Easter for a small group--going Whole Hog

If you have a small crowd, well, hardly even a crowd, but 4-6 people eating Easter dinner at your house, you may not want to deal with a whole ham, or even half a ham.
What is the definition of eternity?  Two people and a ham.  My mother, who loved ham, did not think that funny.

When the group for Easter dinner is small at chez Grapeshot, we eat Smoked Pork Butt and Spinach Gratin.   Serves 4-6.  Recipe is so old (from the New York Times of yore), that it's not even on the Internet.  Fancy that.  I have to freakin' key it into ye olde blog.  The New York Times had dynamite recipes when Craig Claiborne was food editor.  Nowadays,  I   really pick and choose, but the  upside down rhubarb cake was to die for.                   

 Smoked Pork Butt  and Spinach Gratin

1 1/2 pound smoked pork butt, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes and the netting removed.

For the spinach mixture
1 onion, minced
2 10 oz. pkgs frozen leaf spinach, cooked, drained squeezed dry and chopped.  I start off with the chopped.
1 cup (or less) heavy cream

1/2 cup dry white wine combined with 2 T. minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 fine fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
melted unsalted butter to taste

In a large saucepan, cover the pork but with cold water, bring to a boil and simmer for  1 hour and 30 minutes.
Drain the pork, let it stand for 15 minutes and cut it into 1/2-inch slices.  Save the ends for ham and eggs later in the week.
Make the spinach mixture:  In a skillet, cook the onion in the butter over moderate heat, stirring, until it is softened. 
 Add spinach, tarragon, salt and pepper, and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the mixture is thick. Add salt and pepper.   Spoon the spinach mixture into a buttered 2-quart gratin dish or shallow casserole.
Arrange the pork slices over the spinach mixture, bush them with the mustard mixture and sprinkle them with the       bread crumbs and the Parmesan,   Drizzle  the butter over the dish and bake the gratin in a preheated 350 degree oven   for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden.  Serves 4 - 6.

This recipe is made with inexpensive ingredients and tastes delicious, even a little French. 

If you absolutely cannot resist a  large ham, you can make the following week seem less like eternity with  a ham, broccoli and potato casserole, (see Cooks.com)   or a broccoli and ham gratin. (Food.com).  There's always ham and eggs and various delicious ham sandwiches, like a Croque Monsieur. (Simply Recipes)   Chipped ham on toast?  Well, maybe that's going too far.

Cheap Chinese

What do you do with one pork chop?   This was my quandry.  It was a meaty boneless chop, and I decided to make an Asian dish.  Didn't get around to cooking the rice until late, but I did fry up two  pieces of bacon and scramble an egg.  I had a few chicken scraps that I had leftover from a rotisserie chicken, what our supermarket calls Five Buck Cluck, because on Thursday, it's reduced to $5.00.  
We had some mushrooms, celery, various kinds of onions, and I bought some green beans for 99 cents a pound, the remainder of which will be used tomorrow.  Cooked up the rice and started sauteing.    And slicing and chopping.  Started to smell really good.  Added some sesame oil.  Parboiled the beans, yada, yada.  Made a nice salad of romaine and oranges.   Concocted some broth from the pork chop frying and the bottom of the chicken container.  Thickened with a bit of cornstarch.  Added a dash of Chinese hot pepper sauce and some soy.  Final touch was the bacon, egg and a few sliced almonds.  Yum!  Enough left for lunch. 


I saved a few mushrooms to put into the Swiss steak tomorrow.   We do eat well, but I am finding it difficult to buy a week's groceries for under $100.00.  We are all stocked up on frozen items now, and have some meat in the freezer.  Plenty of pasta and canned soups.   Company coming for a week the first of the month, so some extras have been purchased.  Still . . 


Round steak on sale for $3.39  per pound.  I  pound it, flour it, and saute it in some canola oil.  Add an onion, the mushrooms (remember the mushrooms), an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, some dried marjoram, and plenty of salt and pepper.  We'll have asparagus, green beans, mashed potatoes and a salad.  Good deal on romaine today.  My sales slip said I saved $35.00.  Not too bad.  


