There's Pork, and There's Ham
July 11, 2006
8:51 a.m., MT

Well, I guess it isn't pork, strictly speaking, but the sinkhole Congress has created is cut from the same cloth:

What with it being summer and all, and with the National Mall in the heart of Washington once more engorged with tens of thousands of tourists, I thought we might take another look at the Capitol Visitor Center, just to see how things are moving along.

The Center is a 580,000-square-foot facility being built underground at the east front of the U.S. Capitol building. It is part museum, part congressional office building, part refreshment stand and part holding pen for tourists on their way to a tour of the Capitol.

The last time we checked in, the Center had grown from its original, relatively modest design into a rampaging white elephant -- a vanity project that was wildly over budget and behind schedule, absurdly gold-plated and aesthetically disastrous and executed by people of uncertain competence who were hectored at every turn by frivolous politicians working at cross purposes.

That was three years ago. And today? Maybe you'd better sit down: The Capitol Visitor Center is even more wildly over budget and even further behind schedule than it was then, and it's still absurdly gold-plated and aesthetically disastrous. The politicians haven't shut up either.

More details on this use of your taxbux can be found in the article. Have barf bag at the ready, though.

Now, on ham ... The other day when I titled an entry Like Ham for Chocolate, I wasn't just mangling a movie title—I was referring to a successful barter. A freedom-loving chocoholic wanted some truffles, and offered to send a country ham in exchange. Never having been one to turn down salty ham, I was all over that deal. Step into my kitchen if you want to know how it turned out from my perspective.

I cooked the ham Sunday, and used the traditional method: simmering it in water after soaking it. Even after more than 24 hours' soaking, and the 4 hours of cooking, it was still quite salty. It tasted wonderful to me, and the snolfs enjoyed it as well. I consider it a hugely successful trade.

MAL liked the ham well enough, but as he's not a fan of salty foods, I wanted to find a way to counter that in last night's dinner. He'd mentioned a mustard custard a friend had served with ham, so I searched the 'net for a recipe. What I found was nothing like what he described ... but I made it anyway, and we enjoyed it with last night's grilled ham steaks. Glorious stuff! Well, it is if you like the sharp bite of mustard, that is, which we do. The snolfs didn't care for it at all. Here's the recipe, scaled down from the original (no link for the recipe because I came across it several places, and it's impossible to tell which is the original source to give proper attribution):

Mustard Custard
1/2 C. cider vinegar
1/2 C. dry mustard OR, grind your own mustard seeds until you have 1/2 C.

Place vinegar and mustard in a small, nonreactive bowl and allow to sit 8 hours or overnight. About 30 minutes before serving time, pour mustard mix into a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan or double boiler, and add:

1 egg
1/2 C. sugar

Cook slowly (over low heat if using saucepan) until mixture thickens, stirring frequently. Serve with ham, beef, egg rolls—anywhere the zing of mustard is welcome. The custard will keep for months in the refrigerator; store in a nonreactive container and seal tightly.

To can the custard, quadruple the recipe given here. Pour into hot half-pint canning jars with 1/2" head space and process 10 minutes in boiling water bath. To freeze, allow 1 inch head space in jars. Yield: 2-3 pints. I have since learned that canning with eggs is very tricky, and must be done under pressure, not a simple water bath method as given in this recipe. Don't can this recipe!

My notes: Mind the fumes as it cooks! They'll be acidic from the vinegar, and will sting your eyes a bit.
I recommend constant stirring, otherwise it's highly likely that some of the egg (especially the yolk) will harden into ugly lumps in the custard. If this happens, just remove them—and turn down the heat a bit.
I served the custard warm, but it's probably good at any temperature.
Since MAL likes Indian food, we have black mustard seeds—so that's what I used. I ground them right before blending with the cider. We got a wonderfully potent custard that has the sinus-clearing properties of horseradish when consumed in sufficient quantities. For milder custard, use American (yellow) mustard. Chinese mustard would probably be even hotter.
Next time I make this for ham, I might try brown sugar, and use a little less than called for.
To thin the custard for use as a sauce, I'd try blending in some whipping cream to get the desired texture. That will also cut the heat, and likely make it palatable for more sensitive tongues.

The snolfs and I went berrying yesterday, mostly for black caps—which are just small versions of blackberries. They were just coming on, so we didn't get enough for jam-making ... instead I used a good portion to make a Swedish-inspired cold fruit soup. The gooseberries were also ripening, so we got a small quantity of them as well, which also went into the soup. If there's interest, I'll post the recipe for my fruit soup. For now, I'm behind on Salon work and housecleaning. And I need to get going on those, so there's time enough later in the week for more berrying—blackberry jam and gooseberry jam are too delicious to pass up!

Sunni

Comments: 7 people have contributed to the conversation

On Tuesday, July 11th, at approximately 9:52 a.m. Mountain time, Monika said:

How about simmering ham in good-quality apple juice? They always come out great when my friend makes them (pour enough juice just to cover the ham)and may be an antidote to the saltiness.
Cold fruit soups have always been my favorite in the summer heat. Cherry soup in particularly. Care for a recipe?

On Tuesday, July 11th, at approximately 2:28 p.m. Mountain time, Michael said:

Country ham...yummy! But talk about synchronicity...I spent my morning tailing and tasselling goosberries and I'm making seedless gooseberry jam right now! Sweet!

On Tuesday, July 11th, at approximately 3:36 p.m. Mountain time, Sunni said:

That sounds like a good idea, Monika—I'll try to remember it. But maybe I'll use apple cider instead ... And cherry soup sounds great! Please do share your recipe!

Michael, how about providing a gooseberry n00b some details on "tailing and tasselling"? [Oh, and Hulda received your package and sends thanks!]

On Tuesday, July 11th, at approximately 3:52 p.m. Mountain time, Michael said:

Tailing and tasselling is the act of removing the tail and the tassle from the gooseberry. The stem and the flower leftover are the tail and the tassel.
Tell Hulda I said she's welcome!

On Tuesday, July 11th, at approximately 6:29 p.m. Mountain time, Thunder said:

Great to hear you guys hammed it up! (I'll wait until you finish groaning....)

Changing the water the ham soaks in help draw out more salt as does increasing the time to 36 hours or so.

I've also heard of a glaze made from Dr. Pepper being a great addition.

Slice it as thin as you possibly can and enjoy it on some Southern biscuits!

On Tuesday, July 11th, at approximately 10:11 p.m. Mountain time, Cat said:

Well, I'll leave the ham to the omnivores and the pork to the politicians (who'll take it anyway) ...

Sunni, if there's one thing that I miss here in the bloomin' desert, it's berries and berry picking. I used to love picking what you refer to as "black caps;" we called them black raspberries.

It's just not the same when they come from the grocery store. The few kinds of berries one can actually get there, that is.

On Wednesday, July 12th, at approximately 8:10 a.m. Mountain time, Sunni said:

Hi Thunder! Thanks for commenting. The ham did end up being soaked for more than 24 hours, and I did change the water regularly (except for overnight) ... next time I will plan for a 36 hours' soak. I've seen a number of soft-drink based glazes, but the thought just doesn't appeal to me. Alas, MAL can't eat wheat, so the biscuit option is out ... but I'm already scheming for something really good when we're down to the bone and a few hunks of meat!

Hi Cat—good to hear from you, as always! Sorry to have sparked some homesickness in you ... but I understand from others who've lived in and around deserts that some cactus species can be transformed into yummy treats. Prickly pear is the one I recall being used most often ...

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