Battle Ham

Like many people, we had a big ham on Easter Sunday. Actually, we still have ham leftover. And, like the Thanksgiving turkey, the celebratory holiday feast lingers for weeks following the original event, appearing in many guises. I never seem to mind though; I look forward to it each year and anticipate the creative recipes that take advantage of the (leftover) bounty. Think of it like a longer, less mysterious Iron Chef; you have a secret ingredient (ham), a lot of imagination, and all the tools in the kitchen. The tool that has been especially helpful in “Battle Ham” this spring is the Viking Immersion Blender. I’ve used immersion blenders for years, but once these blenders arrived at the store, I fell in love all over again. It’s been just the implement to produce all the interesting (and tasty) post- Easter recipes. To get your mind working, here are a couple of successful ideas from the last week.
Make a quick mayonnaise with egg yolks, vegetable oil and mustard (using the immersion blender makes this so fast plus you save yourself having to wash the blender). Use the mayo for a ham sandwich on thick rye bread. Or, if you have hard boiled eggs leftover, make deviled eggs with fresh dill for garnish.
Quickly steam the season’s first asparagus and top them with a rich and creamy hollandaise sauce (using the immersion blender, naturally). The unctuous sauce is the perfect complement to the crisp green spears. Hollandaise is also delicious in Eggs Benedict (using the Easter ham of course).
Since the weather has been more wintry than spring-like, a creamy potato- ham soup is just the thing to take the chill off. Pureeing the soup in the pot saves a step and allows you to control the final texture of the soup more easily.
With such a good “mystery ingredient” and such yummy resulting dishes, it’s hard to get tired of ham. At least until next year.
-Josie