It's Wednesday. So, What's Cooking?

Honeyed Ham Steak with Peach Halves, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and Fresh Green Beans.

Time for a refreshing change of grilled meats. This lighter menu is great in hot weather and wonderful any time of the year.

Honeyed Ham Steak with Peach Halves
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Fresh Green Beans
White Wine – Chardonnay

Honeyed Ham Steak with Peach Halves
1 16 oz. can cling peach halves in heavy syrup
1 – 1 ½ lb. Ham steak about 1 inch thick
½ cup orange juice
1 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. prepared mustard
¼ tsp. ground allspice
2 tbsp. water
1 tsp. cornstarch

Drain peach halves, reserving ½ cup syrup.

Trim a few pieces of fat from the ham steak. Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fat chunks and fry until lightly browned, rubbing them along the bottom of the skillet to grease it. Discard fat. Add ham and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium. Stir in orange juice, honey, mustard, allspice, and reserved peach syrup.

Add peach halves and heat through, about 5 minutes. Place only ham and peaches on a warm serving plate and tent with aluminum foil.

Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl until well blended. Stir into skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils, about 1 minute.

To serve, spoon sauce over ham and peaches.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes
1 lb. sweet potatoes
¼ cup olive oil
Rock or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Parsley to garnish – dried or fresh

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into large chunks. Toss in olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place into baking pan you can serve from. Cover with foil and roast for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to roast uncovered for 30 minutes or until cooked through when tested with a toothpick. They should be golden brown.

Remove from the oven and garnish with parsley.

Fresh Green Beans
1 lb. fresh green beans trimmed
Water
2 tbsp. butter
Freshly ground black pepper

Bring large pot of water to a hard boil. A high heat setting is best.

Drop the beans in by the handful. Boil 10 to 15 minutes or until the beans are just tender.

Drain beans in a colander. Add butter to the hot pot and melt. Pour beans into pot. Toss with butter and coat well, then season with pepper to taste.

I'll be back Friday with a little more for aspiring authors. Until then...

Bon Appétit!

Sloane Taylor