10 Ways to Use Leftover Ham

Posted on by Sarah

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Easter has come and gone, and for us Catholics, Lent is over–bring on the alcohol! the sweets! the whatever you gave up that you have been longing for for six weeks! And bring on the HAM! I hope that however you observed Easter (if you observe Easter), it was a lovely celebration…

…and that it included a spectacularly large spiral-sliced ham like mine did. I was a little late to the ham-buying game this year, as I was stranded in Denver in the midst of a blizzard (more on that in a future post on the 2016 Nutrition and Health Conference) and didn’t get home until Good Friday. So when I went to the store to purchase a smallish ham for the six people who would be eating Easter dinner at our house, there were in fact no smallish hams to be found. All that was left were mountainous hunks of ham, like, half-a-pig-sized, fill-your-entire-cart-sized hams. I ended up hauling home the smallest ham I could find, which was the size of a human toddler (okay, it was just shy of ten pounds). Still, calculate out ten pounds of ham for six people and you get waaaay more than anyone should be eating at one sitting. So we are now sitting on several good-sized Ziploc bags of frozen ham. I am definitely not complaining. In my experience, bags of pre-cooked meat in the freezer are a total boon to meal planning, especially on the quick. There are so many meals that beg for pre-cooked meat to eliminate one step in the dinner prep process. Over the years of hosting holiday meals and having leftovers, I’ve tried to get creative and have found there are so many ways to incorporate cooked ham into lunches, dinners, breakfasts, and appetizers.

So if you, too, are harboring leftover ham, allow me to offer you ten delicious options for using it up!

1. Hawaiian Pizza

You know the drill: crust, marinara, mozzarella, pineapple, and ham. Easy peasy!

2. Ham Mac & Cheese

Mix 1 cup ham into your favorite mac and cheese recipe for a protein boost.

3. Ham and Potato Soup

A classic. Right here on A Love Letter to Food.

4. Ham quiche or strata

Also here on the blog!

5. Spinach salad with ham, cheddar, apple, and pecans

We had this last night with a raspberry vinaigrette–super simple weeknight dinner.

6. Try a unique sandwich of ham, goat cheese, and mango chutney

I had this combo at a restaurant on Bainbridge Island near Seattle and have been dreaming of making it ever since.

7. Make a quick appetizer of ham, brie, and asparagus on skewers

Skewers make everything better.

8. Breakfast burrito

Toss some cubed ham in with eggs and cheese in a tortilla for a satisfying breakfast.

9. Ham Scalloped Potatoes

Try this recipe, adding ham and peas for a one-dish meal .

10. Ham Risotto

Mmmmm, risotto! Or should I say hammm risotto? This one with sweet potatoes is on my list.

 

Here’s to a hammy several weeks ahead!

 

Prosciutto-Wrapped Melon with Mint Vinaigrette

Posted on by Sarah

Prosciutto Wrapped Melon

Being married to a New York Italian, I have slowly become familiar with the unique vocabulary this special culture uses to describe its food. When we first met, I had no idea that when Anthony’s mom said “mutzadel,” she was referring to what I would call “mozzarella,” or that “gabagool” meant “capicola.” (Not that I knew what capicola was, anyway. It wasn’t exactly a staple in my German-Swiss upbringing.) For years I thought my husband’s family simply had their own strange ways of pronouncing these Italian foods, but apparently, it transcends just his family. I eventually found out that ALL New York Italians use these words. This satirical video of a Brooklyn spelling bee pretty well sums it up:

I can only assume it’s one of those linguistic phenomena where words from a mother language get altered in trickling down the generations and become almost unrecognizable, like a game of Telephone.

Now that we’ve been married almost 12 years and I’ve figured out the lingo, every time I make the appetizer pictured here, I can’t help but think of it as calling for “brahjzoot,” the New York Italian pronunciation of “prosciutto.” This must be some kind of rite of passage–if we ever go to Brooklyn, I’ll fit right in! (Ha.)

Even if it’s pretty unlikely I’ll ever pass for a New York Italian, at least I have this delightful recipe for a variation on a classic Italian appetizer: prosciutto-wrapped melon. I especially love this version for its tangy vinaigrette that combines fresh mint and golden balsamic vinegar. (Another food I never knew about until recently! The “golden” aspect of this balsamic allows the melon to keep its own attractive color.) With warmer weather upon us, this 5-ingredient, light and refreshing starter would work well for an outdoor gathering, paired with a Chardonnay….

…and perhaps (why not?) some “mutzadel” to go with it.

