Serves Eight
Appetizer
Steamed Artichokes with Tarragon Mayonnaise
Main
Marmalade-Glazed Ham
Side
Scalloped Potatoes with Leeks
Oven-Roasted Asparagus
Dessert
Lemon Cake
Sugar Cookie Bunnies
Steamed Artichokes with Tarragon Mayonnaise
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
- 2 lemons
- 6 to 8 artichokes
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
- 3 dashes hot sauce, such as Tabasco
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon into a large bowl of cold water.
2. Trim stem of 1 artichoke flush with bottom. Snap off outer leaves. Using kitchen shears, cut off tips of remaining leaves. Place in lemon water. Repeat.
3. Drain artichokes, and place in a pot in a single snug layer (in batches if necessary). Add 1/4 cup water. Bring to a simmer, cover, and steam until tender, about 35 minutes. Remove from pot. Let cool. Cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.
4. Meanwhile, zest and juice remaining lemon. Whisk zest, 2 tablespoons juice, the mayonnaise, tarragon, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Serve alongside artichokes.
Marmalade-Glazed Ham
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
- 1 smoked bone-in ham (10 pounds)
- 1/2 cup orange marmalade (5 ounces)
- 3 tablespoons Madeira or dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 navel orange
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover ham with a large piece of parchment and then foil. Place ham, widest side down, on a heavy rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour.
2. Heat marmalade, Madeira or sherry, lemon juice, and juice of 1/2 orange in a saucepan over medium heat until runny, about 5 minutes.
3. Remove ham from oven, and uncover. Score ham all over in a diamond pattern. Brush 1/2 of the glaze over ham. Thinly slice remaining 1/2 orange, and arrange slices over glaze, covering the ham.
4. Increase temperature to 425 degrees. Bake ham, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Brush with remaining glaze, and bake until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let rest for 15 to 30 minutes before slicing. Top with orange slices, and serve.
Scalloped Potatoes with Leeks
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
- 2 leeks, trimmed, thinly sliced, and rinsed well (about 1 cup)
- 6 russet potatoes (2 1/2 pounds), peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 8 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded (about 3 cups)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 12-cup baking dish. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add leeks, and cook until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Arrange 1/3 of the potatoes in dish, slightly overlapping slices. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the salt, 1/2 of the nutmeg, and pepper, followed by 1/2 of the leeks and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat. Top with remaining potatoes in a spiral. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Combine cream and stock. Pour over cheese and potatoes. Cover with parchment and foil. (Mixture can be refrigerated overnight.)
3. Bake for 30 minutes. Increase temperature to 425 degrees, uncover, and cook until top is golden brown and potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes. Let rest for 15 to 30 minutes before serving.
Oven-Roasted Asparagus
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Total Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds slender asparagus, trimmed
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel bottom half of each asparagus stalk. Toss asparagus with oil, salt, and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender and golden, about 15 minutes.
Lemon Cake
Serves Eight
Ingredients
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs plus 3 large egg whites
- Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
- Borage or other edible flowers, for garnish
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Line bottom with parchment
cut to fit, and butter parchment. Dust with flour, and tap out excess.
2. Combine sour cream, vanilla, zest, and juice. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking
powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs and whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream mixture. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour mixture until just combined. Transfer to pan, and smooth top.
4. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then turn out cake onto rack to cool completely. (Cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature overnight.) Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar, and arrange flowers on top.
Sugar Cookie Bunnies
Makes about 1 dozen
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into a bowl. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. With machine running, gradually add flour mixture; mix until combined. Shape into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 45 minutes (or up to 3 days).
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Roll to 1/8 inch thick. Using a 5-inch-tall bunny-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Space 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Reroll scraps, and cut out. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
3. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.