Hasselbeck Sweet Potatoes

Yum, to the yum, to the yum yum yum. These are so fatty, and greasy, and yummy. Surprisingly sooo much flavor. A pretty simple and pretty dish if you have a mandolin. Just plan on a decent amount of cooking time (90 min!)

I would plan on 3-4 sweet potatoes. I bought 5 or 6, sliced them all up, and only used like half. I froze the other half for mashed potatoes sometime ???? I don't know if they will even freeze well. Anyway...

I love how pretty they are. Don't be afraid to get your hands messy (cause they will). I filled the cream mix up to half way up the pan, so mine had more liquid than her picture shows...


http://www.thebakerchick.com/2014/11/hasselbeck-sweet-potato/

ingredients

• 3 oz. finely grated cheddar or Gruyere cheese
• 3 oz. finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 5- 6 medium sweet potatoes*
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
• salt & pepper to taste
• butter for greasing the pan

Instruction

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Using a microplane or whatever else works for you, slice the potatoes to ⅛ inch thick. Soak in water until ready to use.
3. Combine the cheeses. Take about ⅓ out and set aside. To the rest of the cheese add the cream, garlic, rosemary, salt & pepper. Whisk together.
4. Drain & dry the potatoes and add them to the cheese/cream mixture. Make sure that each slice gets coated, using your hands to separate them.
5. Use the butter to grease a 9-inch skillet or other 2-3 quart sized pan. Grab a stack of the potato slices and arrange them vertically around the perimeter of the pan.
6. Continue, arranging the potatoes in the pan and then continuing onto the inside as well. Pour the remaining cream mixture over the potatoes, filling it about halfway up the side of the pan.
7. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake another 30 minutes uncovered. Finally, add the remaining cheese all over the top and bake for a final 30 minutes, or until super golden brown with the cheese crisp.

HAM

I got a new laptop for Christmas, so I might be blogging again! That's my hope. I will start with a recipe.  Ive tried a few ham recipes, and actually liked them all, but this one beats them all. The crust was on point. Glaze, bake, glaze bake. I actually broiled it the last time to get the crust extra crisp.

I just use a spiral cut ham, so I obviously didn't do any trimming of the rind or diamond cut patterns...

https://cafedelites.com/brown-sugar-mustard-glazed-ham/

Ingredients

• 8-10 pound (4-5 kg) bone-in fully cooked ham,
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, reduce fat or full fat
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F | 150°C and arrange a rack in the lower third. Remove any plastic packaging or netting from the ham. Trim away the rind and discard. Set the ham aside to rest at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
2. Line a baking tray or dish with several sheets of aluminium foil or parchment paper if you prefer (it will make cleanup a lot easier). 
3. Remove the rind or skin of the ham (refer to steps in post), ensuring you leave the fat on. Using a sharp knife score a 1-inch-wide diamond pattern (don’t cut more than 1/4 inch deep) over the entire ham. Place the ham in the baking tray; pour 1/3 cup of water into the base of the pan and cover the ham with two pieces of foil or parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a small pot or saucepan over medium heat until golden browned. Add in the brown sugar, honey, mustard, cinnamon and cloves, stirring to mix together well until the brown sugar has completely dissolved, (about 2 minutes). 
5. Reduce heat to low and add in the garlic. Allow it to become fragrant, cooking for a further minute or two until the glaze just begins to simmer, then set it aside and let cool to lukewarm (the glaze should be the consistency of room-temperature honey).
6. After 30 minutes baking time, carefully remove the ham from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 425°F | 220°C. Discard the foil or parchment paper and pour 1/3 of the glaze all over the ham, brushing in between the cuts to evenly cover. Return to the oven and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven, brush with another third of the glaze and some of the pan juices, and repeat again after 15 minutes more minutes of baking until a dark golden-brown crust has formed, (about 30 minutes total). For added depth of flavour, mix some of the ham pan juices together with the glaze in the pot which will help keep it runny enough for brushing. If your crust is still pink after there suggested baking time, turn on your broiler (or oven grill), and allow it to broil for 2-5 minutes, while keeping an eye on it so it doesn't burn from the sugar. 
8. Let the ham rest 10-20 minutes before slicing.