easter dinner for two

easter dinner for two

This dinner for two featured a ham with five-spice cherry sauce and included three vegetable dishes: broccoli-grape salad, citrus- roasted asparagus, and green beans with mushrooms. All the recipes were adapted from Better Homes and Gardens. I could not find a small enough ham so I bought a boneless smoked pork butt and adapted the recipe. I added the ground ginger and ramped up the five spice powder. Five spice powder is a Chinese spice available from Asian grocery stores

ham with five spice cherry sauce

Ham with Five-Spice Cherry Sauce

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon whole cloves
3 pound smoked pork butt
1 cup peach preserves
1/2 cup chopped tart dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons five-spice powder

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325˚F . For easier clean up, line a 9 inch pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Put the pork butt in the pan.

Stick cloves in the pork butt. In a small bowl, combine preserves, cherries, juice, mustard, ginger, and five-spice powder. Pour over the pork butt. Gently scrape off the cherries from the ham and let it fall into the pan. This will allow the cherries to plump up while they are cooking in the fat and liquid at the bottom of the pan.

Bake for 35 minutes per pound or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 160˚F on an instant read thermometer. It reached temperature after 1 hour 15 minutes. That’s it! Easy.

Cool slightly. Slice and serve with the sauce.The sauce was sweet and the cherries chewy which complemented the saltiness of the meat perfectly.

Now for the three vegetable dishes! I chose a broccoli-grape salad because I thought it had a delicious blend of sweet, crunchy, salty, and tangy. I halved and adjusted the recipe to make enough for two.

After the ham is baked, remove it from the oven and turn up the heat to 425˚F.

broccoli-grape salad

Broccoli-Grape Salad

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
3 cups broccoli florets
1 cup red seedless grapes
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoons lemon juice
sugar to taste
4 slices bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup chopped almonds, toasted (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425˚F. Spread the broccoli and grapes in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss to coat. Roast, 10 to 15 minutes or until broccoli is starting to brown and grapes are soft, stirring once halfway through roasting time. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with red onion. Cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk the mayonnaise with the lemon juice, and sugar. Place broccoli mixture in a serving bowl. Top with bacon and toasted almonds, if using. Serve the salad with the dressing on the side.

This next recipe called Citrus-Roasted Asparagus has a wonderful citrus flavor. For this dish, be sure to buy the spears with thick stems as they can handle roasting. I halved and adjusted this recipe for two.

citrus-roasted asparagus

Citrus-Roasted Asparagus

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
2 seedless oranges
2 lemons
5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound asparagus spears
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons tarragon leaves
Sea salt and coarsely ground pepper

Preparation

If you are roasting the broccoli, you can ignore this step to preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roasting the asparagus the same time as the broccoli won’t hurt it a bit.

In a small bowl, zest one orange and one lemon. From the same orange and lemon squeeze a total of 2 tablespoons juice. Combine with garlic and add tarragon. Set aside. Cover a baking tray with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

Thinly slice half the remaining orange and lemon. Then, drizzle slices with about 2 teaspoons olive oil. Place on half of the baking sheet; set aside.

Wash asparagus.  Break off woody stems. Place spears on the other side of the baking tray. Sprinkle with garlic, tarragon, and citrus zest. Drizzle 2 teaspoons olive oil; toss to coat spears. Spread spears in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook’s Tip: To trim asparagus, hold up one spear and gently bend the stem end. About 1 to 1 1/2 inches will snap off. Trim the rest of the bunch to this length.

Roast asparagus and citrus slices 10 to 15 minutes, turning once or twice with tongs, until asparagus is tender and citrus begins to brown. A sure sign the asparagus is tender is it will turn a bright green. Transfer the asparagus to a serving platter.

While the asparagus and citrus slices are roasting, make the vinaigrette. In a small dish whisk together reserved juices and remaining 1 teaspoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over roasted asparagus, citrus, and garlic-citrus zest mixture. Sprinkle with roasted citrus slices. Serve warm.

This last recipe is savory, a delightful contrast to the sweetness of the five-spice cherry sauce and the broccoli-grape salad. I left out the olive oil because I had a pan with 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in it. I used a paper towel to soak up about one tablespoon, leaving the rest in the pan. I halved and adjusted this recipe for two.

green beans with mushrooms

Green Beans with Mushrooms

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5-7 minutes

Ingredients
1 pound green beans, trimmed
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon butter, optional
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots (2 medium)
4 ounces fresh baby bella mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest (half a lemon)
1 tablespoons lemon juice (half a lemon)
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
Coarse sea salt or kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds (optional)

Preparation

Bring a small pot of salted water to boiling. Add green beans. Cook uncovered until the green beans are bright green and crisp- tender. Don’t go by time, but by sight. Drain the green beans in a colander. Rinse them in cold water to stop the cooking process and to set the color.

In an large skillet heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until they are wilted. Add the mushrooms and cook until they are browned.

Add the cooked green beans. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until heated through, tossing occasionally. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and thyme; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with toasted slivered almonds, if using.

Of course, we had dessert. Flourless chocolate cake with Haagen Dazs Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream. But I forgot to take a picture!

low fat broccoli tomato fritters

I had an indecent craving for shrimp fritters, a Jamaican-Chinese specialty, but I recoiled at the thought of using all that oil to fry them–up to a cup or more. However, I found this recipe for broccoli-parmesan fritters on the Smitten Kitchen blog and it satisfied my craving! After following the original  recipe straight through, I realized I could get away with making some changes.  First of all, I doubled the recipe because 9 fritters just wouldn’t be enough. Gotta have left overs too! Then I added a large chopped and seeded tomato to the batter, and a third cup of Romano cheese. The batter was a tad dry so I added up to a quarter cup of cream. But nonfat milk would do fine. You just need to add enough milk or cream so the batter clumps together. Lastly, I fried the fritters in cooking spray rather than in cooking oil to cut down the calories. The fritters came out luscious, moist and savory.

