Battle Ham: Part 2

Family Potluck Christmas with 2008 Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay: 4/5

Sorry about the delay on the conclusion of Battle Ham. Incase you missed the basis of the challenge, I will tell you again. Knowing full well that my mom was going to make a ham on our family Christmas on Sunday, I decided to make a ham on Christmas day, to compare the two in BATTLE HAM!

Although my mom was not as enthused as I was, when I told her, she said, “That’s a good Idea, I don’t really do anything special to my ham, I just pop it in the oven.” With victory on my taste buds, I waited while mom’s basic ham baked in the oven.

For holiday feasts, my family likes the idea of a pot luck. Usually the host will prepare the appropriate protein, and everyone else will bring appetizers, sides, or desserts. With the enormous amount of food, everyone is left to lunch on leftovers for the next week.

This Christmas was no different, although my mom took it upon herself to make scalloped potatoes, corn pudding, and rolls as well. My grandpa’s wife Pat brought green bean casserole, my grandma, coleslaw, my Aunt Molly, fruit and homemade fruit dip, and Michael and I, my Christmas bonus from the Cheesecake factory, a cheesecake. Since my brother Jeff and his wife Michelle had to drive all over god’s wintery earth this Christmas they were excused from cooking.

My mom is more of a beer vs. wine drinker, and when it comes to the extent of her wine knowledge, it goes about as far as the box of red in the refrigerator and a couple bottles around the house. We could of brought a bottle to bring, but by the time I thought of it, we were already in the car and on the way. So I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

Consisting of a a couple bottles of Barefoot, Yellow Tail, and a few others, the selection was looking scarce, until I stumbled upon a bottle of Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay. Now I know I said that ham is a red meat and should be paired with red wine, but if there were any white that would to stand up the fat in ham, it would be Chardonnay. With a description of an arrangement of fruit from apples to mangos, and an alcohol content of 13.5% apv, there was a chance that the Chard would fit the bill.

Initially I thought my mom got a spiral ham, but after inspecting it in the oven there was nothing spiral about it. In the past there have been syrupy glazes, and cloves, but this year I guess my mom wanted to keep it simple. So as the plain ham came out of the oven, I began to wonder, did I do to much to my ham?

Surveying the spread, my eyes began to inflate with my stomach. Since my family has never had a giant dinning room, we always do buffet style when it comes to big get together, usually complete with food that wraps around the entire kitchen. I like to stuff as much as I can on my plate, portioning out each item in a pie chart fashion.

As we corked the bottle of wine and everyone made their rounds, my mouth began to salivate, and my nerves raced over which ham would reign supreme.

With traditional flavors—ham, potatoes, and corn, the harmony of the meal just tasted like the holidays. The green bean casserole kept it’s crunch, the scallop potatoes were cooked perfectly, and grandma’s coleslaw added an needed zing to the meal. My mom really does make the best rolls in the world, and this christmas she also made her cardamom rolls.

Cardamom, for those of you who don’t know, is in the same family as ginger, but is used in Swedish cooking. With a spicy flavor, reminiscent of all spice, the flavor resonates in your mouth like cinnamon. I associate it with Christmas since my mom usually make Christmas bread, hot crust buns, and cardamom rolls, all with a fair share of the spice.

Taking a swig of the wine, I was a bit apprehensive. With a nose filled with fruity flavors, and a golden straw hue, the wine’s flavor was light and clean. When combined with the ham, the pairing was pleasant, since there were no glaze on the ham the fruity flavors of the wine brought out the smokiness of the meat. But when matched with the sides, the fattiness of the scalloped potatoes and green bean casserole, over powered the subtly of the vino.

So, now, to break down who’s ham took the cake. Not only because I made it, but because the spices brought out a depth in the wine and the smokiness of the meat, I have to go with my ham. Although, although, although, the side served with mom’s ham, reigned, hands down, over my souffle, veggie medley, and Mike’s sweet potatoes.

After being showered with tons of cooking loot, and goodies to take home, Michael and I packed up the car and headed back to our little apartment over the lake. With a foggy haze hanging over the glowing city, I couldn’t help but think how much I love my family, and Chicago. It was truly a perfect evening, with an almost perfect pair.

Battle Ham: Part 1

Crock Pot Ham with 2008 Castle Rock Pinot Noir: 5/5

For the holidays my family tends to keep it traditional—turkey for Thanksgiving, ham for Christmas. But since my family resides from mid-Wisconsin, to lower Illinois, the holidays are usually held on a day that is most convenient for everyone. That happens to be tomorrow.

