My email inbox has no less than FOUR Quarantine Recipe Exchange chain mail letters. And each with these famous last words at the end: “Send to 20 friends via BCC. … The turnaround is fast, as there are only 2 names on the list and you only have to do this once.” This is a lie. If I only have to send it to 20 friends and 4 different people emailed me the letter, I have to email a copy of the letter to 80 people.
But I do have a blog, which although it has been pretty inactive lately, it is the perfect place to post recipes. This recipe is perfect for after Easter; I didn’t make as many mashed potatoes as usual since we didn’t have guests due to the quarantine, so I was able to use up my leftover red potatoes. We had plenty of leftover ham as well. The ham was a lovely ham, before I baked it. The packaging said it was the best ham around; I, however, dried the dickens out of that ham. Perhaps it was the bottle of wine I finished after the Easter BYOBAB (bring your own bottle and bread) social distanced communion service I attended; perhaps it was the lack of guests so I wasn’t as careful in the preparation of our dinner. As I took the ham out of the fridge, I thought, “This is a pretty heavy ham. I think 3 hours will do the trick.”
Three hours at 325° was waaaaay too long. Right before the three hour mark, I decided it was time to finally make the mashed red potatoes, so my lackadaisical planning added another half an hour. That 8 pound ham should have only been in the oven for 2 hours or less. It was completely dried out. But it still was very tasty in these scalloped potatoes I made for dinner last night.
Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
About 4 cups sliced potatoes (I like to keep the skins on, but that is your preference.) 1/4 cup minced onion 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 2 tablespoons butter 1 clove garlic, minced 1 1/2 cups milk 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper Heat oven to 350° F. Grease or spray a 9X13 inch casserole dish. Layer the potatoes, ham, onions and cheese twice. Melt butter and stir-fry garlic in a medium saucepan. (Due to my limited shopping trips right now, I don't have garlic, so I threw in some chopped onion. It worked out just fine!) Blend milk, cornstarch, salt and pepper. (I usually use a little less salt because the ham is salty, and a little more pepper just because.) Pour milk mixture slowly into saucepan with butter; cook and stir until thickened. Pour over potatoes. Bake for 1 hour or until potatoes are tender.