Melon

Prosciutto-Wrapped Melon with Mint Vinaigrette
(Adapted from Fine Cooking)

Ingredients:

1 ripe cantaloupe
2 Tbsp. thinly-sliced fresh mint leaves
1/4 c. Tbsp. golden balsamic vinegar, depending on sweetness of melon (the sweeter the melon, the more vinegar you can use)
1/2 tsp. fresh-ground black pepper
6 oz. thinly-sliced prosciutto

Directions:

  1. Slice the cantaloupe into chunks or thin wedges, removing the rind.
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together golden balsamic vinegar, mint leaves, and black pepper. Toss cantaloupe slices in this mixture until coated.
  3. Slice or tear the prosciutto into 1 to 2-inch wide strips and wrap around each melon slice. Place on a serving platter and serve immediately.

Serves about 6-8 as an appetizer.

Shamrock Shake

Posted on by Sarah

Shamrock Shake

This may come off sounding snobby, but I pretty much refuse to eat at McDonald’s, except under extreme duress. (Basically, only on road trips through the middle of nowhere with zero other options and/or urgent need to use their bathroom). I could list a whole lot of reasons for this, but suffice it to say, McDonald’s and I are just not on the same page environmentally, nutritionally, or ideologically.

BUT….

There is one other exception to this rule besides the starving/gotta pee scenario. And that, my friends, is the Shamrock Shake. Every year around St. Patrick’s Day, McD’s rolls out this seasonal treat of minty deliciousness and I lose all common sense and decide I NEEEEEED one, like:

gollum

The thing is, I’m still not crazy about actually patronizing McDonald’s, and I never really know the timeframe of when they offer the Shamrock Shake, or if it’s only available at select locations. Plus, these things are (unfortunately) astronomically high in calories. A small Shamrock Shake will run you 530 calories–a small! This year I finally realized I might as well just try making my own.

Shamrock Shake

Using just Breyer’s Homemade Vanilla ice cream, milk, a little green food coloring, and a few drops of peppermint extract (just enough to make it nice and minty but not toothpasty), this DIY version totally hit the spot. And at about 250 calories instead of 530, this will be my new go-to Shamrock Shake.

Craving satisfied, internal psycho Gollum voice quieted….until next year.

gollum

Shamrock Shake
(A Love Letter to Food Original)

Ingredients:

3/4 c. vanilla ice cream
3 Tbsp. milk
3 drops peppermint extract
4 drops green food coloring
Whipped cream, for topping

Directions:

Blend ice cream, milk, peppermint extract, and food coloring until smooth. Pour into a glass and top with whipped cream.

Serves 1.

Whole Wheat Granola Muffins

Posted on by Sarah

Granola Muffins

Have you ever heard one of those pop song mashups, where they take two songs with similar chord progressions and meld them together? It probably just goes to show how similar all pop music is, but I still get a kick out of how cool it sounds to layer one song on top of another. (Don’t tell my husband, who is all about music being unique–have I mentioned his website, MakeWeirdMusic.com?) There are a few mashups I’ve heard and really enjoyed, though, like one that matched Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” with “Stand by Me”:

or this one that layered Beyonce’s “Halo” with “Walking on Sunshine”:

Anyway, the point is that sometimes two things can go together in unexpected ways that just work…

…which brings me to these whole wheat granola muffins, which I like to think of as a Breakfast Mashup. Take two breakfast items that don’t seem to go together–granola and muffins–and meld them into one! It’s a breakfast pop hit! But wait, you might say. Isn’t putting the crunch of granola into a soft-and-chewy baked good kind of counterintuitive? Won’t the granola create an unpleasant harshness? That’s certainly what I would have thought, but having made these muffins twice now, I can attest that is not the case. The magic of baking softens the granola just enough to add a crunch that is pleasantly noticeable, but not tooth-breakingly obvious. Plus, the warmth of cinnamon and heartiness of whole wheat flour go hand in hand with just about any pre-made granola you can name. I chose an apple-cinnamon variety with great results.

Granola Muffins

To ensure these muffins don’t turn out dry (as can sometimes happen with whole wheat-based baked goods), I’m going to let you in on a little secret I’ve found helpful: break out the food scale. Accurately measured flour always makes for better baking, and measuring cups can be deceiving. The white whole wheat flour I used was 120 grams in 1 cup, and my measuring cup weighs 26 grams, so this is what an accurately measured 1 cup of flour looked like for me:

Kinda surprising, right?

