Ham

Having concerns about my hair (which I swear is getting thinner), I asked my hairstylist what he thought I should do. Instead of saying, “your hair looks fine, you’re crazy,” he suggested I talk to a dermatologist. With 3 weeks to go before my insurance runs out, I dialed four different doctors and went with the first one who had an opening.

Dr. K had impeccable posture, a thick German accent and enough coiled, braided hair to make it seem as if she’d just stepped out of a WWII movie—but not from the side we like to root for. She didn’t believe that my hair was thinning and instead insisted I had “eczema” which is “speckled” across my forehead. I peered in the mirror and saw nothing. Oblivious to my incredulity, her instructions were to spray my face 3 times daily with salt water and to stop eating citrus, flour and sugar.

So I went home and ate ham.

"CUT OF THE CASH" JOHN MORREL HAM CUTS CONTEST

The Rules: Entries must be the original recipe of the contestant and must contain at least one (1) John Morrell Ham Cuts product. Entries will be judged on the following weight and criteria: 30% originality, 30% taste, 30% appearance and 10% ease of preparation.

The Prize: $10,000 cash prize.

The Entry: Fig & Ham Bruschetta

1-pound French or Italian bread, sliced on the diagonal to a width of 1-inch thick
1/4 cup olive oil
6-ounces fig preserves
8-ounces John Morrell Julienne Ham Strips
1-pound smoked mozzarella, sliced thin
black pepper

Pre-heat broiler. Place bread slices in a large bowl and drizzle olive oil over the top. Toss to coat. Arrange bread slices in single layer on broiler tray and broil until just starting to turn golden at edges. Remove from oven. Turn each slice over so that broiled side is on the bottom. Spread unbroiled side with fig preserves—divide preserves evenly between all slices. Top preserves with a single layer of John Morrell Julienne Ham Strips. Cover ham with sliced smoked mozzarella. Return bruschetta to broiler and broil until cheese just begins to bubble. Sprinkle with black pepper and serve as an appetizer or alongside a mixed green salad. Serves 8

The Entry Story: Leave it to my husband to forget to tell me about an out of town friend he had invited over for drinks and appetizers. With 30 minutes to go before our guest’s arrival, I needed to pull something together fast. Out came the John Morrell Julienne Ham Strips, and after a quick raid to the pantry, the rest of the recipe came together like magic.