Country Ham Spread with Hot Pepper Peach Jam

Country Ham Spread with Hot Pepper Peach Jam

This super easy appetizer will make you a star at any Derby Party. Using only seven ingredients, Kentucky country ham, cream cheese, mayo, and mustard, it comes together easily before topped with Stonewall Kitchen Hot Pepper Peach Jam and thinly sliced fresh green onions.

 

If you don’t have a food grinder you can use a food processor. Just be careful to chop the meat to an even consistency.

 

INGREDIENTS
8 ounce piece of Country Ham
4 ounces cream cheese, room-temperature
¼  cup mayonnaise, we recommend Dukes
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Colemans hot mustard
½ cup Stonewall Kitchen Hot Pepper Peach Jam
4 scallions, thinly sliced
Crackers for serving

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Using very cold ham, cut into strips and run through a food grinder twice to a medium grind. Mix the ground ham with the softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard until thoroughly combined. Pack in a jar or bowl,  then top with the pepper jelly and scallions. Serve at room temperature with crackers. Can be stored refrigerated for three days.

Country Ham with Jalapeño Raspberry Sauce, Mini Sweet Potato Biscuits & Pickled Grape Tomatoes

Country Ham with Jalapeño Raspberry Sauce, Mini Sweet Potato Biscuits & Pickled Grape Tomatoes

An ideal Kentucky appetizer for Derby Day, or any spring party, this tasty combination will disappear quickly  from your dinner table or buffet. Sweet potato and buttermilk biscuits are filled with country ham, fontina cheese, and spicy sweet raspberry and jalapeño sauce.

The biscuits are best on the day they are baked but you can make the dough ahead of time, cut and freeze, then thaw right before baking.

 

Pickled Grape Tomatoes

INGREDIENTS:
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 ½ cups distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
½  teaspoon whole black peppercorns
½  teaspoon coriander seeds
6-7 whole allspice berries
2 large bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic sliced thin

INSTRUCTIONS:
One week prior to serving: Wash, dry, and remove any stems from the tomatoes. Using a toothpick, poke a small hole through each tomato, end to end. In a one quart saucepan over medium heat, combine the vinegar, sugar, and salt with 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a simmer, stirring until all sugar and salt is dissolved. Fill a clean glass container with the tomatoes. Add the peppercorns, coriander, allspice, bay leaves, and garlic to the container. Pour the hot brine over to cover completely, discard any leftover brine. Let cool completely, then refrigerate for 1 week prior to serving. Can be stored refrigerated for up to 1 month.

 

Mini Sweet Potato Biscuits

INGREDIENTS:
12-ounces sweet potato
¾ cup buttermilk, chilled
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½  teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cold, and cut into small cubes

INSTRUCTIONS:
The day prior, preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork and place on a foil lined baking sheet.  Bake until tender, or a fork passes easily through the potatoes, about 45 minutes. Let the potatoes cool slightly, then peel and puree in a food processor. Refrigerate overnight. The next day, measure out one cup for the biscuits.

 

Preheat oven to 450˚ F. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the chilled sweet potato and the buttermilk. Place back in the refrigerator to keep cold. In a large wide bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

 

Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter into the flour until the butter is the size of peas. Add the sweet potato/buttermilk mixture and mix until just combined and a soft dough forms; try to avoid over mixing. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Flour your hands and pat the dough carefully into a round shape then flatten the dough to 1-inch thickness. Cut as many biscuits as possible with a floured 1½” metal biscuit cutter. Place the biscuits on a parchment lined sheet tray. Pat the remaining dough together and cut out the remaining biscuits. Bake 13-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 30 mini biscuits.

