's kind of silly to use measurements on leftovers.  You're creating a casserole based on layers.  I didn't use that much bread crumbs because I didn't have much left from Thanksgiving.  Ends up it turned out perfectly fine.  I can only imagine what it would taste like with dressing that was already made! 

Do you use the whole bag of frozen vegetables? No.  You're only creating the first layer with the three varieties of vegetables. 

It's also important to make sure the cream cheese is room temperature so you can easily work with it.  You won't be able to create a clean layer over the mashed potatoes, so just spoon it over the mashed potatoes and try to spread it out as much as you can (yes, you should use your fingers along with the spoon to attempt this). 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did.  The ham was leftover from Christmas (was in the freezer).  The cranberry sauce was leftover from Thanksgiving (I can't believe how long it lasted). 

It's January.  There's a snowstorm out and this was like a little piece of heaven leftover from the holidays.

A Surprise of Cherry and a Chocolate Dipped Paradise

Ça Va Take 2...

All great meals must be repeated again, so I decided to make another reservation to Ça Va Brasserie by Todd English, just to relive that heavenly dinner all over again.  I was foolish to think that my second experience could be duplicated exactly like the first time.  Why?  Because Ça Va had something up their sleeves for my second visit.

A week after my first visit, I could still taste the Strozzapreti Pasta at the tip of my tongue, along with the memories of the chocolate mousse topped with toffee and caramel drizzle.  I had to do it all over again, but this time, I decided to have the pasta, but try the Soupe Glacée de Petits Pois Anglaise (chilled English pea soup, buttermilk flan and jumbo lump crab) and the Stone Fruit Crisp (ginger snap-almond streusel and vanilla gelato).

The pea soup wasn't what I was expecting, only because it's always strange to eat chilled soup.  The flavors though...who would ever think to put buttermilk flan and crab meat into a pea soup?  It was so tasty I started to forget it was a chilled soup and started to enjoy the harmony of the flavors together. 

The pasta was just as amazing as it was the week before, but this time, as I enjoyed my pasta, I took a look around at the people dining at Ça Va.  Would you believe that 95% sitting down at tables to dine were all women?  Not only that, but they were all eating the pasta!!!

I watched them eat their pasta to see if they were enjoying it as much as I was.  I guess word got out how heavenly this dish was.  Most were too absorbed in their conversations to really absorb that they were eating the nectar of the gods.  I will say though...no one was complaining.  Everyone appeared to be enjoying their meals immensely. 

I was getting so full (I had eaten at The Palm for lunch...I wish I hadn't done so prior to going to Ça Va for dinner).  The manager brought out my dessert.  He brought out my order of the Stone Fruit Crisp, but he also brought out something extra...Warm Pistachio Madeleines with Grand Marnier Cerise Chocolate Fondue to dip the Madeleines in. 

I decided to eat the dessert I ordered first.  It was so amazing.  The fruit dessert was perfect for the summer.  As I was eating it I took a bite and tasted something I recognized but couldn't place.  It brought back a memory from happier times of years gone past when I tried something new and loved it...but what was it? 

I continued to eat my dessert when I tasted the fruit again.  This time I sat there and savored it, reliving the memory until I realized...it was a cherry.  It's not so often I get to eat a cooked cherry, so this was a very surprising addition to my dessert and it was what made me finally make up my mind about the dessert...it was perfectly amazing.

I had just finished up my dessert while I looked at the other dessert that was given to me compliments of the house.  I wasn't for sure what it was, so I took one and dipped it in the chocolate.  I took one bite and...

There are absolutely no words to describe that moment.

The manager was walking by when I asked him again what he had given to me.  He explained they were pistachio Madeleines with a chocolate fondue dipping sauce.  It was on the regular dessert menu, not on the Restaurant Week menu. 

Remember how I said I was getting full?  I ate every single Madeleine (there were about 10-15 in the cup) just to relive that moment again and again and again and again. 

In my last review I said that the food was the nectar of the Gods.  Well, this dessert alone was like a full-blown nirvana, I've reached enlightenment moments and there was no way I was coming back down from this. 

The pistachio Madeleines were freshly baked (i.e. just came out of the oven) and warm.  I could taste the accent of vanilla in the cookie as I let the chocolate settle on my tongue.  It's that moment of contrasting flavors that I wanted to relive again and again.  

Yes, I forgot I was full when I hit the last three cookies.  Granted, the fullness lasted several days...but it was worth every single bite.

I'd like to thank the manager at Ça Va for introducing me to something more extraordinary than what they had already fed me over the last two weeks.  And yes, the restaurant went up on the perfection scale, rather than stay the same or go down.  They outdid themselves. 

It is with that, I plan on making Ça Va Brasserie my weekly haunt.  After all, you can't expect me to go back to mere mortal food after tasting the nectar of the gods.   

If you are in New York City, at least try to make it to Ça Va Brasserie over these next couple of weeks for Restaurant Week.  If you miss Restaurant Week, just go and visit them.  You will fall in love with every single bite you take...oh, and try the pistachio Madeleines.  Nothing says amazing like a warm cookie right out of the oven, dipped in grand marnier cerise chocolate fondue.  You'll understand what I'm talking about after you take that first bite. 

I think in the grand scheme of New York City, we are always looking for that right place where we belong.  The right restaurant, the right hangout, the right diner...a place where we are happy.  Over the last two weeks...and it took 8 years to find this...Ça Va Brasserie has become that place where this foodie belongs.

xxoo,

Michelle

P.S.  Looking forward to trying out everything on the menu now.