Ham and Scalloped Potato Muffins #MuffinMonday

A scalloped potato casserole-inspired muffin, with sliced potatoes, lots of cheese, cream and smoked ham. Perfect for breakfast, snack or even lunch. 

For the last couple of weeks our house has been a bustle of creativity and laughter, both in and out of the kitchen. Favorite dishes were cooked, touristy places were visited, a gingerbread mosque was baked and erected, many a cocktail was imbibed and a thousand backgammon games were played amongst the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree and our ancient rag-tag manger scene, which includes such witnesses to the Miracle Birth as a headless wise man, a longhorn and a small rhinoceros, along with the usual shepherds, cows and sheep.

Now the busy bathrooms and crazy kitchen are empty. The forlorn tree, stripped naked of its finery but for the occasional missed wisp of golden tinsel, has trailed fallen needles all the way to the curb of rejection. The dog circles just me now, every hopeful. And the baby Jesus and his eclectic entourage are back in the doll stroller box from Christmas circa 1995, which is their home for 50 weeks of the year.

I look around at the now reassembled living room, furniture back in its accustomed places and I am working on being grateful rather than sad. As much as it would give me joy to keep our daughters with us always, I am grateful that they are exceptionally capable of looking after themselves and are avidly pursuing their dreams.

Trying to look on all the bright sides of this situation, another bonus is that I can cook and bake exactly what pleases me. Last week a post from a friend and fellow blogger Kelli from Kelli’s Kitchen arrived in my email inbox with a recipe for one of my favorite casseroles, scalloped potatoes. Her version is a family favorite, cheesy and creamy but with the welcome addition of ham. If that divine top baked to a golden crunch doesn’t sell you, the tender, cheesy potatoes inside should do the trick. Do go have a look. My thoughts turned, as they do, to the possibility of a ham and scalloped potato muffin but I figured it wouldn’t be very popular with the sweet muffin crowd in residence. So I waited a week. (As it turns out, most of them didn't buy the PR for dried plums vs. prunes anyway. Hey, I tried.)

Totally worth the wait. These guys are delicious. All potato-y and cheesy and that ham? The perfect addition, for sure.

A good savory muffin is great consolation. And you can be sure I have saved some ham to make the original casserole as well.

Ingredients
6 oz or 170g smallish new potatoes
2 cups or 250g flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1/2 cup or 120ml whipping cream
1/4 cup butter or 60g, melted and cooled
7 oz or 200g extra sharp cheddar, grated
2 1/3 oz or 65g Parmesan, grated
1 cup or 150g baked smoked ham, chopped

Method
Put a pot of water on to boil with a teaspoon or so of salt, as you would to boil pasta. Fill a bowl with cold water and a few ice cubes and set it aside.

Slice your potatoes and pop them in the boiling water.

Cook for about 4-5 minutes, until they are just done. Pour the cooked potato slices into a colander and drain. Transfer them to the bowl of ice water till cool.

Return them to the colander to drain again.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin pan by greasing it liberally with oil or non-stick cooking spray.

Combine your flour, baking powder, salt and mustard powder in a large mixing bowl.

Set aside 6 slices of the cooked potato and a couple of small handfuls each of the cheddar, ham and Parmesan for topping the muffins before baking.

Just a little pile of each for topping.

Add the rest of the cheddar into the dry ingredient bowl and stir.

Now add the rest of the sliced potatoes into that bowl. Use a spoon to break the slices into pieces as you stir to combine. Finally, mix in the Parmesan and the ham.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together your eggs, milk, cream and cooled butter.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stop when they are just combined.

Divide your batter between the 12 greased muffins cups.

Top with reserved Parmesan cheese and ham pieces. Cut your potato slices in half and insert one half slice of potato into the batter in each cup.

Now try to get some reserved cheddar cheese to sit on top and around each potato slice. We aren’t looking for perfect here. Just some cheese on the potato.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Remove the muffins from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan and then remove to continue cooling on a wire rack.

Since the cheese melts out a little while baking, you may have to run a knife around the outside to remove them, depending on how well you greased the pan.

Enjoy!

Fish Steamed with Spicy Couscous

For this fish steamed with spice couscous, the fish fillets are steamed on top of the couscous so all the lovely cooking juices are soaked up, making the already spicy, herby couscous even tastier.

 

This is one of my favorite dishes to make when entertaining guests. See easy instructions to adapt for a dinner party at the end of the recipe.*

Parlez-vous français? Yeah, I really didn't either.
To say that three years of high school French prepared me poorly for living in Paris would be an understatement. As much as Madame Reat taught me about La Belle France, including our occasional field trips to a nearby French café where we were supposed to order in French to justify the educational status of said excursion, I learned more useful things by reading signs and labels in grocery stores and recipes on my own. 

I now know weird but handy phrases like laissez gonfler - leave to swell -  and saupoudrer de chapelure – sprinkle with breadcrumbs - and napper en sauce – coat with sauce - that hardly ever come up in normal conversation. 

