Haaammm! and a Homecooked meal

It doesn't take a long time to cook up most delightful dishes, but there happens to be an occasion, an intersection of desire and fulfillment, where you need a certain food to bring back a certain feeling, an occasion, and a delicious memory.

Mine has been Ham, Roasted with Pineapple and Cloves. Last year, I went home for an occasion of sorts and enjoyed my mother's version of this. I don't think mine turned out quite the same. It's a matter of time, ingredients, and effort. I remember my mother picking the cloves off, and she handed me a plate, asking if I would like Pineapple, and of course, I offer an enthusiastic "YES!". Having not tried it, before, the juices filled my senses and my taste buds were charmed with the mix of salty roasted meat product and a sweet tropical fruit, what an amazing combination! Outstanding!

Tonight's recreation was not quite the  savory memory I had, but came close. I enjoyed the cloves plucking and then smashing my potatoes and roasting garlic (yummy bonus to long term oven cooking at a medium heat). I also cooked Asparagus in a shallow baking dish with Lucini Balsamic, the 10 year reserve, a must-have for all pantries; lemon juice, olive oil and salt & pepper.


The potatoes turned out very well. The red potatoes were boiled with skins on, and then allowed to cook thoroughly. Actually, I was away from the stove, and the potatoes were cooked through, but the water had boiled away. I dumped the small batch into a bowl, and focused on the garlic. I cut three heads of garlic and let the tops open up to expel their scent into my two bedroom apartment. Deliciousness.

I paired a Malbec wine with my meal, this time a 2006 Norton. A  spendy one, but great with the pork.Oh, the Ham! It was a mid-priced lean ham, Hormel Cure 81. I'll admit that I'd have preferred a more fatty meat. Lessons, lessons, now you know! Cheers!