It's a struggle, isn't it?  I spend a lot of time looking at the specials and planning menus.  Of course it pays off in the long run, but the effort isn't fun.   We splurged on fresh rhubarb.  I'm taking an upside down rhubarb cake to a party on Saturday, and we'll have some rhubarb cooked with strawberries, raspberries and cranberries.  


In Europe in the summer, esp. in Germany and Austria, there's a red fruit dessert called "rote gruetze" or red groats.  Very healthy and nutricous.  We never find red currants here, but we concoct our own take on the dessert and it's invariably delicious.  


I worked in the garden today.  Almost 80 degrees and a beautiful day.     The beds are ready for planting, and I'm doing just that tomorrow:  mesclun lettuces, spinach and dill.  The lilac that took a direct hit from a big oak during Hurricane Irene is looking pretty good.  My wild ginger is spreading and the heath has bloomed all winter, a first.  Crocus blooming and daffodils ready.  Forsythia coming soon.  I never remember a spring this early.  Somebody steals the suet out of the bird feeder every night.  Ants in the house.  Spring!  




The Cheeseparer


The orange cat constantly escapes but is pretty good about coming home soon. 

First Grilling of the Season

The Boston area and all New England has experienced a mild winter and an early spring.  Tonight we are grilling some chicken breasts--a BOGO (buy one get one).  I'm grinding up some dried chili peppers and various seeds--cumin, corinander and kummel (can't think of the English word, only the German) along with garlic, olive oil, and kosher salt. 


I have a parsnip, 1/2 turnip, carrots and boxed mashed potatoes which I will make into a root vegetable puree.  Cherry tomatoes gratinee (on sale, natch) will round out the vegetable selections.   You can never eat too many veggies.  Serve two or three every night.  You won't eat as much meat.  Shop the sales, naturally, and buy something that can be spread over several meals or used as "ingredients."  


After this we're having a soup of red lentils.  Lentils are nutritious and reasonable and although most recipes are vegetarian, yours does not have to be.  A bit of chicken sausage, bacon or kielbasa is all it takes.  Think "meat as flavoring."   


With shrimp on sale I made a fab shrimp bisque with rice as a thickener.  Not bad calorie-wise and tasty with white wine, brandy, and part of a fennel bulb.  Also leeks.  I used my immersion blender to make a nice puree.  Think about this when shrimp are on sale.  Complex flavors and a nutrition for less than fast food prices. 

The Dinner Party

If you weren't making the feminist art circuit in the late-seventies, early eighties, maybe you missed The Dinner Party,


Broaden your education a bit, O.K.? 

Now let's talk about food, not china.  Ye gods  Every time I set foot in the supermarket the prices are higher.  It's become expensive to cook even, well, soup, for example.  This week I made a Russian peasant soup, Shchi.  It basically consists of cabbage, sauerkraut and broth, with a few seasonings.   The meat is short ribs, no  longer cheap, but oh so flavorful.  A half-gallon of broth costs a lot unless you are using overly-salty bouillon cubes  or making your own.  I got the kraut and the cabbage both on sale.  The onion and garlic and the celery rib were cheap.  Of course, we are eating this soup for three nights.  The sour cream we garnish it with was also on sale. 


I have invited some neighbors for a dinner party this weekend.  When I invited them, I asked about likes and food allergies.  Two people don't like fish and one man is lactose intolerant.  Hmmm.  There goes the cheese plate.  So what are we having?  I'm making a well-seasoned mushroom spread that will be served on toasted slices of baguette.  The other appetizer is an unMexican salsa served on endive leaves.  This will double as a salad, and it looks pretty yummy.  The main course is Boeuf Bourgignon, that old dinner party standby, served with noodles and green beans.  I'm making a rum cake with no milk or cream (coffee and rum instead) for dessert.   So no seafood, no dairy and the menu sounds pretty good.  

We've been eating internationally this week, with Chinese and Spanish as well as Russian dishes.  I made a delicious Spanish Cod recipe.  Unless you like tilapia, fish is an expensive item.  The cod was on sale for $8.99.  Scallops were on sale for $15.99.  Jeeminy Criminy, those don't look like sale prices to moi. 

