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By J.Ho, March 6, 2006 10:49 am

Often served as tapas, croquetas are most well known as a Spanish dish. This recipe comes from my Cuban influence. The best Cuban ham croquettes I’ve had on the west coast were at Felix Continental Cafe in downtown Orange, California. Dip these into a side of Cuban mojo and you’ll be in heaven.

Filling

4 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, minced
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups room temperature milk
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
4 cups of smoked ground ham, about one pound
1 cup dry bread crumbs
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Coating

2 eggs, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1 cup dry bread crumbs
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil

In a large pan sauté the butter and onions until the onions are translucent. Slowly stir in the flour and make a roux. The roux needs to be very smooth with all the flour dissolved. Add more butter if necessary. Gradually whisk in the milk. Continue cooking until the sauce thickens. The sauce needs to be very thick. Add the nutmeg, sherry, and parsley. Fold in the ham and bread crumbs. If you can’t find ground ham, you can finely mince it yourself or grind it in a food processor. Allow the mixture to simmer for five minutes on low heat. Taste the mix and season with salt and pepper if necessary. The ham has quite a bit of salt in it already, so be careful. Spoon the mixture into a baking pan and refrigerate at least one hour. The mixture needs to be firm enough to form into rolls. If your mixture is too soft or sticky, add some additional bread crumbs.

Shape the ham mixture into three inch long logs, ¾-inch thick. Make an egg wash by beating the eggs with water until frothy in a small bowl. Combine the bread crumbs, flour, salt and pepper in a second bowl. Dip the logs in the egg wash and roll the logs in the seasoned bread crumbs. Dip the rolls in the egg wash a second time and re-roll in bread crumbs. Cover logs with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two to three hours. This is very important!

Sauté the croquettes in hot vegetable oil, a few at a time, for three to four minutes, turning occasionally until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. You can also deep fry them if you like. Serve immediately.

One variation of these croquettes is making them with chicken. You can easily substitute a pound of cooked chicken for the ham, white or dark meat, or a combination. Finely mince the chicken or grind it in a food processor. Add a dash of fresh lime juice to the chicken. You can also grind in a small handful of chopped cilantro instead of the parsley for a nice flavor twist.

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By J.Ho, March 6, 2006 10:20 am

Never being a spinach fan as a kid, I fell in love with creamed spinach while dining at Izzy’s Steak & Chop House in San Francisco. The House of Prime Rib, also in San Francisco, has very good creamed spinach as well, but they put a bit too much nutmeg in it.

10-16 ounces of fresh spinach
½ cup of heavy cream
Two tablespoons of butter
Fine grain sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of ground nutmeg

Boil spinach with a pinch of salt for one minute or until it is bright green and tender. Cool the cooked spinach with ice water; squeeze excess moisture from it and chop it. Getting as much of the water out of the spinach is real important. Place the cream in a small saucepan, turn the heat to medium and cook for five minutes. Turn the heat to low and add the spinach, butter, salt, pepper and pinch of ground nutmeg. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is creamy and very soft, about 10 minutes.

Sometimes I’ll lace the creamed spinach with some onion. For this, sauté a small amount of very, very thinly sliced white or yellow onions with another ½ tablespoon of butter for about five minutes. Add along with the rest of the ingredients of the recipe.

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By J.Ho, March 5, 2006 4:42 pm

Deviled Chicken

1 fresh spring chicken, split into halves
6 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup butter
2 large garlic cloves, mashed
½ cup dry white wine
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Pound chicken halves with a meat mallet.  Place a large heavy skillet over moderate heat and add the olive oil.  Heat the oil, butter and garlic.  Add the chicken halves, breast side down.  Increase the heat and brown the chicken on each side for 10 minutes (20 minutes in all).  Season with salt & pepper.  Lower the heat and add the win and lemon juice.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes.  Uncover and cook for 10 minutes longer.  Baste well and check for doneness.  Chicken juices should run clear.