Susan Mallery's Fool's Gold Cookbook: A Love Story Told Through 150 Recipes (Fool's Gold #12.1)

2 bell peppers, any color, diced

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

1 package (10-ounce) frozen corn, thawed

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Salt and black pepper

1½ pounds store-bought cornbread, cut into small dice or coarsely crumbled (about 10 cups)

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Butter, to grease foil

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic casserole dish.

2. Warm 1 tablespoon of the oil in a Dutch oven or a large saucepan over medium heat; add sausage and cook about 6 minutes, until browned, stirring often. Using a slotted spoon, remove sausage to a large bowl. Add remaining oil to the drippings in the pan, still over medium heat. Cook onions, peppers and celery 10 minutes, until softened, stirring often. Stir in corn, thyme and cumin; cook 2 minutes, stirring. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Fold in sausage mixture. Gently fold in crumbled cornbread, broth and parsley. Do not overmix.

4. Spoon mixture into the prepared casserole dish, cover tightly with buttered foil. Bake 25 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes more, until golden brown on top and warmed through.

TIP: Although curly and flat-leaf parsley may be used interchangeably, flat-leaf (or Italian, as it’s also called) parsley has a more pungent flavor. Dried parsley has no flavor at all.

WINTER

Honey-Mustard Holiday Ham

A baked ham is perfect party fare. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 14

8 pounds smoked ham with rind

2 cups apple cider or apple juice, divided

⅔ cup light-brown sugar

½ cup Dijon mustard

¼ cup honey

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Place ham on a wire rack; set the rack in a roasting pan. Pour 1 cup of the apple cider over the ham. Cover ham completely with parchment paper, then heavy-duty foil, sealing around the edges of the pan. Bake 20 minutes per pound, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the ham registers 145°F. Remove ham from the oven; increase oven temperature to 375°F.

2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the remaining cider, brown sugar, mustard, honey and cloves to a simmer, stirring. Cook until sugar completely dissolves and sauce thickens.

3. Remove foil and parchment from the roasting pan; drain off any liquid collected in the pan. Using a long, sharp knife, cut off rind and all but a thin layer of fat from ham. Score the remaining ham in a diamond pattern. Using a brush, spread sauce over the ham. Bake 30 minutes, spooning any glaze that slides off the back onto the ham. Transfer to a serving platter; cover and let the ham rest 20 minutes.

TIP: You want the spicy-sweet sauce to thicken to a glaze before you apply it to the ham. The reducing time will depend on the thickness of your cider.

WINTER

Raspberry Linzer Sandwich Cookies

These classic treats make an elegant addition to a dessert buffet or a sweet hostess gift for a holiday gathering. The rolled-out dough can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Just thaw the dough enough to cut and go from there.

Makes 18 sandwich cookies

1½ cups raw almonds or hazelnuts, whole

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Pinch of salt

1 large egg

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

Powdered sugar, for sprinkling

Raspberry jam, as needed

1. In the bowl of a food processor, process almonds just until ground. You should have about 1½ cups ground almonds. Add flour, cinnamon, cloves and salt; pulse just until combined. Quickly pulse in egg until blended.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until well combined. Add nut mixture just until blended. Don’t overmix. Divide dough in half; place each half in between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper. Flatten into a disk; roll out (still wrapped) to a ¼-inch-thick round. Repeat process with the other half of the dough. Refrigerate both dough slabs, still wrapped and as flat as possible, for 2 hours, until very firm.

3. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking pads. Peel off the top sheet of plastic wrap from one slab of dough and, using a 2-inch scalloped or round cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as possible. Using one end of a piping tip, cut out a small circle in the center of half the cookies. Using a spatula, transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheets. Gather scraps into a ball; refrigerate until the second slab is rolled out. Repeat the process with the second half of dough. Combine scraps of both dough halves; refrigerate, then roll out and cut as before.