Ham & Split Pea Soup (New Years Day in July)

All around the world, people join together with their friends and families to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.  Many traditional foods are consumed by one and all in the hopes that the coming year inspires health, wealth, and happiness.  In Asia, noodles are eaten to bring a long life, in many countries across the globe, pork is consumed for progress, and in Italy legumes are served to gain wealth, similar to the tradition of eating black-eyed peas here in the Southern United States.

I personally am not a huge fan of black-eyed peas, and since I usually have this beautiful ham bone left over from Christmas, or in this case, "Christmas in July", we eat Ham (progress) and Split Pea (wealth) soup.  I guess we are leaving the longevity of life up to the long nap that is taken after the meal

Sooooo, as promised in my "Christmas in July" blog, we had our “New Year’s Day in July" dinner of Ham and Split Pea Soup last night.  It was AWESOME and even my not-quite two-year old gobbled it up.

I was so excited yesterday morning before work, as I threw the split peas in a big bowl to soak.  I knew they would be ready to go when I got home and started chopping up the carrots and such.  Those little green gems did not disappoint as later in the day they were added to a hot pot of ham-infused water and cooked down to become one of my favorite soups in this world.  Alongside the soup, a beautiful crusty French batard to aid in sopping up the last delicious drops from each bowl. 

 

Ingredients & Instructions

8 C. Water
1 Lb. Dried Split Peas (soaked for at least 6 hours and drained)
1 Ham Bone
5 Tbsp. Butter
1-2 C. Ham (finely chopped)
¾ C. Celery (finely chopped)
¾ C. Carrot (finely chopped)
1 C. Onion (finely chopped)
2 tsp. Garlic (minced)
¼ tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tbsp. Dried Thyme
Bay Leaf
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Place ham hock in a large stock pan with 8 cups of cold water.  Bring to a boil and simmer for one hour.  Pour off water into a large bowl and reserve (this will be used as your “ham juice” or base).  With ham hock still in the stock pot, add butter and saute the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and additional chopped ham.  Once vegetables are softened add the peas and the red pepper flakes and stir for a couple of minutes.  Add the “ham juice” back to the pot, along with the bay leaf and thyme and simmer covered for 1-2 hours or until the peas have almost completely melted and the soup has thickened.  For thicker soup, just remove the lid for 20 minutes or so near the end of the cooking time.  Salt and Pepper to taste.

Scalloped Potatoes (Christmas in July)

Sometimes during the dog days of Summer, one just needs a little pick-me-up to make it through another week.  A small reminder of the cooler weather to come in the not-so-far off distance.  Don’t get me wrong, walks in the sun, playing in the pool with the fam, and grilled food are such joys, but sometimes it’s fun to spice things up a little bit with a ‘Christmas in July’.  Okay, well, we didn’t do the gifts and tree and such, but we did do the dinner.  Honeybaked ham, green beans, and deliciously ooey-gooey scalloped potatoes.  There’s only one potato preparation that can top scalloped potatoes in my mind, and that’s mashed potatoes, but when enjoying a ham, in my opinion, the potatoes most definitely must be of the scalloped variety.  The only ingredient that I altered in the recipe below from the recipe that I use at Christmas-time, is the substitution of parmesan cheese for gruyere.   After all, some things are sacred, and only the true Christmas dinner deserves the gruyere splurge.

The wonderful thing about ham besides the fact that it’s, well, yummy ham, is that later this week, I know we will be enjoying New Year’s Day in July with a big bowl of split pea soup made with that beautiful ham bone. 

Merry Christmas everyone (and next week if my life gives me time to blog) it will be Happy New Year)!

 

Ingredients & Instructions

2-3 Lbs. Yukon Gold Potaotes (thinly sliced using a mandolin or very handy husband)
1 ½ C. Heavy Cream
2 Large Garlic Cloves (minced)
1 Bay Leaf
5-6 Sprigs of fresh Thyme (tied)
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
2 C. Parmesan or Gruyere Cheese
Approximately ¼ C. Chopped Scallions
Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Place a small saucepan on medium heat and add heavy cream, garlic, rhyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and bay leaf to the pot.  Let simmer for about 20 minutes.  Remove bay leaf and thyme bundle and set cream aside.