Bought tuna at Walmart this morning.  Have you noticed the contents of the cans are less and less?  The latest was 5 ounces.  You really can't serve 2 people with 5 ounces (more like 4 once the liquid is drained off) of fish.  So of course one must buy 2 cans, which would better have served 3 rather than the two of us.  I mix the tuna with a little chopped scallion, chopped celery, chopped parsley, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a little chopped pickle, and a big spoon of mayo.  With some chips and cherry tomatoes and a few crudities, it hits the spot.  

Significant Other found great wine glasses at Building 19 here in the Boston area for $3.00.  They fit in the dishwasher quite well and look rather elegant.  This is the third time he's gone back and bought more.  I sneered that he would NEVER find them again today, but there, they were.  

I looked at some great Italian shoes at a fab price, ones that fit my feet, but they felt like walking on a bed of nails, I kid you not.  Didn't buy, of course.  Rats. 

Shopping is a crap shoot, but I have found something that takes pet stains out.  The upholstery on our dining room chairs is ancient, and starting to show its age.  No idea how to replace this wonderful Danish wool fabric.  Don't think it's possible.  Ah well.  How many cats have raised hell on it?  Impossible to count.  

Onward.  We are cleaning out and pounds and pounds of paper are being conveyed out of the home office to the dump.  Recycling rocks. 

The Cheeseparer  

Grocery Shopping Considerations

Making out the weekly shopping list is work, but a little thought will take you a long way towards nutrition and saving money. 

Marble Cake from an old German recipe (Marmorkuchen)

Considerations:  store specials, weekly budget (ours always decreases as the month progresses) nutrition and weight control.  Other considerations are food in the pantry or freezer and time.  These considerations are always a balancing act.  We shop mostly at two stores, the one where we shop weekly and the nearby one where we run into get bread and milk when running low.

Sometimes we make a run through Aldi, Walmart, Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.  I like Aldi for it's excellent coffee, Walmart for its prices on granola bar and canned soup (Select Harvest is minimally processed and tastes wonderful.) 
Whole Foods is good for hard-to-find produce and other items, and Trader Joe's for cheese, crackers and some produce.  We also shop Ocean State Job Lot for pasta, jam, capers, and stuff like artichoke hearts.  You can't be sure of finding what you need, but if you do, the price will be terrific.  Ocean State always has the Red Mill brand at good prices.  We also love the Danish reduced sugar jam when its available. 


This week we needed to be frugal as well as weight watching. (The pictured cake is one of the reasons for diet week). I started Monday's dinner with a 12 ounce ham steak from the freezer with 1/2 head of caulifower and a nice salad.  We kept a few ounces of the ham out for the next days breakfast of eggs, ham, tomatoes and onions all cooked up together. 


The next night I made the South Beach Diet White Chili with on-sale chicken breasts.  We had a big skillet of homemade cornbread which served us well for three days.  In addition to corn meal, it had scallions, cheese, jalapeno and frozen corn in it.  Made with buttermilk.  Yum!  I do love good corn bread.  Always use stone ground corn meal and cut down or eliminate the sugar.  Use more corn meal than white flour.  Now you're cookin'. 


We had a second meal of the chili, always better the next day.  Salad of orange slices and avocado with the chili.  Yowza!  Have dropped 2  pounds already, what with 2 workouts and a walk. 


Tonight we're having curried cauliflower (the other half) and garbanzo beans.  Fried apples.  The rest of the cornbread.  


Tomorrow a Dr. Oetker's pizza, (from the freezer) so yummy and just the right size for two light eaters.  Saturday I'll buy a few Asian veggies for a stir-try of steak and veggies.  There is one small strip steak in the freezer.  I always have rice and Asian spices around.  I'll buy a few mushrooms and a broccoli spear or two.  None of these meals are difficult or time-consuming.  We like trying new recipes like the vegetable curry.  Try to include one or two vegetarian meals into your week.  And at least one "meat as flavoring"  like the stir-fry steak.  