Not a culinary word, but one I am very proud of learning is autocollant. It means self-adhesive. Not useful you say? Try ordering stamps and imagine miming, "the ones I don't need to lick," at the post office. 

Probably more importantly, I learned that Ah, bon, despite containing the word for good, can be used to acknowledge good or bad things, a confirmation akin to “I hear you”  - or a question, depending on inflection: “Really?”

Répétez après moi: Le couscous est simple à préparer.

I am always on the lookout for new and different starches to add variety to our plates, outside the usual triumvirate rice/potatoes/pasta so I was delighted to come across couscous for the first time in France. It’s a staple there, I am guessing thanks to the North African influence from the former French colonies. 

It has since become essential in my cupboard as well and the instructions on that first box of couscous, graine moyenne or medium coarse, is the source for my pet phrase laissez gonfler, which I have managed to work into more conversations that you would imagine. 

This spicy dish is adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe from a series called Oliver’s Twist. I’ve been making it regularly since 2003 when the episode Flash in the Pan first aired. It’s perfect for this week’s Sunday Supper theme of Lighten Up for the New Year, with lots of flavor from the spices and cilantro and very healthy steamed fish on top. Make sure to scroll down to see all the other lovely lightened up recipes the group has made for you today!

Ingredients
For the spice mix:
1 1/2 teaspoons flakey sea salt (I use Maldon.)
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 (2-inch or 2.5cm) piece cinnamon stick

For the dish:
2 cups or 370g wheat couscous – medium grain
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
2 red chilies (Remove the seeds for less heat.)
1 large bunch cilantro or fresh coriander, leaves picked, stalks finely sliced
Four portion size filets of a relatively thin white fish like sole or flounder. Cod will do if it is not too thick.
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning fish
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Couple of handfuls cherry tomatoes (more or less to your taste)
1 large lemon, cut in half at the equator
Optional: another lemon cut in wedges for serving.

Method
Put the couscous in a bowl with enough hot - but not quite boiling - water to cover it. Seal the top of the bowl with cling film and then drape a towel over the top and set aside for at least 10 minutes. Laissez gonfler!

 The couscous will soften and double in size. When it's done, fluff it with a fork and keep covered till needed.

Make your spice mix by pounding the salt, fennel and cumin seeds, coriander seeds and cinnamon together in your mortar.  (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can use already ground spices.)

Mince your onion and one chili pepper. Slice the garlic and the other chili.

Cut the very tough bottom parts of your cilantro stems off and discard. Finely chop the rest of the stems up to the leafy part and then roughly chop the leaves. Some leaves are going to get in your stems and, of course, your leaf pile will have the most tender stems, and that’s okay.

Mostly leaves in front. Most stems in back.

Lay your fish out on a plate and season both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat a large saucepan on a low heat, and sauté the onion, garlic, cilantro stems and chopped chili in a good drizzle of olive oil.

Add the spice mix to the pan with another drizzle of olive oil.

Cook for a few minutes and then add the butter. Let it melt then add the couscous.

Mix thoroughly with the spices and sautéed seasonings. Stir in most of the cilantro leaves, reserving some for garnish when serving.

 Turn the stove down to a very low heat, and lay the fish fillets on top of the couscous. Drizzle with olive oil and tuck the lemon halves, cut side up, and the whole cherry tomatoes in the couscous.

Cover with some foil or a tight fitting lid, and cook for 15 minutes or until the fish is white through and flaky. You may need to add just a little bit of water so that the couscous doesn’t burn on the bottom, so do check it about halfway through. A very heavy pan or a diffuser will help with this problem.

Adding a few tablespoons of water about halfway through.

To serve, sprinkle with the remaining cilantro and sliced chili, squeeze the cooked lemon halves over everything and drizzle on some more olive oil. Divide the couscous between four plates and top each with a steamed fish fillet. Serve with additional wedges of lemon, if desired.

*Dinner party instructions
If you are having a dinner party for eight or 12, double or treble the ingredients and prepare as instructed up to the point where the couscous is ready. Allow it to cool then transfer to a greased baking pan (Make sure it is one that can go straight from refrigerator to oven) before adding the fish, the halved lemons cut side up, cherry tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil. If you want to get fancy, throw in some raw shrimp or prawns as well. Cover with foil and refrigerate if it’s going to be more that a half an hour till it’s cooked or if your kitchen is warm. Once the guests have arrived, bake your fish on couscous- still covered in the foil - in an oven preheated to 350°F or 180°C, allowing extra time for cooking the fish if the dish is chilled. Follow the same serving instructions above.

Enjoy!

If your New Year’s resolutions include eating more sensibly, I’ve got a great list of “lightened up” recipes for you this week. Many thanks to our great host T.R. from Gluten Free Crumbley!