So as I was debating dinner for Michael and I’s Christmas, I was struck with an idea. Since my mom was making ham, why don’t I make a ham as well, and compare the two! Too much ham you say? When it comes to Christmas, you can never have enough ham.

Lo-and-behold, with the few remaining hams in the grocery store on Christmas Eve, I was able to score a $20 ham for $8. With some sides in mind I grabbed a bottle of wine, and headed home to tackle the hunk of meat.

Most likely, my mom will prepare her ham in the oven, or a roaster pan. She’s been known to buy a spiral cut ham, which makes perfect slices, and usually comes with a glaze packet, so I wanted to do the opposite. A ham in the Crock pot is as easy as any other meat in the crock-pot, all you have to do is let it cook for 8 hours.

With the meat simmering away, Michael and I spent the day making doughnuts, candy cane cookies, and a souffle so Rachel, my veggie friend, would have something substantial to eat when it came time for dinner. Following Mark Bittman’s spinach and cheese souffle recipe, my souffle did not fall! Needless to say, for my first souffle, I was very thrilled. (Julia Child’s Recipe is very similar and can be found at, http://www.bigoven.com/160575-Spinach-and-Cheese-Souffle-recipe.html)

About 3 hours into the cooking of the ham, the smell was already unbearably intoxicating. The smell of salty ham and cloves combined with baking cookies, and A Christmas Story on repeat, filled our apartment with yule tide merriment.

When it came time to glaze the turkey, I looked for a recipe a bit out of the ordinary. While most recipes called for corn syrup and brown sugar, I found one that called for coffee and apple cider vinegar http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/11/Brown_Sugar_Ham_Glaze1602.shtml. Since the meat was so tender and falling apart, I decided to modify the glaze into more of a jus, so that the meat could soak up the flavor.

Now ham is technically a red meat, which traditionally is paired with red wines. But concerned that a Cabernet would over power the delicate flavors of the souffle and the sweetness of the sweet potatoes, I opted for a lighter red. Rachel is originally from Sanoma County, California, so when I found a bottle of 2008 Castle Rock Pinot Noir, out of Mendocino County, a hop jump and a skip away from Sanoma County, I thought it was fitting.

With an alcohol content of 13.8% the Pinot would have a nice medium body. Described as having notes of raspberry and strawberry, I thought the lighter flavors would pick up on the smokiness of the ham, the savory souflee, and the sweet, sweet potatoes. Although a young red, the wine would have just that bit of tannin to compete with the fat content of the ham.

To keep the integrity of the souffle I decided to serve everything family style. Which was fitting with it being Christmas and all. The three of us sat, new, hungry, friends, and the feast was complete, except for the sweet potatoes, which joined the party after a bit of a marshmallow catastrophe.

Soaking up the smoky flavor of the cloves, and just a hint of bitterness from the coffee, the ham was divine. Of course, since it was not spiral cut, Michael and I ravaged over chunks of meat, but we didn’t mind. The meat was juicy and tender, retaining it’s juices from the crock pot. Mixed with the souffle the effect was almost that of a ham cheese and spinach omelet, a pleasant and unexpected surprise.

The wine had a wonderful medium body, and was a gem to sniff. The rich fruity flavors, contrasted nicely with such a wintery meal. Coating my palate the wine felt like silk, sloshing over my tongue and sliding down my throat. The effect was everything I wanted it to be, the ham did not over power the wine, nor the wine the meat or the souffle.

I don’t know if my mom’s ham will be able to compete with mine, but to her benefit she will have the added effect of family, love, and that magic that comes from mom’s cooking. But for now, I am going to choose my ham and wine as the perfect pair.

Copious Culinary Carnival—Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving feast + 2006 Davis Family Vineyards Pinot Noir: 4/5

My friend Lisa’s roommates Therese and Agnus are known for there Thanksgiving spread, cooking a turkey, ham and rolls. Each guest attending is asked to bring an appetizer or a side dish to accompany the meal, and this year, as Michael and I were invited, we were were given the task of green bean casserole.

Now I had never made green bean casserole before, but I knew the basic recipe—green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and french fried onion strings. Jumping online, I found some recipes that were simply those ingredients, but that wasn’t anything special. Then, like a stick of butter on a piece of bread, I found it.