Layer potatoes in a shallow 2 quart baking dish.  Top with ¼ of the heavy cream mixture, ¼ C cheese, and 1-2 Tbsp of Scallions.  Repeat this layering 3 more times and bake uncovered for 45 minutes.  Potatoes will be bubbling and delicious!!! 

Did I mention that these go great with ham?

Candied Bacon

 

There has recently been a sad and scary circumstance happening within my extended family that has me rattled a bit, while at the same time has made me appreciate and cherish my physical and mental health so much.  I won’t go into the details, but it's gotten me to thinking about how strange it is that life hands us “wake-up calls” from time to time, as if to say, “I’m just making sure you're paying attention.”  When these "calls" happen, it’s the little things in life that start to come into focus, that seem brighter and bolder. 

Like an unhurried and peaceful Sunday morning with my boys.  No plans ahead for the day, except to catch a nap, and maybe hit the pool if we are feeling motivated to lay on our backs and float in the cool water.  It’s so easy to take these moments for granted, but since I have had the recent “wake-up call”, I decided last weekend that I would make a little treat for breakfast.  Something we could all enjoy, while listening to some music, and starting our morning.  What would be better than french toast with strawberry compote alongside sweet and smoky candied bacon? 

The hubs and I used to often have breakfasts like this before Noah came along, and we still try to have a nice breakfast most weekends, but it’s no longer done in the leisurely fashion that it used to be, over languid cups of hot coffee and hours of quiet conversation.

I don’t mind the change in lifestyle a bit though really.  It’s fun to have a third person to converse with in the morning.  Even though Noah doesn’t really talk much yet, everything he says is riveting to me, not to mention adorable.  I love to watch him shove strawberries and small bits of bacon into his mouth, half of which somehow end up in his beautifully blonde hair made even blonder by the summertime pool antics.  There’s nothing like this time in our lives, these very moments, when we can all be together, eating Sunday breakfast.

 

Ingredients & Instructions;

3/4 Lb. Thick Cut Bacon
3 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Black Pepper
½ tsp. Cayenne
1 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Smoked Paprika

Preheat oven to 380 degrees.

Make a rub by mixing brown sugar, cumin, black pepper, cayenne, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Dredge bacon strips in the rub to ensure full coverage and lay the bacon on a cooling rack inside of a baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes, turn the bacon, and bake for another 10 minutes.  Watch the bacon as it will burn quickly near the end of the baking time.  Allow bacon to sit for a few minutes on the cooling rack before eating.

Triple Threats

Whoever said “Three’s A Crowd” did not know what they were talking about.  So many wonderful things comes in threes.  I mean, who doesn’t relish a BLT sandwich, or enjoy a good hat trick in hockey?  There was the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, and of course, the written rule of three.

You don’t have to tell my little family how wonderful the number 3 is.  My Nation of Three knows for a fact, that 3 is the best number out there.  Daddy, Mommy, Noah, what else do you need in life?

So, why wouldn’t you include all three wonderful types of chocolate in one cookie?  I have asked many scholars and they have all turned away dumbfounded.  Okay, so I haven’t really asked any scholars, but only because I don’t know any offhand.  I’m pretty sure that they would react as described though if asked.

I’ve been making these cookies for a few years now.  I like to make them all year around, but usually will include them on my “Christmas list of cookies to bake”.   They are soft and pillowy and just as chocolatey as they want to be!  I like to add pecans to the mix, but if you prefer just the chocolate yumminess without the nutty texture, hey, who am I to judge?

Ingredients & Instructions

 

½ Lb. Unsalted Butter (at room temp)
1 C. Brown Sugar
1 C. Granulated White Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp. Brewed Espresso
2 Eggs (at room temp)
2/3 C. Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa
2 C. King Arthur’s All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
½ C. Bittersweet Chips or Chunks
½ C. White Chocolate Chips or Chunks
½ C. Milk Chocolate Chips or Chunks
½ C. Pecans (chopped)

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Cream butter and sugars in a standing mixer (or with handheld beater) for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla, espresso, and then eggs one at a time, blending well.  Add cocoa and blend.

 

Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda.  Slowly add dry ingredients to chocolate mixture.  Once blended, fold in the chocolate and nuts.

 

Using an ice cream scoop, drop dough onto non-stick baking sheet and pat down the tops of the cookies with fingers just a little bit. Don’t flatten the cookie, but just give it a little loving pat on the head.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove cookies from the oven, allow to cool and transfer to a cooling rack.