If you shop the weekly specials with an eye to what is already on  hand, you'll be surprised how some lovely menus can come together.  The planning takes time, yes, but you can do it during commercials or while waiting for the soup to boil.  Go thru your recipes.  Try new foods with new ethnicites.  Eat cheaply and well.  


The Cheeseparer

Pasta with Sausage in a Vodka Cream Sauce

This recipe serves one, but I double or triple it depending on the number of hungry mouths to feed.  It is absolutely delicious and you can use an ordinary brand of Vodka.  Serve with Italian bread or grissini (thin break sticks).  Add a green salad.  One day you'll be famous for your chef skills.  Pasta with Vodka Sauce and Sausage by Emeril Lagasse


Spaghetti, Italian sausage, and most of the ingredients are often on sale.  Don't skip the heavy cream, by the way.  You can used a good grade of canned sauce and add vodka and cream.  I jazz it up with a bit of fresh garlic.


I just returned from New York, where the living is not cheap, nope, but as always, there are ways to economize. 

We visit Aldi

In December, during a visit to Hudson, NY,  we visited an Aldi supermarket.  You may not know, but it is a German company, and when the owner died, he was the richest man in Germany.  Aldi has been on our shores for a number of years and actually owns Trader Joe's.  


We have a relative in Chicago who shops at Aldi, and when we found a store in Hudson we decided to check it out.  Excellent Dresdener Stoellen, a famous German Christmas bread that usually has a famously high price, but Aldi's and Trader Joe's were excellent.  We also found coffee (a pound plus) for $4.45 and it was excellent.  


We discovered there is an Aldi 22 miles from us, not exactly a hop, skip and a jump, but within driving distance.  Today, being out of coffee, we investigated the store, in Raynham.  


Aldi is not like other stores.  You pay a quarter for the shopping cart, and when you return it, your money is also returned.  This takes away the need for the cart jockey roaming thru the parking lot.  You also bring your own bags and boxes to Aldi to pack up your groceries, which you must do  yourself.  Payment is by debit card, cash or food stamps.  


Are you getting the idea?

We  grabbed the good coffee and also a dozen eggs ($1.49) and some butter cheese with dill.  Admired the beef filets wrapped in bacon.  A good deal with a fancy dan dinner at home.  Canned goods were cheap. Also, stuff like rice in bulk packages.  I didn't recognize any of the brands.  They must have their own.  Spotted an "All Natural" ice cream that looked good.  We also bought 2 lbs of carrots and a chocolate bar.  I picked up 3 scrubbing sponges for 99 cents and that was it.  The produce looked pretty good.  Someone probably from the local firehouse was buying in quantity.  


Life every other store in the country, Aldi's had lots of chips and salsa.  We think it would be a good place to shop once a month to stock up on staples.   It's not Trader Joe's (very limited selection of cheese), but the products were definitely cheaper than a regular supermarket.  Hard to compare with Walmart, because Aldi's has their own brands.  If they are as good as the coffee and the stoellen, you will want to try them.  


Speaking of chips and salsa, I happen to like bean dip.  It's an endangered species.  Just plain old Fritos Bean Dip.  Our local grocery doesn't carry it, and I have to trek to one of the big Shaw's or Stop 'n Shops.  Just moving through the store is the equivalent of a workout.  It cost $2.99.  Salsa seems to have become the dip du jour, but I do confess to liking bean dip.  


On Super Bowl Sunday, I could actually just go without, but Significant Other likes his chips and dip before the game.  The Super Bowl party we were going to was cancelled, so we're staying in with our favorite Super Bowl Sunday Menu:  Meatloaf with Marjoram,  twice baked potatoes with sour cream and chives, buttered carrots and salad.  I went all out and made a cranberry cake with a lemon glaze and a cranberry-orange compote.  It rocks.   Made it for the holidays.  Twice.  That good.  


Living in the Boston area we are naturally Patriot fans, and it will definitely be a white-knuckle stress-filled evening.  One needs comfort food, yanno?  


I'll report back on my next trip to Aldi.  We'll sample a few more products.  The cheese is good, by the way.  The world would be greatly diminished without cheese. 


On to more profound thoughts, 


The Cheeseparer