what to do with leftover ham

Every year growing up I'd look forward to the fresh ham sandwiches that came after a holiday meal. I went through a phase where the ham had to be cut into small chunks so that my little teeth could get through the meat and every bite had a bit of ham goodness in it. My dad always lovingly obliged my finicky demands. I have many memories of the two of us in the morning assembling the masterpiece of a sandwich that would be my lunch. I'd tell him exactly how I liked it and he would help me bring my creation to life. I seriously have the best dad in the world. 

Last year, my Uncle blew my mind with an idea for leftover ham from our Easter dinner… HAM SALAD. I've had egg salad, I've had tuna salad sandwiches, but I had never thought to do the same with ham! Maybe you've heard of this before? I hadn't and the thought never even crossed my mind. In case you're like me, I felt it was my duty to share the idea of ham salad with you. 

This is an easily adaptable recipe and I have a few improv suggestions below that you should check out. If you have leftover ham from Easter, definitely do yourself the favor and make this sandwich for lunch this week! 

ham salad

yields 2 sandwiches

ingredients:

2 c. shredded ham

½ c. mayonaise 

2 T. dill relish (or 2 small pickles finely chopped)

4 slices good ole' white bread

2 leaves of lettuce (optional)

Place your leftover ham in a food processor and let it go until it becomes a fine shred. Whatever texture you prefer, get it to that point. If you don't have a food processor, you can do this by hand with a knife. You could also just cube the ham but I much prefer the shred…

In a bowl, combine shredded ham, mayo, and dill relish. Stir until combined. Place half the mixture onto a slice of bread, add a leaf of lettuce, cover with other slice of bread. Repeat for the other 2 slices. 

improv style:

I think this recipe begs for good old fashioned, chewy white bread. Health nuts everywhere are cringing in their seats, sorry! you can use your favorite type of bread (whole wheat, an artisan loaf, etc…). heck, if you're doing the whole passover unleavened bread thing but you're still down with pork, put it on a matzo! mmmmm... this is also great as a snack on crackers.

if you're trying to lighten it up, you could substitute some of the mayo for light or fat free mayo, greek yogurt, or even smashed up avocado. avocado is a similar consistency and doesn't impart too much flavor. i still think this sammich calls for good ole full fat mayo! it's the holidays…

not a pickle fan? leave it out. my uncle does sweet pickle relish. i'm not down with the sweet pickles but if that's your thing, use that instead! you could add your favorite sandwich toppings but i like to keep it simple and let the ham shine! 

a classic

Deviled eggs are all the rage right now. I've seen TONS of unique recipes and even a few pop up on local restaurant menus. I'm a sucker for a deviled egg and while I love all of the unique flavor variations, nothing beats a classic deviled egg to me. 

My mom makes hers creamy with a bit of a kick and tang from 2 types of mustard and a light dusting of paprika really makes them pop. I have all sorts of great improv suggestions for a classic deviled egg including how to lighten them up if you're watching your waistline this year! 

classic deviled eggs

adapted from my mom's recipe

yield 12 servings

ingredients:

6 hard boiled eggs

5 T. mayonnaise 

½ T. dijon mustard

½ t. mustard powder

¼ c. shaved ham

salt + pepper to taste

sprinkle of paprika

Cut eggs in half and gently scoop out the yolks. In a bowl, mash the egg yolks with the back of a fork until they become a course powdery texture. Add in mayo, mustards, ham, and salt + pepper to taste. This is where you should taste the mixture to see how you like it. Adjust from there. 

Place yolk mixture into a ziplock bag or pastry bag fitted with your favorite tip. If using a ziplock bag, cut the tip off the end and pipe into eggs. You could just plop the mixture into the eggs with a spoon but I feel like the small touch makes for a beautiful presentation. Plus if you put it into a bag, you could make the day before serving to save yourself time. Just pipe it into the eggs when you're ready to serve!

