Hamming it up with Mac & Cheese

I baked a five pound ham the other night. For most people with kids that would be no big deal but for Gene and I that means several days of leftovers plus a bag of "ham for beans" in the freezer.  Which is fine. We both love ham, grew up on it, and would rather have a week of overkill after baking a real bigger ham, than to suffer through all the smaller processed versions that to us all taste like Spam. 

My friend, Jennifer, and I were talking about ham and she mentioined that she loves to sprinkle ground cloves, brown sugar, and honey on her ham before she bakes/crockpots it.  Of course I've seen all the pics of clove and pineapple studded hams before but never actually done that.  I like Jennifer's method. It cuts to the chase.  So I did as she said, only added cardamom and a small can of apricot nectar.  The juices were so nice to spoon over and smelled delicious while baking. Yum!

The first night we ate the aromatic slices with mashed potatoes, the second day for lunch we had ham sandwiches, and last night we had a down home casserole of ham chunks covered with homemade macaroni and cheddar.

The inspiration for the ham, mac, & cheese night's dinner came from Ruth at Once Upon a Feast with her Presto Pasta Nights blogging event.  One night dedicated to pasta. I like that.  Pasta is so varied and versatile that I like being remineded that Gene can live without potatoes one night a week. Not that he's a jerk about it, he was just raised, like a lot of people, thinking that a meal wasn't a meal without a potato in it.

Check out Ruth's round up later this week by clicking HERE.

I don't really use a recipe for mac & cheese so I'll just walk you through how I do it.  I cook the pasta in chicken stock.  When it's almost but not quite al dente, I saute' some onion in a little butter, sometimes some green or red pepper if I have it.  I mix that in with the drained pasta along with a hit of cream, half & half, fat free half and half, or milk, depending on how "bad" I'm feeling and what's in the fridge, over low heat. Then I add a couple of Tbsps of cream cheese and whatever grated or soft cheese I have in the fridge and am in the mood for: cheddar, asiago, parmesan, boursin, goat, etc.  I make sure it's all very creamy and almost runny because I love to bake mac & cheese and in the oven the pasta will soak up a lot fo the sauce.  I turn it into a cooking spray, sprayed casserole and top with bread crumbs. Usually it only takes about 15 minutes at 350 to brown off the edges.

Comments

[Willa]

I love ham, too, but like you, it has to be a real, bone-in ham, nothing processed. I found a semi-local meat processor that has a double-smoked ham that is to die for, so I buy it whenever I can, even though I don't know where they get the hogs. I'm hoping since it is a small-ish company in the middle of Lancaster County PA, they are buying from local Mennonite hog farmers, but I don't know that for a fact.

Chuck doesn't like ham so much- in fact hated it when we first met. But my grandmother, bless her heart, every time we went down to visit her, would say "Charles, I remembered something about you and ham, so I just made you one." Eventually he got so he could appreciate a nice ham. And he really likes the ham and beans that come at the end of it. Where I grew up in MO, ham and beans meant navy beans, eaten with whole green onions that we dipped in a little pile of salt. Here I was shocked to find out ham and beans was made with green beans, which just seems wrong to me somehow!

[Ruth]

What a yummy idea! And the ham sounds awesome all by itself.

Thanks for joining in PResto Pasta Night fun. Make it a habit and come back soon!

[Lisa (Homesick Texan)]

Great recipe--the ultimate in comfort food! I love cooking a whole ham because you can do so many things with the leftovers.

[Glenna]

Willa--very cool about the ham. I hope it's from mennonite farmer's too. I know what you mean. When you said ham and green beans, it took me a second to even get a mental pic on that one! To me ham and beans can be navy beans, but usually pintos. Or "brown" beans as I grew up calling them.

Ruth--thank you! Thanks for having the event. This is fun!

Lisa--Yes! I agree. And it freezes so well. I know a lot of people don't like pork but I'll eat ham before beef and chicken most of the time.

[sher]

Boy, that looks so good. What a great combination to have on hand.

[kate]

I love ham too, but not Mike. He won't eat it. If I bought one of those big yummy smoky and delicious hams I would have ham for a year. I love it with mac and cheese too, something about the cheesy, smoky taste! Ham salad is another one of my favorites too. And of course, ham and bean soup.

[Auntie Miranda]

I think you've become the cardamom queen. I'm so proud.

[Glenna]

Sher- thanks!

Kate--Isn't that funny? I have trouble getting Gene to eat some things but usually it's vegetables, not any kind of meat.

Love ham salad too!

Miranda--LOL! You started me on the path. :-)