Second Sunday

Second Sunday: The Original Menu
Clam broth with toasted crackers
Baked ham
Mashed potatoes
Carrots and peas
Nut bread
Grapefruit salad
Stuffed celery
Caramel custard
Fancy sweet crackers
Coffee

Clam broth… milk with clams, seasoning and butter. I like soup, but I tend to have it as a main dish for lunch. Since Brian doesn't like clams I decided to skip the soup.

The baked ham is simple but the original recipe calls for prep work the night before. Since we're only a family of two, a whole or half ham is just not practical. I looked at the ham options at the Market and chose ham steak instead. I plan to sprinkle it with curry powder than bake it in a marinade of orange juice, honey and Dijon mustard.

Mashed potatoes are good, but mashed sweet potatoes are a much better compliment to ham.

The original recipe for carrots and peas calls for fresh carrots but canned peas, possibly due to all the work that must be put into fresh peas or because they are not in season. Fortunately, the Market sells pre-shelled and soaked peas, so I plan to use fresh instead.

Nut bread… see my entry for beaten biscuit in the First Sunday. I don't bake very well. I decided to substitute French baguette, whose leftovers can be turned into garlic bread and croutons for future meals.

The grapefruit salad is NOT a gelatin, but it is still a little odd: grapefruit sections mixed with green olives, served on lettuce leaves with boiled dressing. I love grapefruit, I love olives and I love boiled dressing, but I don't love them all mixed together! So I'll be making my own version of grapefruit salad: grapefruit sections on a bed of spinach served with Italian dressing. It sounds strange, but Italian dressing somehow neutralizes the acidity in the fruit and gives it a mild, delicious flavor.

Stuffed celery is celery stuffed with cream cheese mixed with red pimentos. I love all of those ingredients (even mixed together), but alas, Brian does not, so I'll substitute celery stuffed with crunchy peanut butter (I love that, too!) – a staple appetizer in our house.

That seems like more than enough food! We'll skip the caramel custard and fancy sweet crackers.


Second Sunday: The Modern Menu
Stuffed celery
Baked ham steak
Mashed sweet potatoes
Carrots and peas
Grapefruit salad
French baguette
Coffee and Gold



This is actually an easy menu as I've made all of these food items before, except for the ham (although I've often made the marinade for chicken). The only challenge is convincing The Kitten that he'd be happier sitting on Brian's lap than hunting the ham.

The meal was tasty. Brian even enjoyed the ham (he's not normally a ham-eater) and said we could have it again. Although I liked it, I don't foresee adding it to the house menu.

The leftover ham and veggies were turned into a casserole with leftover cubed potatoes. I didn't care for that much either.