*tip* to prevent your eggs from sliding around the plate, slice a thin layer off the bottom of the egg so it sits flat. just be careful not to cut through the egg. OR you could put a little of the yolk mixture on the bottom and stick the egg to the plate. you could be a little playful and cut your eggs in half hamburger style to be a little different. see below:

improv style:

there's all sorts of variations on this dish that you could try. i'm going to stick to classic suggestions but i've seen some cool combos like caesar salad flavored and truffled deviled eggs - how fancy!

i like best foods full-fat mayo. especially for the holidays, go big or go home, right? if you're not into that, you could use your favorite low fat, fat free, or miracle whip type mayo. want to make it REALLY healthy?! try substituting ½ the mayo for greek yogurt. it will add some more tang to the deviled eggs. or you could try substituting with a little bit of hummus.

shaved ham... where do i get that?! i usually cut off a small hunck from my holiday ham. you could also buy thick cut deli ham or buy the ham slices from the meat section of your grocer. i just pulse mine in the food processor for 30 seconds but if you don't have one, you can finely chop it with a knife and it will be just fine. not a fan of ham or looking for something similar but different?! try pancetta, bacon, or prosciutto. my cousins boyfriend so cleverly leaves out his ham from the yolk mixture and garnishes his eggs with a chunk of bacon. one of the many reasons why i love him so! 

on to tweaking the recipe to your taste... if you're not a huge mustard fan (i'm not usually - this being an exception) try scaling back the amount at first. remember, you can always add more. the worst thing you could do is add too much to the yolks. i've seen some runny deviled eggs in my day and i wonder what people were thinking. that being said, if you like it runny, add more mayo to your mixture! if you like a little kick, consider adding a few dashes of tabasco or cayenne pepper. a few squirts of worcestershire sauce could be a nice addition to the mix. 

if you end up splitting a few of the egg whites, don't panic. pop those in your mouth and no-one will notice! plus you'll be able to have more filling for the other eggs... see, a welcome accident! you can always boil more eggs... it's not too hard! 

how to cook a ham

Everyone has a different theory on what is the better "cut" of meat for a ham. I like a bone in butt end because bone in lends more flavor and butt end has more meat and better tasting meat (in my opinion). Shank end is easier to cut and has a nicer bone (if that matters to you). Really you can't go wrong as long as you buy a bone-in half or whole ham. 

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT buy a spiral ham. They tend to be saltier and dry out much quicker. Treat yourself and buy a nice ham from a butcher or grocery store. It will be so much tastier!

People have all different traditions and theories on glazing, cooking, and preparing a ham. I like making ham gravy with ham hocks so I can glaze my ham and get the best of both worlds. I've tried all different types of glazes and my favorite is a non-traditional fig + mustard glaze (not just for chicken) inspired by Claire Robinson. It's a beautiful purple/brown and gets sticky and caramelizes beautifully on the skin. It's divine!  You can take your favorite glaze recipe or not use one at all. The cooking principal is the same…

how to cook a ham:

Preheat oven to 325º F. On the fat/skin side, score your ham. All you want to do is make some horizontal and vertical lines to allow the fat to crisp up. Place ham skin side up in your baking dish and place in the oven for 30 minutes. This will allow the fat to cook down a bit and the skin to crisp up. After 30 minutes of baking, add about 1-2" of liquid (chicken stock, veggie stock, water) to the bottom of the dish and continue cooking for about 2 more hours depending on how big your ham is. If you're glazing, this is the point where you want to put that on your ham. 

Baste every 30 minutes (pour some of that liquid in the bottom over the ham to keep it moist). Factor in about 20 minutes of cooking time per pound. The goal is to get your ham to an internal temperature 135º F. When you pull it out to rest for 20-30 minutes, it will continue to rise to about 140 F which is your goal. You'll want to cover it in a tin foil tent so that it stays warm. Resting is important because it allows the juices to distribute throughout the whole hunk of meat. If you jump the gun and cut into it right away, you'll end up with a ton of juice on the plate instead of juicy meat. 

improv style:

the improv is really how you treat your ham… glaze, pineapple rings with cherries, clove studded, etc… the cooking method is simple and easy. i don't have a large roasting pan so i just use my 9x13 pyrex pan. work with what you have and if you have any questions, post a comment below and i'll respond as quick as possible!

saucy goodness

If you're like me and my family, you've probably waited until the last minute to figure out what you're making for Easter dinner. And in true fashion, this post is a little later than I would have liked to share with you guys. Hopefully you're like me and haven't given two thoughts to your Easter dinner yet. Do you want to do something a little different or do you stick to the classic family recipes? 

Last year I celebrated Easter with my Aunt and Uncle for the first time. I hosted my very first Easter dinner with all the fixings my family traditionally has. I was really proud of myself. Everything went without a flaw (I got lucky). I was really happy I got to share a bit of my Seattle family traditions with my Chicago family.  I was able to introduce my Uncle to ham gravy - something he had never thought of before. Something I couldn't imagine ham dinner without… seriously, HAM GRAVY. Do I need to say more? 

