Creative Uses for all that Ham...

Would you..? Could you..?  Of course you can...

I've often pondered why we call a bad actor a "ham" who "hams up" his lines - that is, overacts so badly that she/he's unbelievable in the role they're playing. 

So I looked up the definition...

And it's nothing to do with the meat itself.  Instead it refers to the first syllable of "amateur" - what a let down.  And I've lost my sequitur :(

Back to the issue of ham leftovers.  In our family, only six people sat down to Christmas Dinner so we have plenty of ham left to play with.

We scouted around for family-friendly recipes which weren't just the same old stock of turkey leftover ideas only with ham substituted for turkey meat.

The best source of ideas we came across were on this Southern website and the ones we'll be trying this week are:

•  ham and white bean soup - a marriage made in heaven and is sooo good that it doesn't even count as a leftover meal;
• ham and scalloped potatoes - basically an excuse to slather the two primary ingredients with cream and garlic!

Or what about Keri's suggestion - this pea and ham soup?

Another recipe idea was provided by Stormy Lundy, the chef who runs the Reading Terminal Market's Catering Division.

Cookin' up a storm

When she bakes a ham she tends to lean on her mother's special "Hammy Hash" recipe...

This is a variation on a corned beef hash but switches out the corned beef for finely diced ham.

Forget the Green Eggs and Ham. 

Try this Hammy Hash instead.  It too is perfect with fried eggs sunny side up.

Baked Ham - Tips from the Reading Terminal Market

I couldn't face another roasted turkey so soon after Thanksgiving, so I talked the family into a baked ham for Christmas Day.

While we like turkey in most of its guises - minced in a chili, sliced, as meatballs, you name it -  a big ol' roast turkey seems like a lot of effort for a not particularly spectacular end result.  (And no one in my family will eat the dark meat...)

But ham is different.  Everyone loves it.  And no one grumbles about the leftovers!

Ham is so easy, especially if you source a good quality pre-baked ham from one of the butchers at Reading Terminal Market, who are always ready and willing to give you their advice...

The team at Giunta's offered these pearls of wisdom:
"Spiral cut hams are the best value for money and taste the best.  Because they are pre-sliced the additional water content is lower than in normal hams, so you're getting more for your money."

Try a Ham Steak from Giunta's Prime Meats

"We know there are people with smaller families or who may be on their own and they tend to be put off by the size of a baked ham, because it's too much meat for them.  Remember though that you can buy individual thick-cut slices which work just as well."

Key to the success of your table ready ham is the glaze.  Being a novice to this, we researched glazes online.  The results were overwhelming.  One website offered up 253 types of glaze.  My eyes glazed over.

We solicited recipes from our fellow FB phoodies and these were the two we liked best:

• The first was from Marie Simon Gowan who said: "I love using peach, apricot or a combination of the two. This is great on pork, chicken and ham; I make it from my own homemade jams."
• The next was from our friends at The Communal Pantry who suggested: "How about Pomegranate Molasses, brown sugar and orange juice...our current favourite glaze. For an added kick, you can also add chili flakes or mustard!" 

Both these suggestions sound like winners.  Hmmmm.  So what shall it be?  I did want to throw in some Bourbon, having found a recipe with cherries and orange juice...but then I also spotted some mango and guava jam. 

Perhaps some permutation of all three recipes? 

Howzabout pomegranate / port and cherries combo? 

Or whisky / orange juice / mango jam / kumquats.  


Both of them would surely benefit from a sprinkling of chili flakes..?
 

Or is that overkill? Photos to follow on FB closer to the big day...
   

Bet You'll Find a Great Gift at Reading Terminal Market

They did it their way. 

But do you know what came first?  Laverne & Shirley or Happy Days?

Both shows were set in Wisconsin..but one was a spin off from the other.  And get extra kudos if you can figure out what inspired Happy Days - and it wasn't another TV show... 

My husband lost a bet with a colleague while he was working in Wisconsin.  The wager was this very same question.  At stake was a basket of the finest cheeses from Wisconsin, versus a gift basket of fare from one of the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch vendors in Reading Terminal Market.

The husband backed the wrong horse; he claimed Happy Days came after Laverne & Shirley.  Wrong!

So with the help of Kauffmans at the Market we've assembled a gift basket to be shipped off FedEx this weekend.

If you're looking for gift baskets, there's a cornucopia of choices from the merchants at the Market.  Here's some we spotted this week...

Bee Natural's Honey infused gifts--perfect for your Honey!

Coffee collection from Old City Coffee

Pretty candy n cookies gift bags @ Termini's

If you'd prefer to customize your own gift basket, don't forget you can do this with a little help from the Pennsylvania General Store.  They have an extensive catalog of gift products, but are equally happy to help you put together a custom basket from merchants at the Market and will still ship them nationwide on your behalf.  Full details at http://www.pageneralstore.com/

By the way...the answer is American Graffiti.   You're a popular culture buff if you got that one correct.

Want to be tormented some more...?

Who directed American Graffiti then?  We're not telling :)