Ham with Honey Date Balsamic Glaze

Definitely not vegan. There is just no way to modify this one. That's what the squash dishes are for!

Ham with Honey Date Balsamic

This all depends on what size ham you have and if it is a pre-cooked or not. I got a pretty small 6 lb ham that was full cooked. If yours is not fully cooked, please follow the cooking directions on the package.

Remove your ham from the fridge so it comes to room temperature before you cook it. Preheat your oven to 320degrees. The estimate for cooking is 15-20 minutes per pound.

For my ham, I am rubbing about 1 tbsp of dry mustard powder over the ham and brushing the Honey Date Balsamic all over it.

It takes about an hour and 30 minutes to bake, brush more Honey Date on every 15 minutes.

The last 5 minutes are very important. (If you have a bigger ham, you might want to make this the last 10 minutes) Turn the heat up to 400degrees to caramelize the Balsamic.

I am warming up some more balsamic to serve on the side.

Last Minute Change-ups!

We have some more guests coming for Christmas this year. A couple neighbors didn't have any other plans so they are coming to spend time with us.

Only thing is...one of them is vegan.

So I've been doing some switching up of the recipes and adding a few more in. Besides the Turkey and Ham, everything else should be vegan, including the desserts. So no Lemon Olive Oil Cake. I'll save that for New Years.

The green beans will now be made with the Black Walnut Balsamic instead of the Honey Date. They will also have some walnuts on them instead of almonds. The Honey Date will be the glaze on the ham.

There will also be:

Marinated Mushrooms and Squash
Butternut & Sweet Potato Mash
Asparagus with Cranberry and Lemongrass

And maybe something else. We'll find out.

I wanted to make the recipes ahead like I did for Thanksgiving, but I just don't have the time! Sorry all, you'll get some recipes before and a really big picture post on the 25th. But some of these recipes I'm still making up. Bear with me!

Dedalo

Our newest varietal oil is from southern Sicily and is called Dedalo. It isn't on our flavor sheets yet, so I had a request to put this up here.

Only available in the store or by phone right now. It's really good.

Fig and Blueberry Chicken

The world didn't end and this recipe got a thumbs up from my grandfather at lunch! So far it's all going well. Even if I am wearing reindeer antlers with bells on them.

Fig and Blueberry Chicken

1/2 cup Fig Balsamic
1/4 - 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
4 tbsp honey (optional)
1/2 - 1 tbsp red pepper flakes (optional)
3 cups shredded cooked chicken or about one whole chicken, shredded
1 box couscous with pine nuts
Garlic Olive Oil

In a large, non-stick, saute pan on medium-low heat, slowly warm up the Fig Balsamic. When it warms through, add the blueberries. Increase the heat just to medium and cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add the honey, if using and cook another 10 minutes. The berries should be hot and ready to burst by now.

Stir in your chicken and mash to burst the blueberries. Add in the red pepper flakes and stir. Simmer and cover until everything is heated through. This shouldn't take more than 6 or 7 minutes.

Follow the instructions on your box of couscous. I like to sub in chicken broth for the water and the Garlic Olive Oil for any basic oil. It really gives this it a richer flavor. If you are feeling really adventurous, you could add some blueberries and almonds in as well.

Christmas Menu

My parents wanted to go out to eat on Christmas day. I said NO WAY!

I love the thought that someone else will clean up all the dishes for me, but I really prefer cooking my own food whenever possible. So I volunteered to cook the whole thing.

What did I get myself into?! I had a few requests for recipe reprisals from Thanksgiving. The stuffing and the cranberry chutney went over particularly well. I am also making the pumpkin pie again, but I am bumping it up with a couple extra desserts too.


The menu is going to run something like this:

Olives with Olive Oils and traditional balsamic
Toasted crostini and mushroom/pepper/eggplant appetizer
Green beans with almonds and Honey Date Balsamic
Mashed potatoes with roasted garlic chunks, porcini mushrooms, caramelized onions,
Stuffing (same from Thanksgiving)
Cranberry Chutney (also the same from Thanksgiving)
Ham w/ glaze (TBD)
Cranberry Tart
Fruity Bundt Cake
Lemon Olive Oil cake
Pumpkin Pie (same from Thanksgiving as well)
Mulled Wine and Brandy with our Mulling Spices

Am I making too much? Or do I need more vegetables? Maybe Lemon Roasted Asparagus?

African Groundnut Stew

While this hearty stew is traditionally made with peanuts, I love to use cashews with it. Sorry I couldn't get this up yesterday. This is one of my favorite winter foods. And I got to use our newest oil!

It is also very easy to make this vegetarian. Use more sweet potatoes, throw in some carrots and use a veggie broth instead of chicken broth and it's still the best comfort food around!

African Groundnut Stew
Inspired by Simply Recipes

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 Chicken Thighs
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into medium pieces
2 tbsp Zesty Onion Olive Oil *
2 tbsp Citrus Habanero Olive Oil
1 28oz can tomatoes
2 small onions, diced
1 cup cashew butter
1 cup roasted cashews
1 3inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
6-8 cloves garlic, rough chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper, at least
Salt and Black Pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, for serving

In a large soup pot, heat the Citrus Habanero Olive Oil to medium high heat. Rinse the chicken and sprinkle with salt. Add to the pan, skin side down and cook about 10 minutes, flipping once to brown all sides. Pull them from the pan and set aside for later.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan and saute the onions for 2-4 minutes. Add in the garlic and the ginger and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Stir often to make sure nothing is sticking. Add in the sweet potatoes and stir to coat everything well.

Add in the chicken, broth, tomatoes, cashew butter and coriander. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Taste for salt. Simmer about 45 minutes. Add in the cashews. Simmer another 30-45 minutes. The chicken should be falling apart.

Remove the chicken to another bowl and shred the meat. Discard the bones and skin. Add the meat back into the stew along with the cayenne and a few tablespoons of black pepper.

This stew should be spicy and thick, warming from the inside out. The best kind of food for winter.

* Our new Zesty Onion Olive Oil isn't on our website yet. Available in store or by phone only right now!

Sticky Balsamic Chicken

I was craving fried chicken wings this week. I decided to be healthier and make this. It's pretty awesome and solved my craving. Yay chicken!

Sticky Balsamic Chicken

10 chicken drumsticks
3 tbsp Olive Oil*
1/4 cup Vanilla Balsamic
1/4 cup molassas
2 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp ginger paste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Arrange your chicken in a large casserole pan. Brush the olive oil over them and bake 20 minutes. *I like to use the Jalapeno or Chipotle for this one. Gives it an extra zing!

Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a large bowl. Remove the chicken from the oven and pour the sauce over top. Turn them to coat and return to the oven for another 30 minutes. Turning once while cooking.