Is it just my family that makes this or is it something you've heard of before?! Either way, I feel it is my duty to share this salty, meaty, porky goodness with you all. If you haven't had it, make sure you include it in your Easter menu this year. You can thank me later. 

If you're all about a glazed ham, not to worry. I've taken it upon myself to figure out how to get ham gravy goodness without sacrificing your beloved glaze. Check out the improv style section below the recipe for all of the different options you have. And if you're looking for a tasty glaze that's not bourbon brown sugar, maybe try my fig mustard glaze. Fig + Ham were a match made in heaven in my book. 

This year, Easter dinner is at my Aunt and Uncle's house. I can't wait to see what their family meal traditions are!  I know what they do with their ham leftovers and I can't wait to share that with you guys! My Uncle blew my mind last year when he suggested it… GENIUS and yet so simple! What are some of your Easter or Passover traditions? 

ham gravy

yields about 2 c.

for the stock:

1 ham hock (you can get this from the butcher)

4 c. water or chicken/veggie stock

for the gravy:

2 c. of your stock (created from above ingredients)

3 T. butter

3 ½ T. flour

for the stock:

Preheat oven to 325º. Take a big knife to your ham hock and gash it a few times in the bone. This will help release the flavors. In an oven safe dish, combine ham hock with water or stock (I use my 9x9 glass pyrex). You don't have to measure perfectly how much liquid you put. Just fill the dish as much as you can with water and cover up the ham hock at least half way. I usually use a box of chicken stock and then fill the rest up with water. I know chicken isn't pork but I find it helps add to the depth of flavor in the gravy. It also gives it a nice brown color. Heat in the oven for at least 2-3 hours so that the ham flavors get in the liquid. Strain liquid into a bowl and let cool. You can do this up to 3 days before you want to serve. 

for the gravy:

Depending on the amount of liquid you yielded and the consistency you like, the next steps vary. For me, I like a gravy that isn't runny but isn't a thick, gelatinous lump either. For thinner gravy, add more liquid or less flour. For thicker gravy, add more flour or less liquid. In a medium sized pot, melt your butter with flour and stir until it forms a  paste. Pour your stock over the roux (flour + butter mixture) and whisk like a crazy person until it's incorporated. Gently simmer for about 15 minutes until mixture is thickened. If you find your gravy too runny, you can always mix some flour with a little bit of water (you want to dissolve it best you can) and slowly stir a little at a time into the pot and wait 5 minutes to see how it thickens up. If your gravy is too thick, you could add a little more stock if you have it or chicken/veggie stock OR a little water if you must. If your gravy turns out lumpy, never fear. You can put it in a blender or use a hand blender to incorporate all of those little lumps. 

improv style:

first off, if you have more than 2 c. of stock, adjust the measurements accordingly. I did a smaller batch so that people could always go bigger if they wanted. i tried to make it easy to batch out…

this is a basic ham gravy. i like a strong ham flavor but if you want to make it a little fancy, you could add some herbs (thyme, rosemary) or booze (sherry, bourbon, or a little white wine). whatever you like to do to your turkey gravy would make sense here for the most part. you could add some veggies like carrots, celery, onion and garlic to the pan with the ham hock as you cook it to add more flavor. maybe i'll try that next time i make it.

gluten free? NO PROBLEM! use cornstarch instead of flour. Just make sure you mix it well with a bit of the cold stock or water. You want to turn it into a slurry (a thin paste) to drizzle into your hot stock. You can always add more so be light handed at first! it will thicken after about 7 minutes and you'll know if you need to add more or less. 

don't want to buy a ham hock or can't find one at your store?! no problem. pour some water and chicken stock in the bottom of the pan you cook your ham in. baste it every 30 minutes with the juice to maximize the ham flavor in your broth. you won't want to glaze your ham unless you want a sweet gravy or your gravy to taste similar to your glaze. i've found sweet gravy = gross. while your ham is resting, make your gravy. 

wish me luck!

Hey Guys! North Carolina Sweet Poatato Commission is hosing a recipe contest taking a stand against the marshmallow + sweet potato combination. I decided to enter my awesome brunch hash into the contest, wish me luck! Be sure to check out all of the great sweet potato recipes they have. 

What fun sweet potato recipes do you have?!

sweet potato + sausage hash
yields 4 servings


ingredients:
4 sweet potatoes (about 4 cups diced)

1 mild italian sausage link

2 spicy italian sausage links

1 onion diced
1 garlic clove chopped
1 t. onion powder
½ t. garlic powder
8 basil leaves
4 T. olive oil
salt + pepper


Preheat oven to 400º F. Dice sweet potatoes to your preferred size. Drizzle 3 T. olive oil and salt + pepper to taste over the potatoes and place on baking sheet. Roast potatoes for about 20 minutes while you prepare the rest of the dish. 


