City Ham

My grandfather in England always prepared a light Sunday supper at 5:00 p.m., about four hours after the main meal. Most often, he would serve thin slices of pink ham with a layer of white fat on the outside, mustard piccalilli relish, some cheese - Cheshire, cheddar, or Danish blue - sliced tomatoes from the garden when they were available, a small salad of bibb lettuce, and slices of whole wheat bread with butter (butter - quite an indulgence in post WWII England). One Christmas night in New Jersey, my friend Sheila, who is from London, served close to the same thing after an earlier dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, which, to use an expression of Julia Reed's, brought down the house.

But other than that, I wasn't especially fond of baked ham and never thought about making it myself until I found this recipe for "city" ham on John Martin Taylor's site. He says

This ham is so good that during parties I have to make sure no one's around when I carve it because folks will flat-out pull the thing to death.

I could not resist trying this recipe after reading that, so I made it and liked it - a lot.

I've since found it's nice to have a baked ham on hand around holidays, particularly if you have company coming and going. It's good to slice thin and sandwich between two halves of Tiny Corn Muffins. You can also add a few small cubes to Macaroni and Cheese, gild the lily and put some - maybe along with a few peas - in Fettuccine All' Alfredo, and sizzle in butter to serve with scrambled, fried, or poached eggs. 

And now that Easter is just about here, it's a good option for the main event at dinner.

John Martin Taylor, who is originally from Charleston, calls this a city ham (wet cured) to distinguish it from a country ham (dry cured), which is also delicious but best eaten like prosciutto - sliced paper thin and eaten sparingly. If you look at his blog post where this recipe is embedded, you will find something interesting to read as well as some other great things he makes.

City Ham

Adapted from Hoppin' John Martin Taylor

1 whole bone-in fully-cooked smoked ham or 1/2 bone-in fully-cooked smoked ham, shank end preferred, but butt end is okay (I always make a half ham) Note: This is NOT a canned ham.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Remove your ham from its packaging. Put the ham on a flat rack in a roasting dish, and loosely crumple a piece of aluminum foil over it. You want the foil to be a loose tent, not a tight cover.

Bake the ham at 275 degrees - for 7 to 8 hours if you have a whole ham; for 3 to 4 hours if you have half ham.

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You Can Tell Everybody

I wanted to make salmon with roasted Brussels sprouts for dinner last night, but I didn't like the look of the wild Salmon at Fairway and won't buy farmed anymore. Instead, they had bright looking dry wild sea scallops, and I picked up three-quarters of a pound for the two of us along with a dozen little neck clams so I could make some spaghetti with clam sauce to serve with them.

Like Julia Reed, "to me shrimp is the ur-seafood - to eat it is to taste the essence of the ocean" (from the chapter called Bighearted Shrimp in Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties.)

But I think sea scallops are a close second.

I got home and was going over the grocery receipt, and when I saw the entry Sea Scallops-Wet, I did a double take and thought "That must be wrong."

And, thank goodness, it was.

They cooked so well and tasted so good, it was clear these really were wild, natural scallops that had never been in contact with phosphate, and even though I totally forgot to make and serve tartar sauce with them, Walter declared them delicious.

I also forgot to take a picture, so you will get the recipe for the scallops the next time I make them - which will probably be soon - when I'll be sure to snap a shot of them.

But I do have something to tell you about.

It's my not-so-secret, but very guilty, pleasure. I'm sure everyone has one. Molly sometimes eats Cool Ranch Doritos. Perhaps Alice Waters likes to drink Champagne and eat (homemade heirloom) potato chips before 9:00 a.m. I don't know. But I do know what mine is.

It's Kraft Deli-Deluxe American Cheese.

It's not Kraft Singles. The slices cannot be wrapped piece by piece. The cheese slices must be all "stuck" together.

You can get them in a package that has slices that are 1 ounce apiece and in another package that has slices that are 2/3 of a ounce apiece.

2/3 ounce apiece

1 ounce apiece

I have no idea why that would be, and I pretty much buy whichever package is available when I run out.

I do two things with this cheese, which I refuse to call a product since I like it so much.

I make scrambled eggs, and I make cheese toast - not at the same time.

Deli-Deluxe Scrambled Eggs for 1

2 free-range large eggs

1 slice Kraft Deli-Deluxe Cheese

A hazelnut size lump of unsalted butter

A little black pepper if you like

Wash the eggs, dry them, and crack them into a small bowl. Beat with a fork until they are well blended. Heat an 8-inch frying pan, and melt the little lump of butter in it. (I only use a non-stick pan for two things - these scrambled eggs and manicotti crepes.)

Take the slice of cheese, and tear it into small pieces, dropping them into the eggs as you go along. When the butter is foaming, add the eggs and cheese, turn the heat down low, and start stirring. I use a wooden fork I got at Bridge Kitchenware a million years ago when Fred Bridge was still alive. Stir until the eggs are set the way you like them - I like mine creamy. Remember that when you turn off the heat, the eggs will still cook a little, and the cheese will continue to melt, so don't overcook them to melt the cheese. Sprinkle with freshly grated black pepper if you like. There is enough salt in the cheese that I don't find I need to add more.

Now I am not going to tell you that these are the best scrambled eggs in the world, but they are good.

Not Really a Recipe for Cheese Toast

If I have it, I use a piece of Bread Alone's excellent Organic Whole Grain Health Bread.

Take 1 slice of cheese, and put it on the bread, folding the corners so they are not hanging over the edge of the bread.

Toast it in a toaster oven.

Don't burn your mouth when you eat it!

Tartar Sauce

The newest Fairway in the City is on East 86th Street, between Second and Third Avenues. The fish department is beautiful, stocked with pristine fish that turns over quickly. I have bought large, plump, dry, wild, diver scallops, easy to cook and delicious to eat. Since I pretty much stick to what is wild, I have to wait until I get there to see what I'm going to buy for dinner, and often I'm choosing among lemon sole, grey sole, and flounder.

Last night I got lemon sole. It was firm and lovely and smelled good - like the sea. I cut the fillets in half so the pieces were small and bound them with a breading of Wondra flour, eggs, which I had beaten with a fork and put through a sieve so they were smooth and silkly, and panko.

This looks like a silly product, but it really is convenient.

Then I cooked them in grapeseed oil until they were golden brown.

I served them with fresh spinach sauteed with slices of garlic, sauteed cherry tomatoes, and Rebecca Charles's of Pearl Oyster Bar Tartar Sauce.

Tartar Sauce

Adapted from Lobster Rolls and Blueberry Pie by Rebecca Charles of Pearl Oyster Bar

These amounts are rather loose and depend on how much sauce you want to make. Increase as desired.

1/3 cup Hellman's Mayonnaise

1/2 large shallot, minced, or 2 tablespoons minced sweet onion

1 to 2 tablespoons chopped cornichons (I use Maille cornichons)

1 teaspoon cornichon juice

2 teaspoons tiny capers in vinegar, drained

Salt (if necessary) and pepper to taste

A small squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Mix all ingredients together and chill until ready to use.

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