Low-Fat Broccoli Tomato Fritters

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Servings: 28 three-inch fritters (approximate)

16 ounces fresh broccoli (6 cups chopped)
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 large tomato, chopped and seeded
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup finely grated Romano cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4-1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes or several grinds of black pepper (add more to make it spicier)
1/4 cup cream or nonfat milk, or less as needed to add cohesion to the batter
Cooking spray

To prepare the broccoli, cut the florets from the stems. With a vegetable peeler, peel off the tough outer coating of the stems. Chop stems roughly into 1/2 inch pieces. Separate the florets into 1 inch pieces.

Fill a large pot with about 3 inches of water and bring to a boil. Add about a teaspoon of salt to the water. Add the broccoli. Cook 5-6 minutes or until tender. The broccoli will be a bright green color. Drain the broccoli in a colander and rinse under cold water to set the color and stop the cooking process. Mash the cooked broccoli coarsely with a potato masher. Broccoli should still be chunky and not too small.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the flour, tomato, cheeses, garlic, salt, and red pepper or black pepper. Add the mashed broccoli. Use a large wooden spoon to mix all the ingredients together. Add the cream or milk if the batter doesn’t cohere. It should clump together when dropped from a spoon.

Cook’s Note: The tomato not only adds a pop of color but it also adds moisture to the fritter—a neat little trick I learned from my cousin Cathy whose shrimp fritters are to die for!

Spray a large skillet with cooking spray. Heat the skillet on medium heat until the pan sizzles when a drop of water is sprinkled in it. Using a 1/4 cup measure or a cookie scoop, scoop up the broccoli batter and plop it in the hot skillet. Flatten slightly with a fork. Continue scooping, flattening, and frying fritters with cooking spray. Leave about 2 inches between each fritter. Each batch will include 6 fritters. Fry on one side 3-5 minutes or until golden brown, then flip, and fry 1-2 minutes on the second side.

Cook’s Note: Dip the 1/4 cup measure or scoop in water to ensure the batter releases as you scoop the batter into the skillet.

Transfer fritters to a serving plate. If the fritters won’t be eaten right away, they can be kept warm in a low oven. Serve these fritters with tzatziki sauce or lemon-garlic yogurt. To make lemon-garlic yogurt, to one cup of Greek style yogurt, add fresh lemon juice and lemon zest to taste. For a garlic flavor, add minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

brown rice pancakes with fresh strawberries and cinnamon sugar

crustless spinach pie with feta cheese, broiled romaine, and roasted root vegetables

This is a complete vegetarian meal. The spinach pie is made with fresh spinach and herbs. The root vegetables are broiled during the last 5 minutes of cooking while the romaine is in the broiler! The broiled romaine’s got crunch and the sultry flavors of Parmesan and Romano cheeses. I adapted it from Alton Brown’s grilled romaine with a red wine vinegar granita.

Roasted Root Vegetables
You can use any kind of root vegetables in any combination you like. Increase the amount of turnips or leave out the parsnips. Add a celeriac or celery root.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Serves: 2-4

3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
1 medium turnip
2 medium parsnips
salt and pepper
olive oil
Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Heat a large pot of water. When it is boiling, add the vegetables and cook 10 minutes or until just tender, about 10 minutes. When pierced with a fork, there is a little resistance. Remove vegetables from boiling water and spread on a tray lined with paper towels. Pat dry. Put the vegetables in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat thoroughly. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray. Spread the vegetables in a single layer on the tray. Bake 35 minutes at 400˚F. For the last 5 minutes, broil the vegetables until lightly browned.

Crustless Spinach Pie with Feta Cheese (adapted from Skinnytaste)
Skinnytaste used a 10 oz package of frozen spinach for convenience’s sake. I like the fresh spinach, lightly sautéed until it turns bright green.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 28 minutes
Serves: 8

Ingredients:
1 large bunch fresh spinach, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil plus 1 teaspoon
1/2 cup scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano (or dill)
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary (or parsley, thyme)
1/2 cup (2.5 oz) reduced fat crumbled feta
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (or Romano, Asiago)
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (Bob’s Red Mill)
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup fat free milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper to taste
cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly spray a 9 inch pie dish with cooking spray.
Heat olive oil in a large dutch pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the spinach and cook it down until it is bright green and slightly wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and drain any excess water. Chop fine.

Mix spinach, scallions, herbs, and feta cheese in a large bowl and set aside. Sift flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients to flour mixture in the bowl. Combine flour mixture with spinach mixture, and mix well. Scrape into pie dish.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when inserted near the center. Let the pie stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

Broiled Romaine (after a recipe by Alton Brown)
Alton Brown grilled the romaine but I found that most of the cheese ended up on the grill instead of on the lettuce. So I decided to broil it instead. Brown also froze red wine vinegar and then, like a granita, he scraped up a couple tablespoons of frozen vinegar with a fork and sprinkled it on top of the grilled lettuce. However, I found the red wine vinegar unpleasantly sour, so I left that out.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 2-3 minutes
Serves: 2

1 head romaine hearts split vertically in two
olive oil
2 tablespoons romano and Parmesan cheeses

Brush cut side of the romaine with olive oil. Sprinkle cheeses on a plate. Press oiled side into the cheeses. Put the lettuce, cheese side up, on a broiler tray and broil 2-3 minutes or until browned and cheese has melted. Remove from heat and serve at once.