Heat a skillet on medium and add 1 T. olive oil and the sausage links (casing removed) crumbled. Cook until browned. Next add onion and cook until translucent. Add in garlic and seasonings and cook for 1 - 2 minutes. Pull your sweet potatoes out of the oven and add them to your pan. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Tear basil leaves and sprinkle over the top of your dish before serving. 


improv style:
there's a million ways you can improvise this dish. don't have sweet potatoes? you can use any kind you like: yams, yukon gold, red, fingerling, you get the idea... same goes with the sausage: breakfast, all mild, all spicy, chorizo, pork, chicken, jalapeno chedar. not a fan of sausage? bacon, canadian bacon, diced ham, or pancetta would all be lovely substitutions. this is a throw what you got in a pan and make it kind of hash. add in your favorite herbs. think oregano, chili powder, thyme, parsley. i think it would be even better if you topped it with a poached or fried egg with a slightly runny yolk (no eggs for me for another 23 days - sigh). also, you can cook the potatoes in the skillet if you prefer. i like the oven because i can get everything else prepared faster while the potatoes get nice and soft in the oven. 

family traditions

Where did the last 2 weeks go? I swear I had all of my posts lined up ready to share with you guys. Easter's coming up and Passover too… In my family we celebrate both. I wanted to share some of our family recipes with you guys and then things got crazy, like INSANELY crazy. I started a new job and I've been working like a madwoman. AND last week my little sister was in town. It was great, except I forgot to share my awesome family recipes with you guys… so sorry! So I'll overload you this week to make up for it, k?

Every family has their own traditions. In my family, early morning before a special holiday, we have Aunt Bobbi's Buns. We don't have an Aunt Bobbi, I have no idea who she is - but I'm thankful for her buns!!

It's an insanely easy recipe to make and the best part is it only requires you to turn on the oven in the morning. The rest of the prep is done the night before (if you can really call it that). Some people call this monkey bread and I'm sure tons of people have their own spin on it. This is how my family does it. For us, everyone fights over the center pieces (the extra soft, gooey pieces). My sister Carolyn and I always fight over our other sister's pecans (they're not into the nuts). I usually win - the joys of being the oldest sibling. 

What are your family holiday traditions?

aunt bobbi's sticky buns

my mother's recipe adapted from a newspaper clipping from long ago but I found it online here

yields 8 servings

ingredients:

1 package Rhodes frozen dinner rolls

1 box Jello cook-n-serve butterscotch pudding mix

¼ c. melted butter

½ c. packed brown sugar

½ c. pecan halves

¼ t. cinnamon

the night before:

Spray a bunt pan with non-stick cooking spray (I use PAM). Sprinkle nuts into the cake pan and then top with 14 - 18 of the frozen rolls. Enough to fill the pan but not so many that the balls overflow the pan. Pour the pudding mix over the frozen rolls.

In a small bowl, mix butter and brown sugar together and then pour over dinner rolls with pudding mix. Finally, sprinkle with cinnamon, cover with plastic wrap,  and set it in a cool oven overnight. I know this sounds crazy, but trust it… it works and it's awesome. 

in the morning:

Pull out your cake pan (this is REALLY important, don't forget like I have before). Preheat your oven to 350º F and bake your bobbi's for 18-20 minutes until the frozen dinner rolls are cooked. They should sound slightly hollow when tapped (you know what a cooked dinner roll should look like - you eat them). Place a large plate over the top and invert and let sit for a few minutes. Pull the pan off and you have yourself a gorgeous and EASY special breakfast! 

I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!!

improv style:

i'm sure you could use any type of frozen dinner roll as long as it was a basic dinner roll and not a crescent, etc… if you try another brand, let me know how it works! maybe try a whole wheat brand? unfortunately, the pudding mix is kind of essential to this recipe but if you're trying to be healthier (calorie wise), you could use margarine instead of butter. i don't recommend this. and finally, how do you feel about nuts? not a fan? leave it out… only have walnuts, substitute it! i bet some crumbled dried fruit would be a nice addition as well. maybe a little drizzle of rum (2 - 3 T.) would give it an extra holiday kick?! 