 

Fresh Jalapeño and Raspberry Sauce

INGREDIENTS:
1 whole jalapeño pepper
1 cup seedless raspberry jam
¼ cup white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoons molasses
⅛ teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS:
Cut 6 slits down the length of the jalapeño almost to the bottom; cutting through just the skin and membrane but not completely cutting open the pepper. Be careful when preparing the pepper, the idea is to just cook out the flavor so you don’t want to cut it completely open. In a small saucepan, add the jam, sugar, vinegar, molasses, salt and jalapeño. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat; remove and discard the jalapeño. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer; set aside.

 

To assemble:
INGREDIENTS:
15 slices of country ham, sliced paper-thin, at room temperature
30 Sweet potato biscuits
15 slices Italian Fontina cheese, sliced very thin
30 novelty sandwich picks

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven broiler. Cut the biscuits in half and spread on the halves ¼ teaspoon per side with fresh jalapeno & raspberry sauce. Top with ½ piece of country ham, folded or torn to fit, and ½ piece of cheese. Place under the broiler to just melt the cheese. Remove from the oven and top with the other biscuit half and a sandwich pick fitted with a pickled cherry tomato. Makes 30 mini biscuit sandwiches.

Chef Kathy Featured on The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley

The article features a spotlight on Chef Kathy, her work, and these three recipes: Basil Gelato, Iced Lemon Cookies, and Blueberry Key Lime SauceSautéed Shrimp with Smoked Carmelized Pineapple, Toasted Coconut & Almonds, and Yuzu Luxe Sour Meringue Cookies.

 “Everyone is looking for a better way to make food.”

Fresh Chef Experience brings all food and equipment to a home, office or event space including a small oven and Bunsen burner if necessary. Classes require a minimum of six people and, for larger groups, operate on a ratio of no more than eight people per chef instructor so every participant has plenty of hands-on experience. Chefs guide customers through the techniques of each recipe, starting from scratch with raw ingredients. Kathy has a strong foundation in healthy eating and teaches cooking for local food banks and food literacy programs.

“When I teach people how to cook, I teach them to cook from raw,” she says emphatically.

To read the full article click here.

Birds’ Nest Lemon Cheesecake

Birds’ Nest Lemon Cheesecake

Greet spring in a cheerful manner at any holiday celebration with these cute birds’ nest lemon cheesecake trifles. Using a no-bake recipe, the lemon cheesecake is a yummy whipped mixture of lemon curd and mascarpone.  The “nest” is made with thinly slice phyllo dough, topped with cinnamon/sugar and the base is shortbread crumbles. If you need to cut some time, you can always use high-quality store-purchased shortbread cookies.

 

Phyllo Dough Nest

INGREDIENTS:
6 sheets of phyllo dough
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet tray. Cut 6 sheets of phyllo dough in half to make 12 shorter sheets. Roll together tightly and very thinly slice into long thin pieces then transfer to a baking sheet carefully separating the layers. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle with butter, then with cinnamon sugar. Bake until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and cool completely.

 

Shortbread Crumbs

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for the pan
½ cup plus two tablespoons granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon vanilla
6 glass serving cups

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter an 8×8” pan. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes. Fold in flour and vanilla and blend until a soft dough forms. Press into the 8” x 8” pan and bake until light brown, about 40 minutes; remove and cool completely. Crumble then divide equally among the cups and press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the cups.

 

Lemon Cream Cheese Layers

INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
2½ cups cold heavy cream
1 cup homemade or store-bought lemon curd
Candy bird eggs

INSTRUCTIONS:

Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat mascarpone, powdered sugar, and lemon zest in a large bowl until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the cream. When combined, increase the speed to medium and beat until medium peaks form. Transfer half of mascarpone mixture to another bowl. Add the lemon curd to the remaining half and beat in until combined.

Dividing the mixtures evenly, layer the lemon curd mixture over the shortbread crumbs in each cup followed by the plain mascarpone /cream mixture. Smooth the top, cover, and refrigerate for at least two hours and up until 24.

When ready to serve, form a nest in the top of each cup using the shorter pieces of cinnamon phyllo in the center and longer on the outside. Add the candy eggs into the center of the nest and serve immediately.