So, what breakfast mashups can we come up with next? Egg-flavored cereal? Sausage smoothies? Just kidding. Stick with granola muffins for a sure bet for a delicious, whole grain-packed breakfast mashup to start your day off right.

Granola Muffins

Whole Wheat Granola Muffins
(Adapted from King Arthur Flour)

Ingredients:

2 c. whole wheat (or white whole wheat) flour
2/3 c. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. prepared granola
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 c. plain Greek yogurt
1/2 c. milk

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
  2. In large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and granola.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine vanilla, vegetable oil, yogurt, and milk. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined.
  4. Divide batter evenly between muffin cups and bake 18-20 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.

Oscar Party

Posted on by Sarah

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If you use Pinterest, do you ever think of your brain as a conglomeration of Pinterest boards? And if so, what would they be? Mine would include a ’70s music board, a Things I’m Probably Forgetting to Do board, and a Parties I Want to Host board. For a long time an Oscar Night sat forlornly on this “board” in my brain. It had always sounded like a blast to me to get dressed up with a group of friends (Grown-up Prom is also on the Parties I Want to Host board–oh yeah, it’s still gonna happen) and enjoy the glitz and glamor of the Academy Awards together. Recently, when I realized that the Oscars were rolling around and I had no plans, I decided this was the year to make it a reality! I invited a group of girlfriends over (husbands not included because, let’s be real, are husbands into getting formal to sip champagne and watch the Oscars? They are NOT.) for food, drinks, Oscar-themed activities, and of course, watching the awards themselves. We had a lovely time, and it reminded me of just how grateful I am to have such awesome girlfriends. Here are the details of our evening for anyone who wants to start planning for next year!

THE FOOD:

And the Biggest Themed Menu Planning Nerd award goes to….Sarah of A Love Letter to Food! I seriously geeked out planning this Oscar-themed menu:
Oscar Menu

Who doesn’t love pigs in blankets? I am here to tell you that the Trader Joe’s variety were a big hit with my friends, and not just because of the pun I worked into their name on the menu (wink). Served with ketchup and mustard, they were a delightful morsel that added to the spread.

A second savory item were these star-shaped roast beef and rosemary-garlic aioli tea sandwiches. See, I knew that star-shaped cookie cutter would come in handy sometime other than the 4th of July!

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Next up, these tuxedo-themed olive and brie crackers were gone in a flash:

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For a little something healthy, I served a “Celebrity Detox” kale salad, also known as kale with cranberries, pecans, and poppyseed dressing. Detox results not guaranteed. 😉

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And to snack on, I made a batch of my favorite cinnamon sugar popcorn (not pictured).

Finally, for dessert, there were Red Velvet Carpet cupcakes topped with gold sprinkles for some extra shimmer.

The spread in its entirety:

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THE DECOR:

The possibilities for fun, classy, and even kitschy Oscar decorations are endless. I had a ton of fun prepping several such items for this party. To set the stage for the evening, I made a quick door sign to greet guests when they arrived: as easy as downloading a PDF of a film clapper and filling in the party details.

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If there’s one thing an Oscar party needs, it’s got to be a red carpet. I found this sparkly red material at Michael’s for a good price, so it served as the walkway for guests to enter on.

Once inside, guests had the opportunity to pose for photos in front of this snazzy backdrop, a la a junior high dance circa 1995, thankyouverymuch.

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To grace the food display, I went with these hanging metallic paper fans, a bouquet of gold branches in a tall vase, and some Oscar statuettes made by mounting prints of the real thing on cardboard backing. My husband even said how surprisingly accurate they came out!

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Annnnd finally, the bathroom. We celebrities just can’t get any privacy anywhere, can we?

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THE ACTIVITIES:

Actor On My Back

When guests arrived, we played a variation on the classic icebreaker “Animal on my Back”: this time, Actor on my Back. Everyone had a famous actor/actress pinned to her back and had to figure out where identity from yes-or-no questions.

Photo Taking

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At the end of the red carpet, your photo op! (Holding your well-deserved Oscar, of course.)

Oscar Bingo

I found these fantastic printables of an Oscar Bingo game on the HGTV website. The game’s squares included items like “Actress Wears a Red Dress” or “Recipient Thanks His Mom.” It added some interest to watching the slower parts of the awards.

In the end, it was an evening to remember–and to cross off the bucket list (or Pinterest board, depending on how you look at it) of “Parties to Host.” Thanks to the fabulous ladies who made Oscar Night 2016 great!
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