3 irish men

I'm super excited to share this recipe with you guys. Two of my very good friends are dating Irish men so this year I wanted to go all out for my Paddy's Day post. A few years ago I was lucky enough to spend the day in Dublin for St. Patrick's Day with one of those friends. I wish we lived in the same place so I could share these cupcakes with them! I know both of my girlfriends would LOVE these treats. 

I figure if you're going to make a boozy cupcake, you might as well go all out. This is a rich, moist, flavorful dark chocolate stout cupcake, stuffed with a whiskey spiked ganache, topped with a tangy, not too sweet baileys cream cheese butter cream frosting. Sounds complicated but it's really not. Each bite hi-lights a different flavor and I love how they come together. Some might call this an Irish Car Bomb cupcake but I prefer 3 Irish Men. There may or may not have been a rough night in college during Whistler weekend that involved one too many Irish Car Bombs. I've never been able to drink one since. These cupcakes on the other hand are a different story! If you're a chocolate lover, this is the cupcake for you.

3 irish men cupcakes

adapted from pinch my salt originally adapted from david leberman

yields 15 cupcakes

ingredients:

for the cupcakes:

2 eggs

½ c. sour cream

6 oz (about ¾ c. not including the head) guiness 

2 t. vanilla

1 t. baking soda

½ t. baking powder

½ c. dark cocoa powder

1¼ c. flour

1 c. sugar

6 T. melted butter

pinch of salt

for the ganache:

6 oz bittersweet chocolate

⅔ c. heavy cream

4 T. Jameson Whiskey

2 T. butter

for the frosting:

1 stick of butter at room temperature

3 c. powdered sugar

4 oz cream cheese

4 T. baileys

Preheat oven to 350º F. Line your cupcake pan with cupcake papers and set aside. In a large bowl, mix eggs, yogurt, vanilla, and beer together. In a separate bowl, sift together your dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, powder, cocoa, and salt). The sifting is important because cocoa powder tends to be very lumpy. I just used a fine mesh sieve but use whatever you have on hand.

Add half of your dry ingredients into your wet and mix well. Once incorporated, add the remainder of the dry to your wet and stir until well combined. Melt your butter in the microwave and add this to your cupcake batter. Stir one more time until it's fully mixed and you're ready to drop the batter in the tins! 

I used an ice cream scoop so that each cupcake was uniform in size. Fill the cupcake liners about ¾ of the way full. Bake for about 25 minutes. You'll know the cupcakes are done when a toothpick comes out of the center clean. 

Let cupcakes cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. If you get impatient, you might end up with floppy cupcakes. They need time to cool down before you remove them from the tin!

While your cupcakes are cooling, get started on your ganache. In a small sauce pan, heat cream over medium heat until it's really warm but not boiling. Chop chocolate into small chunks and place in a medium sized bowl. Add butter in small chunks. Once your cream has warmed up, pour over the chocolate and butter. Stir until it melts and becomes cool. Finally add in your whiskey and set aside to firm up a little bit. 

While your ganache is cooling, use a small circular cookie cutter (or in my case a melon baller because I didn't have one) and remove a small portion out of the center of each cupcake. If you don't have either of these tools, carefully use a pairing knife and a spoon to remove the center. It doesn't have to be a perfect circle. You're going to fill it with ganache and top it with frosting so no one will know anyway. 

The ganache should have this consistency to it (still soft but holds it's shape). It will take about 15-20 minutes to cool to this texture. 

Once all the centers are removed, fill a ziplock bag and cut the tip off or piping bag with the cooled ganache and stuff your cupcakes with the filling. 

On to the frosting! In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Slowly add in your powdered sugar about a half a cup at a time. I've found by doing this it helps melt the sugar better and it makes the frosting a lot less grainy! Once all of your sugar is incorporated, add in your baileys. I used a piping bag to frost the cupcakes but you can use any method you like. Ta-da! Super fancy cupcakes for your Paddy's Day celebration! Or any day really, lets be honest! 

improv style:

i wanted an authentic irish cupcake to celebrate st. patricks day. you can use any stout beer and whiskey you like for this recipe. you can also leave out the whiskey from the ganache if you don't like it. you can adjust the amount of booze by a TBSP or two less if you want a VERY subtle flavor. however this recipe probably won't take more booze... i packed it with as much flavor as possible. if you don't have sour cream on hand you can use non-fat yogurt or greek yogurt. just make sure it's plain flavored. i know it probably sounds like a weird ingredient for cupcakes but it helps make them really moist, keeps it lower in fat, AND balances out the sweetness. it's the miracle worker of the cupcake!