Country Ham And Asparagus Mini Muffins Recipes

COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• Unwrap ham and scrub off any surface mold (if you hung in a sack for 6 months you'd have mold too). Carefully remove hock with hand saw. (If this idea makes you eye your first aid kit, ask your butcher to do it. But make sure you keep the hock, it's the best friend collard greens ever had.)
• Place ham in cooler and cover with clean water. (As long as it's not too dirty you can use what southerners call the "hose pipe"). Stash the cooler in the bushes. If it's summer, throw in some ice. If it's freezing out, keep the cooler inside. Change the water twice a day for two days turning the ham each time.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place ham in a large disposable turkey-roasting pan and add enough Dr. Pepper to come about halfway up the side of the ham. Add pickle juice if you've got it and tent completely with heavy-duty foil. Cook for 1/2 hour then reduce heat to 325 degrees F, and cook another 1 1/2 hours.
• Turn the ham over, insert an oven safe thermometer (probe-style is best) and cook another 1 1/2 hours, or until the deepest part of the ham hits 140 degrees F (approximately 15 to 20 minutes per pound total).
• Let rest 1/2 hour then slice paper-thin. Serve with biscuits or soft yeast rolls.
• Cooks note: Even after soaking, country ham is quite salty, so thin slicing is mandatory. If you're a bacon fan, however, cut a thicker (1/4-inch) slice and fry it up for breakfast.

HAM & GRUYERE MINI QUICHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients; fold in Gruyere cheese, ham and onions. Fill 10 greased muffin cups three-fourths full., Bake 18-22 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Freeze option: Bake and cool quiches. Place quiches between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container; freeze up to 3 months. To use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Preheat oven to 350°. Transfer quiches to a greased baking sheet; bake 10-14 minutes or until heated through.

BACON AND ASPARAGUS FRITTATA

Steps:

• In a 9- or 10-in. ovenproof skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 Tbsp. drippings. Heat reserved drippings on medium-high. Add asparagus, onion and garlic; saute until onion is tender. Crumble bacon; set aside a third. In a large bowl, combine remaining bacon, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper. , Pour egg mixture into skillet; stir. Top with tomato, cheese and reserved bacon. Cover and cook over medium-low until eggs are nearly set, 10-15 minutes. Preheat broiler; place skillet 6 in. from heat. Broil until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

ASPARAGUS HAM DINNER

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet, saute asparagus and yellow pepper in oil until crisp-tender. Add tomatoes and ham; heat through. Drain pasta; add to mixture. Stir in parsley and seasonings. Sprinkle with cheese.

MINI QUICHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Cut 3 inches from the tip-ends of the asparagus; reserving remaining stalks for another use. Generously add salt to boiling water. Add asparagus and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes; Drain. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, heavy cream, eggs, yolk, and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Strain through a sieve into a medium bowl; set aside.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out pate brisee to slightly less than 1/8-inch thick. Using a 2 3/4-inch round cutter, cut out 24 rounds. Fit rounds into a 24-cup nonstick mini muffin tin. If the pate brisee becomes too soft to work with, place in refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes. Divide half of the cheese, evenly between the lined cups. Top with ham. Divide milk mixture evenly between cups. Top each with 3 to 4 pieces of asparagus. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately remove quiches from muffin tin and transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

COUNTRY HAM AND ASPARAGUS MINI MUFFINS

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and butter until well blended.
• Stir in ¾ cup of the flour and the cornmeal.
• Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Lightly grease 18 miniature muffin cups and then preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Shape the dough into 18 balls.
• Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of each muffin cup; set aside.
• In a small bowl, stir together the Swiss cheese and the remaining 1 tablespoon flour.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and cream.
• Stir in the Swiss cheese mixture and ham.
• Spoon evenly into the muffin cups.
• Bake 7 minutes.
• Top each muffin with an asparagus tip.
• Decrease oven temperature to 300 degrees.
• Cover with foil; bake 17 minutes, or until set.
• Serve warm.

MINI PROSCIUTTO & ASPARAGUS FRITTATAS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease a 12-hole muffin tin and line each hole with a slice of prosciutto to cover the base and sides. Heat oil in a small frying pan and cook onion for 5 mins, until soft. Meanwhile, snap the tip ends off the asparagus and set aside. Finely slice the stalks and add to the onions when soft. Cook for 2-3 mins more, then remove and cool.
• Beat the eggs, milk and ¾ of the Parmesan together. Add some onion mix to each muffin hole. Divide over the egg mix, then top with the asparagus tip ends. Sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan and cook for 18-20 mins or until set.
• Allow to cool for a few mins then remove from tin and eat warm or cold.

AMAZING MUFFIN CUPS

Steps:

• Prepare sausage according to package directions. cool slightly and cut into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside.
• In a bowl, combine hash browns, butter, salt and pepper; divide evenly into 12 greased muffin cups. Press mixture onto sides and bottom of muffin cups.
• Bake at 400 degrees F for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; divide sausage pieces into muffin cups.
• In a bowl, combine eggs, cheese and bell pepper. Spoon mixture evenly into muffin cups. Sprinkle with chives or onion. Return to oven, bake 13-15 minutes or until set. Serve.

COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil.
• Set ham into the prepared roasting pan and pierce several times with a fork.
• Stir brown sugar, peach preserves, and mustard together in a bowl; spread over the ham. Cover the ham with a sheet of aluminum foil.
• Roast ham in preheated oven, basting regularly, for 90 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil cover and continue baking until hot in the center, 30 to 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 140 degrees F (60 degrees C).

BAKED COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• The afternoon before you plan to serve the ham, fill a very large kettle or pot or your sink with water. Soak ham 4 to 8 hours to lose some of the saltiness; change the water 2 or 3 times, if possible. Rinse well, and scrape off any mold or green rind.
• Wrap ham well in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet. At 7 p.m. the night before you plan to serve the ham, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place the wrapped ham in a large roasting pan filled with 1 inch of water, and bake for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven, but do not open the door. At 10 P.M., turn the oven back on to 500 degrees. Bake the ham for 15 minutes more. Turn off the oven, but do not open the door. Leave the ham in the closed oven overnight.
• Remove ham from the oven, then remove the aluminum foil. Using a very sharp knife, trim the rind and all the fat from the ham. Serve the ham warm or at room temperature; cut with a ham-slicing knife into very thin slivers.

OVERNIGHT ASPARAGUS STRATA

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring 8 cups water to a boil. Add asparagus; cook, uncovered, 2-3 minutes or just until crisp-tender. Drain and immediately drop into ice water. Drain and pat dry., Arrange six English muffin halves in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish, cut side up. Trim remaining muffin halves to fill spaces. Layer with 1 cup cheese, asparagus, ham and red pepper. , In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt, mustard and pepper. Pour over top. Refrigerate, covered, overnight., Preheat oven to 375°. Remove strata from refrigerator while oven heats. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.