Ingredients for Ham

1 fully cooked and smoked ham, about 8 to 10 pounds
1 cup apple or mint jelly
3 medium tomatillos, husked and minced
1 cup minced cilantro leaves
   (or 1/2 cup minced cilantro leaves and 1/2 cup minced parsley leaves)

Ingredients for Eggs

4 ripe avocados
Juice of 2 to 3 limes
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white onion, minced (optional)
2 Serrano chilies, seeded and minced (optional)
4 ounces butter
   (substitute 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or other light cooking oil, if desired)
12 pasteurized eggs (pasteurization is necessary for safety when yolks aren’t fully cooked)

Directions for Ham

Directions for Eggs

Ingredients

2 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces butter, softened and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup fresh blueberries (frozen may be substituted)
1 large egg
3/4 cup half and half

Directions

Grapefruit trees in our area are laden now with golden fruit, and making them into compote is a nice change. A little sugar tames the tang of the grapefruit and makes for a flavorful syrup base for the compote, a perfect foil for sausage.

3 yellow grapefruit (or red)
1 and 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 mint sprigs

Remove the zest of half of one grapefruit and set aside. Peel and segment the grapefruits with a knife. Remove the seeds and the white pith. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the water, sugar, 3 mint sprigs, and the zest. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the grapefruit segments, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the segments have softened but still retain their shape, about 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and discard the zest. Let cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve chilled or at room temperature in compote dishes.

This bulk sausage is easy to make, and once you’ve made it a few times, you’ll want to make your own variations on the seasoning. Be sure to fry up a bit and taste it once you have the seasonings in and adjust salt and herbs to your personal taste. The pork butt is a good choice for the meat because it is streaked with fat, which is necessary for a balanced sausage.

2 pounds pork butt, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 to 2 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
2 to 4 tablespoons minced fresh sage leaves
1 to 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves

In a food processor, pulse the pork until it is coarsely ground, about 10 pulses. Remove to a bowl and, with your hands, mix in 1 tablespoon salt, 2 tablespoon sage, 1 tablespoon black pepper, and 1 tablespoon rosemary.

Take a tablespoon of the mixture and fry it. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more as desired.

Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 2 days. (It can also be frozen.)

Shape into 2-inch patties about 1/2-inch thick. Heat a frying pan over medium high heat and fry the patties until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and turn and fry the other side until browned and the meat is cooked through (another 4 to 5 minutes). Remove to a paper-towel lined platter to drain, then serve hot.

This recipe is from the South, where great pride is still taken in saving every part of the hog. After you've cooked bacon, save the fat by pouring it out while hot into a metal or ceramic container and placing it in the refrigerator. It will harden and can then be used to cut into the flour for the biscuits. You may also substitute bacon fat with hydrogenated vegetable shortening, though it will produce a different flavor. Serve hot out of the oven with butter for breakfast or brunch or with fried chicken or ham for dinner.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup bacon fat
3/4 cup cold milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix the first three ingredients in a bowl, cut in the bacon fat until you have pea-sized balls. While stirring with a fork, slowly add the cold milk, stirring until the dough forms a ball. Remove the ball and place it on a lightly floured surface, such as marble or wood. Knead the dough 4 to 5 times to ensure all the ingredients are mixed well. Press the dough with your hands into a rectangle about 3/4-inch thick. Use a glass with a circumference the size you want your biscuits (such as 2 inches), cut out the biscuits. Place the rounds, with the sides touching, on a lightly greased baking sheet. Repeat process until dough is used up. Bake for about 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

If you love marmalade and don’t want to make it, you might pick up some from Yolo County at the Davis Farmers Market— Good Humus offers the Evans & Main label, which follows this recipe. Read the entire recipe before you begin to make sure you have jars, lids and time. This is a marmalade lover’s marmalade—thick rind, flavorful and tart.

3 large navel oranges
2 large or 3 small lemons
1 grapefruit
11 cups water
7 to 8 cups sugar

Wash fruit well and cut in quarters. Soak cut fruit in the measured water overnight in a non-reactive container. Remove fruit and cut into very thin slices, about .-inch thick. Return shredded fruit to water and place all contents in a non-reactive pan, then boil for one hour with the lid off. Add sugar, stir until it is dissolved, and continue to boil for about 20 . 40 minutes,
until mixture reaches 220o on a candy thermometer. After 20 minutes you may notice the color change to deep amber. The boil changes as the mixture rises in temperature.a rapid boil with very small bubbles.

Sterilize 4 or 5 pint-sized canning jars and lids according to manufacturer’s directions.

Using a funnel, ladle the mixture into the hot, sterilized jars, leaving about 1 inch on top to create a vacuum seal once the mixture cools. Wipe the rim of the jar clean, and place a sterilized lid on top of it. Place the ring on top of the lid and tighten. Let sit until you hear the lid “pop” at which time you will know that a seal has been created. Refrigerate contents after opening. Will keep up to 1 year unopened in your dark pantry.

This delicious recipe comes from the Georgia Pecan Commission, and is printed here with the permission of the Georgia Pecan Commissioner himself, Mr. Charles M. “Buddy” Leger.

3/4 cup pecans (halved or chopped)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
10 ounces dry pasta
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add pecans and toast lightly. Transfer nuts to blender or food processor. In same skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add garlic and oil to pecans.

Add parsley, Parmesan cheese, and lemon zest to blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Prepare pasta according to directions. Drain pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Stir pesto and reserved water into hot pasta and mix until well combined.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Variation: Substitute walnuts for the pecans.