Bright Beverages

• Almond Mocha Smoothie from Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Chocolate-Covered Berries Green Smoothie from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Citrus DeTox Spa Water from La Bella Vita Cucina
• Peachilious Smoothie from Peanut Butter and Peppers

Blissful Breakfast Items

• Apple Crumble Smoothie Bowl from Try Anything Once Culinary
• Light Eggs Benedict from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
• Multigrain Scones from The Texan New Yorker
• Norwegian Egg Benedict from Brunch with Joy
• Nutty Granola Bars from Pies and Plots
• Reduced Sugar Donuts from The Ninja Baker

Appetizing Starters

• Broccoli Pesto from Curried Cantaloupe
• Fava Bean and Avocado Guacamole from Pancake Warriors
• Homemade Snickerdoodle Peanut Butter from Wallflour Girl
• Roasted Pumpkin and Chevre Bruschetta from Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Spicy Curried Lentil Spread with Winter Veggies from Lifestyle Food Artistry

Savory Soups and Sides

• Butternut Squash and Roasted Red Pepper Soup from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Detox Chicken Bok Choy Soup from Nosh My Way
• French Potato Leek Soup from Curious Cuisiniere
• Light Creamed Roasted Vegetable Soup from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Marinated Tomato and Mozzarella Salad from From Gate to Plate
• Quinoa Mango Pomegranate Spinach Salad with White Balsamic Vinaigrette from Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
• Red Cabbage and Golden Raisin Salad from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen
• Shredded Brussels Sprouts and Endive Slaw with Champagne Vinaigrette from Take A Bite Out of Boca
• Spinach and Black Bean Ravioletti Soup from Big Bear's Wife

Marvelous Mains

• Black Pepper Tofu with Black Garlic Sauce from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Fish Steamed with Spicy Couscous from Food Lust People Love
• Greek Style Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce from Nik Snacks
• Kale Pesto with Squash Noodles from Ruffles & Truffles
• Mexican Turkey Cutlets from Magnolia Days
• Meyer Lemon Roasted Chicken Thighs, Fennel & Sweet Potato from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Portuguese Kale Soup from Recipes, Food and Cooking
• Salmon with Mushroom Sauce from Cooking Chat
• Skinny Chicken-Leek Pot Pie from The Weekend Gourmet
• Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Quinoa from Bobbi's Kosy Kitchen
• Slow Cooker Italian Barley & Sausage from Foxes Loves Lemons
• Tomato Basil Soup with Grilled Pimento Cheese Sandwiches from Food Done Light
• Tomato Goat Cheese Arugula Flatbread from Family Foodie

Delightful Desserts

• Easy Blackberry Crumble from Recipe for Perfection
• Easy to be Green Chocolate Chip Cookies from What Smells So Good?
• Fruit Parfait from Desserts Required
• Maple Pear Scones from Killer Bunnies, Inc

Top Five Recipes to Date and Thank You - 2014

Each year around this time, I take a little time to go through my blog statistics and see which recipes have been most popular over the last year. From year one to year two, many of the favorites remained the same. Finally, this year, we have a few new contenders but it looks like nothing is going to unseat the muffin in the top spot!

No. 5 - Homemade Cheese and Spinach Ravioli

This recipe is a personal favorite because making homemade ravioli is a fun family activity as well as a delicious meal. If you are over visiting, we’ll put you to work as well. Best part is, you also get to share the meal.

No. 4 - Vegetable Noodle Stir-Fry

I make this vegetable-full stir-fry often when I need a quick meal that’s not too heavy. I was surprised when it made it into the top five last year because it’s one of my older posts and the photos are pretty sad. It gives me hope though that the recipes matter more to you all than my pictures and I am pleased to think that at least I have improved since then.

No. 3 - Spicy Keema Naan

I love belonging to different blogger groups that challenge me to step outside my comfort zone and use ingredients or make recipes that are unusual. This keema naan was my last for a group called Twelve Loaves, which motivated me to start Bread Bakers with my friend Renee from Magnolia Days. If you are a bread baking blogger and would like to join us, check out the link to find out more.


No. 2 - D.I.Y. Veggie Cup Noodles

This do-it-yourself veggie noodle cup is a great recipe I adapted from River Cottage Veg (<affiliate link) for another of my favorite groups, Sunday Supper, which is dedicated to encouraging folks to gather once more for meals around the family table. It pleases me immensely that a relatively recent Sunday Supper recipe made it so far up the popularity list for the year.

No. 1 - Cheesy Spinach Muffins

And here again, for the third year running, are my cheesy spinach muffins in first place, so far ahead of the runner up that I really cannot imagine any post catching up. I love a savory muffin, especially when it involves cheese but I suspect the popularity of these can be attributed to the tomato slices perched so jauntily on top of the muffins before baking. They make something simple and delicious look fancy.

If you’d like to see 2012's top five list, click here. And here for the 2013 list.

Many, many thanks! 
It is my great honor that you take the time to visit me here and interact with me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Nothing gives me greater joy than to read your kind comments, especially those of you who let me know when you’ve made and enjoyed a recipe I’ve posted. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for stopping by and reading. I wish you all a marvelous new year filled with love and good food.

Fondly yours,

Stacy