Paula Deen’s Green Bean Casserole. With five stars and over 200 reviews, I knew it was going to be a hit. I scrolled down, only to see the first ingredient, butter. Even though the butter was only used to cook the onions in, which isn’t all that bad, it wouldn’t be a Paula Deen recipe without some butter.

What I liked about this recipe, as in some others, is Paula called for fresh green beans, sliced by hand. Although it took a while to slice all of those green beans, the added freshness trumped recipes that use frozen, ten fold.

Since the oven was most likely going to be in use at Lisa’s house, I ingeniously modified the recipe so it would be transportable and stay warm. When it came time to mix the beans with the mushrooms, onion, and cream of mushroom soup, I just popped it in my crock pot’s removable porcelain basin, and put that in the oven, instead of a casserole dish. After the 20 minutes in the oven at 350, I just put the basin in the heating element and topped it with cheese. When we got to Lisa’s all I had to do was put the casserole on warm, and it would be ready whenever dinner was.

The spread at Lisa’s was breathtaking. For appetizers, a cheese and bacon ball, flat bread onion pizza, bacon covered water chestnuts, stuffed mini sweet peppers, fried rice balls, stuffed mushrooms, and artichoke dip, lined the wooden buffet flanking the beautiful white linen covered table, set for 20. Through the living room, adjacent to the dining area, a wooden bar held over 20 bottles of just red wine, while a basket on the floor filled with ice held 10 more white. And let me just tell you, when Michael and I were leaving, the collection had been reduced to a number that could be counted on both hands.

When dinner was getting ready to be served I perused the bottles to see what varietals were in the collection. For white there was a bottle of Proscecco and Sauvignon Blanc already open, and I thought both would have accompanied the appetizers better than the main feast. For reds, there was a bottle of Zinfandel and two bottles of Pinot Noir.

Now for poultry, I would usually think white, but with a meal like Thanksgiving, there are obviously going to be some heavier flavors—stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, gravy. All of which call for something with a bit more body than your usual chardonnay. But for reds, you have to be careful as well, a Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot might over power the delicate flavors of the turkey, leaving you only tasting wine. But a Pinot Noir, usually with a younger fruitier flavor, would be an excellent pair.

Or so I thought.

One of the two Pinot Noirs available was a 2006 Davis Family Vineyards Pinot Noir, which upon researching, I found was a $40 bottle of wine. I would never buy a $40 bottle of wine to pair with Thanksgiving. For me, a $40 bottle of wine should be drank with a meal made specifically for the wine, but that is just me. Anyways, recently on www.winesoaked.com, Sara Kay tasted a range of Malbecs from $8-$24 and explained the differences between the price points. She pointed out that a $24 dollar red might be older, aged in actual oak barrels instead of with oak chips, might contain sediment, and would have stronger flavors.

Bringing the Davis Family Pinot to my nose I was over taken with the strong smell of dill. I’m talking, might as well have plucked a fresh sprig and ground it between my fingers in front of my nose, scent of dill. Never have I smelled such a strong, distinct, flavor from a wine. While most Pinot Noirs have an alcohol content of 13%-13.5%, this was very full bodied at 14.1% alcohol per volume. Tasting, there was a strong earthiness, but a clean finish. I was surprised that the tannins weren’t over powering, and the body, while feeling heavier on the palate than other Pinots I have tried, was still lighter than most merlots or cabernets. At the end of my first glass there were remnants of oak barrel, just as Sara had described.

The main spread, followed by 3 different types of pies, included peas, Puerto Rican rice, rolls, a tofurkey, brussels sprouts, ham, corn bread pudding, candied yams, stuffing, my green bean casserole, and of course and entire 20 pound turkey. While the wine was a bit too upfront to pair with the turkey, the earthy flavors were so interesting I didn’t really mind.

Michael’s favorite dish of the evening was the Puerto Rican rice, with bits of olive and mushroom, in a spicy tomato sauce, flavorful enough to stand up to the Pinot. My favorite had to have been the corn bread pudding. With a consistency of super moist corn bread with whole kernels of corn baked in, the flavor was rich and buttery. After a mouth full of the pudding a good swing of wine would cut through the butter left on my palate, leaving me ready for more.

As 9:00 rolled around, Michael and I decided to head out, leaving a warm fire place crackling behind us and laughter rolling up the stairs. I can honestly say I have never tried so many Thanksgiving dishes at one time. With good friends, family, and great food, I am thankful for another perfect pair. Happy Thanksgiving.