Ham with fruit sauce tasty New Year’s meal

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With the new year about to dawn, we report on some of the new vegetables in the market in some stores and the way that old dishes are listed as the new and trendy way to cook.

This baked ham with a fruit sauce across a slice of the meat could be your choice for New Year’s dinner. A tossed mixed vegetable salad would add a crisp accent to the dinner. A new vegetable appearing in the produce department is a green cauliflower, a broccoli-cauliflower hybrid called brocoflower. The vegetable may be cooked whole and served with a sprinkle of shredded cheese or just a bit of melted butter. It is easy to cut the branches off as it is not as solid as either of the “parents.” We enjoyed the vegetable with baked chicken at one meal. It also would fit in with this ham dinner.

Ham with Fruit Sauce 1 2-inch-thick slice ham

1/2 teaspoon powdered cloves

1/2 cup brown sugar 1 cup water 1 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup cherry juice from maraschino cherries 1 cup water 2 tablespoons vinegar 1 cup pineapple chunks or tidbits 1 cup maraschino cherries 1 cup seedless raisins 3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

Precooked ham from the market or canned ham may be used. Rub the meat with the cloves and brown lightly in a small amount of fat in a skillet. Dissolve the brown sugar in 1 cup water, pour over the ham and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until ham is tender. Turn meat frequently and simmer slowly. The ham with the brown sugar mixture may be baked in a slow oven at 300 F. When the ham is nearly done, prepare the fruit sauce to top the meat when it is served. In a saucepan, combine pineapple and maraschino cherry juices, 1 cup water, vinegar, pineapple chunks, cherries, raisins and salt. When mixture is hot and well blended, combine the cornstarch with 1/3 cup cold water; stir to mix and add to the fruit. Cook and stir until sauce is thickened and clear; add butter. Serve separately or over the ham. For a great taste, use tarragon vinegar in the sauce in place of cider vinegar. You also will find many other uses for the tarragon vinegar in salad dressing, as a suggestion.

After the holidays, make a jar of pickled eggs as a change from the sweets of Christmas goodies. Try one with a sandwich at lunch time.

Pickled Eggs 12 hard-cooked eggs 2 tablespoons mustard 2 cups white or cider vinegar

1/2 cup water 1 cup sugar 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon celery seed 1 tablespoon mustard seed 6 whole cloves 2 medium onions, sliced

In a saucepan, blend mustard with a little of the vinegar; add remaining vinegar, water, sugar, salt, celery seed, mustard seed and cloves. Cover; heat to boiling and simmer for 10 minutes; cool. Pour mixture over the hard-cooked eggs in a jar. Cover and refrigerate overnight. May be kept in refrigerator for several days.

We could hardly wait until the recipe for this casserole arrived — a casserole served in small side dishes at a dinner. The casserole went equally well with the choice of roast beef, chicken or ham — a choice at the dinner. Canned artichoke hearts may not be a standard item on your cupboard shelf, but are available at the market. They add flavor to this dish.

Artichoke Casserole

1/4 cup olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 bunch green onions (scallions) trimmed and minced 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach 2 (13.75-ounce) cans artichoke hearts, drained 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup half-and-half 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice Salt to taste Freshly ground pepper, to taste 1 cup dairy sour cream

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese Paprika, optional

Thaw and drain the spinach. Drain, slice and divide the artichoke hearts. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onions; saute until softened, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; saute 5 minutes. Stir in spinach and half the artichoke hearts. Cook until everything is warmed through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle flour over all ingredients in skillet; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Slowly pour in half-and-half; cook until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with lemon juice, salt, nutmeg and pepper. Turn spinach mixture into buttered 1 1/2-2-quart casserole dish. Top with a layer of remaining sliced artichoke hearts.

For topping, blend together sour cream and Parmesan; spread evenly over top of casserole. Sprinkle lightly with paprika. Bake casserole in a preheated 350 F oven until bubbly, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve hot. Yields 8 to 10 servings.

A jellied cucumber salad has the feeling of springtime in the air even though snow may be falling outside. This recipe makes a 2-quart mold, just right for the salad you are taking to the covered-dish luncheon.

Jellied Cucumber Salad 1 large (6-ounce) package lime gelatin 1 1/2 cups hot water

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon garlic salt 2 teaspoons onion juice Dash of Cayene pepper 1 cup mayonnaise 2 cups chopped unpeeled cucumber

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

Dissolve gelatin in hot water. Add lemon juice, onion juice, garlic salt and Cayenne pepper. Chill until partially set. Fold in mayonnaise, cucumbers and chopped green pepper, or use chopped pimiento. Pour into a water-rinsed 2-quart mold and refrigerate to set. This is especially good with cold sliced meats or baked beans.

For the chocolate-loving eaters, a chocolate cream pie with no eggs may be the right dessert. Top with sweetened whipped cream or whipped topping from the freezing section of your market.

Chocolate Cream Pie 1 9-inch baked pastry shell 1 1/4 cups sugar 1/3 cup cocoa 1/3 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt 3 cups milk 3 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

In medium saucepan, combine cocoa, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Blend in milk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until it boils. Boil and stir for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and blend in butter and vanilla. Mix and pour into baked pie shell. Cool. Serve with whipped topping, whipped cream or ice cream. Some cooks add a bit of cinnamon spice to the pie filling.

Brownie Schrumpf of Orono has been the NEWS recipe columnist for 37 years.