Ham Viennese

Let me begin this post with a caveat. I realize that not all people like all things. Me?  I pretty much do like everything, but particularly casseroles. I was raised on them. Despite my mother preparing a wide variety of meals for dad and me, the casseroles were always my favorites. It seems as though they were the favorites of many cooks feeding growing families during the seventies, because there are endless recipes for them dating back to around that time. 

Mr. O-P feels differently. Raised two decades before me, he is a meat and potatoes man. He'd be insulted by this, I'm sure, but it's the case all the same. The meat may be a rare filet of beef and the potatoes Hasselbach, but it is what it is. 

So, the retro recipe that I am presenting you with today is one that was a part of my youth. It has been years, perhaps decades, since I last tasted this, so I was happy to have stumbled upon it in my mother's collection. 

To me, this dish is warm and soothing, tasty and comfortable, with just the right combination of flavors to make it unique. It reminds me of my happy youth, Friday night dinners with my best friend, winter nights, Girl Scout Banquets, and Nancy Drew. Mr. O-P said it reminded him of rice pudding with ham, and he just couldn't get past this.  C'est la vie!

As for you, give the ingredients the once over. If they look good to you, give it a try and tell me what you think. If this sounds like something you'd run from, that's fine too. You won't hurt my feelings; I live with Mr. O-P.

Ham Viennese

 2 cups of cooked rice

2-1/2 cups ham, diced into ½” squares

1-1/2 Tablespoons butter

½ cup chopped onion

2 cups celery, diced

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

2 Tablespoons white wine

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

¼ teaspoon dried dill weed

½ cup sour cream

1/3 cup Melissa’s Fire Roasted Sweet Red Peppers, diced

Sauté ham in one tablespoon of the butter over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes.  Add the ½ tablespoon of butter along with onions and celery, and sauté until tender crisp, about 3-4 minutes.  Stir in soup, wine, mustard, and dill weed.  Heat thoroughly.  Stir in sour cream and red peppers.  Heat, but do not bring to a boil.  Stir in rice (or serve over the rice, your choice).  Serve.

This post is linked to:

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday

Coca-Cola Cake

Call me crazy, but I subscribe to a lot of foodie newsletters.  It’s not that I don’t have piles of cookbooks and magazines in which to search for recipes, no, I have to add to the confusion with newsletters.  Tasting Table is but one of the many, and last week the featured recipe for Coca-Cola Cake made me sigh.  It was one that I enjoyed back in the 70s, and while I still had the recipe for the icing in my battered recipe box, the cake recipe had long disappeared. It’s a classic Southern layer cake with a unique texture.  I followed the recipe exactly, down to the mini marshmallows in the center, but I’d eliminate them the next time.

Coca-Cola Cake

Recipe adapted from Lee Gregory, The Roosevelt, Richmond, VA

INGREDIENTS

Cake

1½ sticks plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons natural cocoa powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup Coca-Cola

¼ cup whole milk

2 large eggs

Chocolate Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

½ cup natural cocoa powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup whole milk or heavy cream

1½ cups mini marshmallows (optional)

Chocolate curls or grated chocolate (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Set a 9-inch cake pan on top of a piece of parchment paper. Using the bottom of the cake pan as a guide, trace a circle on the paper with a pen or pencil. Cut out the circle and set aside. Repeat so you have two parchment circles. Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to grease two 9-inch cake pans, then place the parchment circles in the pans. Turn the parchment over so the greased side faces up.

2. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the remaining 1½ sticks of butter with the sugar on medium speed until light and airy, about 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and salt and set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk together the Coca-Cola and milk.

3. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the butter-sugar mixture, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer to low and alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients in three batches, starting and ending with the flour mixture and mixing until just combined. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Place the cake pans in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

4. Remove the cakes from the oven and set aside to cool completely.

5. Make the frosting: In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder. Turn off the mixer and add the sugar-cocoa mixture, then combine on low speed. Increase the speed to medium and add the vanilla, salt and milk. Mix for 3 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

6. Remove the cooled cakes from the pans, peel off the parchment and place one layer on a serving tray or cake stand. Spoon and spread about one-quarter of the icing on top of the first layer, sprinkle with half of the marshmallows (if using), then top with the second cake layer. Use the rest of the icing to frost the top and sides of the cake (or just frost the top of the cake, as shown) and finish with the remaining marshmallows (if using), then garnish with chocolate curls or grated chocolate (if using).

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Foodie Friday

Sweets for a Saturday