Prepare for Memorial Day with steak, ham and sides

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Memorial Day is coming up this next Monday, May 31. Many of us will be off work that day, honoring our military men and women who died while serving our great country.

Also on that day, we enjoy pleasing our families with favorite foods, some of which are prepared and cooked on the outdoor grill. Not all of us have grills or may not want to be battling mosquitoes and heat but prefer using our indoor kitchens. With that in mind, we have some recipes that will work either way.

From Apopka Citizen Police Alumni Association’s Sharing Our Finest Cookbook, Eloise Surrette’s Steaks on Sticks is deliciously grilled for our celebration of Memorial Day.

From Paths of Sunshine Cookbook, Festive Baked Ham will grace our Memorial Day table. I love to cook my ham the day before, in time to get it cold and slice it for a day in the back yard on this special day.

Potato salad from reader Nancy Thomas will be wonderful with the cold, sliced ham above. You can make this the day before, and the flavors will be wonderfully incorporated throughout.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese seems to be calling to be prepared for our Memorial Day celebration! This version of one of our favorite dishes is found in Southern Living All-Time Favorites.

Ceviche from Chef Allen Susser is wonderful. The most important thing about preparing ceviche is ensuring the seafood you use is absolutely fresh. The proteins in the flesh are actually denatured when you introduce an acid such as lime juice or sour orange with the same result as heating would produce; your fish will have that same opaque appearance.

For a beautiful and delicious dessert, try Lillian Hecker’s Hummingbird Cake from Treasures and Pleasures from First Presbyterian Church of Apopka. It must be refrigerated because it has no artificial ingredients to keep it from spoiling.

ELOISE SURRETTE’S

STEAKS ON STICKS (Grill)

Recipe from Apopka Citizen Police Alumni Association,

Sharing Our Finest Cookbook

3-1/2 pounds boneless steak, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 clove garlic, cut

2 tablespoons olive oil

20 small white onions

salt and pepper to taste

Rub steak cubes with garlic and brush with olive oil. Arrange cubes on green wooden sticks or skewers, alternating each with an onion. Grill over hot bed of charcoal. Brush, if desired, with your favorite barbecue sauce.

FESTIVE BAKED HAM

Recipe from Florida Federation
of Garden Clubs,
Paths of Sunshine Cookbook

1 cup apple cider

1/2 cup water

1 5-pound uncooked ham half

12 whole cloves

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 21-ounce can cherry pie filling

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup orange juice

Combine apple cider and water in saucepan; bring to a boil. Set aside. Remove skin from ham. Place ham in shallow baking pan, fat side up. Coat top with brown sugar. Insert meat thermometer making sure it does not touch fat or bone. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees for approximately 2 hours (22 to 25 minutes per pound), or until meat thermometer registers 160 degrees, basting every 30 minutes with cider mixture. Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Serve sauce with sliced ham if you serve it hot.

NANCY THOMAS’ POTATO SALAD

Recipe from Reader of The Apopka Chief and The Planter newspapers

Five pounds potatoes boiled in skins till tender

Five or six eggs boiled hard

Celery, about two ribs

Multicolored sweet peppers, six small

Sweet onion, 1/4 large (not too much)

Dill pickle, large

Salt and pepper

Mayonnaise, 1/2 cup

Dill weed

Dry mustard

Celery seed

Paprika

Cook, drain and cool potatoes. Cook, drain and cool eggs by putting ice on them. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skins. Set aside. Chop the potatoes into pieces no larger than 1/2 inch or so. Salt and pepper the potatoes in big bowl and mix with spatula. Setting aside at least two whole eggs to slice for garnish at the end, peel the cooled eggs, chop them, adding salt and pepper to taste. Dice celery. Setting aside a couple of the peppers to slice for garnish, slice and dice five or six small multi-colored peppers. Slice and dice 1/4 large onion. Slice and dice the pickle. Fold together in big bowl the potatoes, eggs, celery, peppers, onion, and pickle.

Mix dressing in separate bowl: 1/2 cup, maybe a little more, of the mayonnaise and two tablespoons or so of dill pickle juice. Add to this soupy mixture 1/4 teaspoon each of following: dill weed, dry mustard, celery seed. Add salt and pepper to taste if more is needed.

Pour the dressing into the potato salad. Fold together. Don’t make mashed potatoes out of the mixture!

Place the garnishes on top of the salad: Pepper rings and chopped eggs. Sprinkle beautiful red paprika on top. Cover with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for enough time to allow the flavors to meld together. Serve cold.

CREAMY MACARONI AND CHEESE

Recipe from Southern Living
All-Time Favorites

1 (8-ounce) package elbow macaroni

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 cup half-and-half

1 cup milk

1/2 (10-ounce) block extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

1 (10-ounce) block sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded and divided

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Gradually whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, two minutes. Stir in salt and next three ingredients. Gradually whisk in half-and-half and milk. Cook, whisking constantly, eight to 10 minutes or until thickened.

Stir in extra-sharp cheese and half of sharp cheese until smooth. Remove from heat.

Combine pasta and cheese mixture, and pour into six lightly greased (6-ounce) ramekins or 1 (8-inch square) baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with remaining sharp Cheddar cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. (Bake 15 minutes longer for a crusty top.) Makes six servings.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Kraft Cracker Barrel cheese.

CHEF ALLEN SUSSER’S MAHI MAHI AND LONGAN CEVICHE

Recipe from Field to Feast

Miami Chef Allen Susser arrived in South Florida in the 1980s and discovered the joy of working with the bounty of Florida’s farms and waters. His exceptional knowledge shines in his recipes. The clean tang of this lime-laced ceviche gets a sweet counterpoint from longans, a small fruit with translucent white, juicy-soft pulp that is delicately flavored.

8 ounces mahi mahi, sliced into thin 2-inch-long pieces

1 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1 small sweet onion, cut into thin strips

4 large plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced

1 medium jalapeno, seeded and diced

12 medium longans, peeled and seeded, divided

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus 4 sprigs

2 teaspoons coarse salt, plus additional to taste

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Combine mahi mahi, lime juice, and orange juice in a small stainless steel bowl, tossing to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, or until fish turns opaque, stirring occasionally.

2. Combine onion, tomatoes, jalapeno, 6 longans, and chopped cilantro in another stainless steel bowl; season mixture with 2 teaspoons coarse salt. Refrigerate.

3. Just before serving, strain almost all juice from fish. Stir fish into vegetables; season to taste with salt. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes or up to 2 hours.

4. To serve, drizzle the fish with olive oil, toss lightly, and spoon into 4 chilled martini glasses. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and remaining longans.

LILLIAN HECKER’S
HUMMINGBIRD CAKE

Recipe from First Presbyterian Church of Apopka, Treasures and Pleasures

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1-1/2 cups salad oil

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 (10-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup walnuts or coconut

2-1/2 cups chopped or mashed banana

Mix oil, vanilla, pineapple and eggs with dry ingredients. Mix in nuts and bananas. Do not beat, spoon over and over until mixed. Spoon into three greased and floured pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or bake in a 9 x 13-inch pan for nearly an hour. Watch closely for doneness; use a wooden toothpick to see if it comes out clean and to determine if it is done.

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

3 to 4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon butter

2 to 3 cups powdered sugar

Mix well. Spread on 9 x 13-inch cake. In hot weather, this cake develops mold easily, so refrigerate. Makes a big cake.