Ham, Leek and Gruyere Quiche

Happy belated Easter! I'm guessing lots of you out there have a ton of leftover ham today and I'm also guessing that in a day or two (after one too many ham sandwiches), you'll be pretty desperate for another way to use it up. Here is the cheesy, creamy, delicious answer to your salty conundrum. You're welcome.

 HAM, LEEK AND GRUYERE QUICHE

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

2 tablespoons sour cream

ice water, as needed

Filling:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large leeks, white and light green parts chopped

3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

pinch cayenne pepper

pinch nutmeg

5 large eggs

1 cup shredded gruyere cheese

1 cup diced honey-baked ham

1.      For the crust: Pulse together the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the chilled butter and pulse just until the butter is evenly distributed throughout. Add the sour cream and continue to pulse 2 to 4 more times until just incorporated. Add 2 tablespoons of ice water at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough starts to hold together. Add more water as needed.

2.      Turn the dough out onto plastic wrap and form it into a disc. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator 30 minutes.

3.      Preheat oven to 375º F. Roll the dough on a floured surface into a 12-inch circle about 1/4-inch thick. Roll up the dough using a rolling pin, and gently lift and place it over a deep, 10-inch tart pan. Gently press the dough into all the crevices and trim the overhang to 1/2-inch. Crimp the edges for a decorative finish and use the trimmed dough to patch any holes.

4.      Dock the bottom of the crust with a fork to keep it from puffing up, line with parchment paper and add dried beans to act as pie weights. Place on a large baking sheet and bake until the crust begins to brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the parchment and dried beans.

5.      For the custard: Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat and saute the leeks until they soften and begin to caramelize, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool and reserve.

6.      Whisk the cream, milk, cornstarch, salt, pepper, cayenne, nutmeg and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Scatter the leeks evenly over the bottom of the crust. Top with the cheese and ham. Pour the custard over the top and place in the oven on a large sheet tray.

7.      Bake until the center is set and the crust is golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

from Kelsey Nixon

adding butter to flour/salt

adding sour cream

dough coming together

dough formed into a disk

leeks

chopping leeks

leeks starting to caramelize

diced ham

dough rolled and put in pan

pie weights

I use whatever grain or bean I have leftover
in the cabinet (in this case it's barley).

blind baked crust

leek layer

gruyere layer

ham layer

pouring in the custard

raw

baked

ham, leek and gruyere quiche

served with roasted asparagus

.

Honey Glazed Ham on Sweet Potato Biscuits with Blackberry-Balsamic Drizzle

Sometimes when I visit my in-laws in the South, they serve delicate little ham biscuits (usually on special occasions, as hors d'oeuvres). These are really nothing like those, except that there's a biscuit and there's ham. But the biscuit is totally different (bigger and sweet potato) and the ham is honey glazed, not extra salty, country heart attack ham (which everybody loves, but hopefully no one has an actual heart attack at your party). These are more hearty (although one is definitely too small for lunch - you'd probably need 3 or 4). They may not be big, but there's a lot of flavor packed into these petite sammies. The biscuit is slightly sweet. The ham is salty. The arugula is a little bitter and crunchy. The drizzle is tangy and sweet. Sound delightful? It is.

Side thought: Why do people call sandwiches sammies? Last time I checked, there's no m in there anywhere. Come to think of it, I've also called my daughter punkin. But I use it on those days that she's acting like a cross between a pumpkin and a punk.

HONEY GLAZED HAM ON SWEET POTATO BISCUITS

WITH BLACKBERRY-BALSAMIC DRIZZLE

Yield: 14 biscuits

Sweet Potato Biscuits:

1 pound sweet potatoes (2 to 3 potatoes)

2 tablespoons buttermilk

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks cold butter, small diced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled

Blackberry Balsamic Drizzle:

1 (12 to 13 oz.) jar blackberry preserves

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, stems and all

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup yellow mustard, such as French's

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1 serrano chile, split in half

14 slices honey baked ham (or your favorite ham), torn into pieces to fit the biscuits

arugula, for serving

1.      For the biscuits: Preheat oven to 425˚ F. Poke the sweet potatoes with the tines of a fork and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Let the potatoes cool, and then peel them, discarding the skins.

2.      In a food processor, puree the potatoes with the buttermilk and nutmeg until smooth.

3.      Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. With your fingertips or a dough cutter, cut in the cold butter until pea-size chunks are formed. Fold in the sweet potato puree until just combined, being careful not to overwork.

4.      Dust a work surface with some flour and turn the biscuit dough onto the counter. Form the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick disc. Using a 2 1/4-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out 14 biscuits, starting on the outside of the disk and working your way in. You may need to reshape the last bits of dough back into a disk to get all 14 rounds.

5.      Grease a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with the vegetable oil and place the biscuits in the skillet, working from the center out. The biscuits should be a tight fit and nestled against each other. Brush the biscuit tops with the melted butter and bake until golden, 15 to 18 minutes.

6.      For the blackberry balsamic drizzle: Combine the preserves, basil, vinegar, mustard, peppercorns and chile in a medium saucepot on the stove. Set over medium heat. Simmer the sauce until thickened, 7 to 10 minutes. Strain the reduction through a fine sieve. Thin with water if needed.

7.      For the sandwich build: Split the hot biscuits, place some of the torn ham on the bottom half, drizzle the Blackberry Balsamic Drizzle over the ham and then pile some arugula on top for a peppery bite.

from Jeff Mauro

sweet potatoes

baked sweet potatoes

peeled sweet potatoes, buttermilk & nutmeg

sweet potato puree

flour, brown sugar, baking soda & salt

adding butter

butter mixed; adding sweet potato puree

mixed

sweet potato biscuit dough

cutting into rounds

in the pan

brushing with butter

brushed with butter

baked

sweet potato biscuits

blackberry-balsamic drizzle ingredients

mixing & cooking

straining

blackberry-balsamic drizzle

drizzling the drizzle on top of
ham (well, spooning/drizzling)

drizzled

topped with arugula and biscuit top

.

Ham, Manchego and Fig Tartines

If you're like me and tend to go overboard when company comes over, you'll appreciate these hors d'oeuvres. If you slice the cheese ahead of time and your butter is soft, it's quick to assemble. Which really freed me up for the fifty other things I attempted to make. I say attempted because I still have raw ingredients in my fridge that never made it to the table. But that's okay, because as usual, I had enough food for a small army. Either I need to calm down or get more friends.

HAM, MANCHEGO AND FIG TARTINES

Makes 8 (snack) servings

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons fig preserves or jam

1 (24") baguette, quartered crosswise, then each quarter halved horizontally & lightly toasted

6 ounces thinly sliced serrano ham or prosciutto

1/4 pound Manchego, thinly sliced with a vegetable peeler

extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1.      Stir together butter and fig preserves.

2.      Spread mixture on baguette, then make open-face sandwiches with ham and cheese.

3.      Drizzle with oil and season with pepper.

from Gourmet, September 2008 by Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez

fig jam and butter

I used Stonewall Kitchen Fig & Ginger Jam.
Here's a link if you want to make your own
homemade fig jam (also with ginger).

fig butter

topping the bread

I just sliced the baguette in about 1/2-inch slices and didn't
even toast it. I did spread the fig butter on the bread, but
don't have a photo of that. I used prosciutto and manchego,
but didn't sprinkle with oil and salt/pepper. What can I say?
I was staring at some hungry guests.

.