About a month ago we got a great deal on a whole ham in the discount meat bin. $7 for a TON of ham. The up side? A lot of really good smoked ham. The downside? That’s a lot of ham, and for us, ham is a sometimes food, which means getting creative. I’ve been wanting to try making scalloped potatoes for some time and this was a good opportunity. I combined a few different recipes to come up with this one.

It turned out PERFECT. Rich, delicious, with a sauce that made me lick the bowl. Seriously, I licked the bowl.

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 small yellow gold potatoes, sliced thin
• 1 medium white onion, sliced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1.5 cups half & half
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 1 cup chopped ham

Preheat oven to 400º.  In a saucepan, melt the butter with pepper (again I’ll sing the praises of Penzey’s Shallot Pepper) and Garlic Salt to taste. Add the flour, then when it’s all melted, add the half & half. Stir this until the sauce starts to thicken. Remove from heat.

Sauté the onions in olive oil (butter works too) until cooked through. In a separate bowl toss potatoes, onions, ham, cheese and sauce. Spread in a baking pan and bake for 45 minutes.

Sometimes the most bizarre ideas come in the forms of dares of sorts. That’s where Donut Hole Pie came from. So when the brainchild of this bastard concoction had his 30th birthday this weekend, I had no choice but to make it.

And y’know what? It’s pretty damn delicious. Recipe to come

Coming soon, the secrets to the post-Thanksgiving dinner we shared with our other family — our dearest friends.

So please, if you like what you see, drop a line and let me know! And if you don’t, well, now is a time for quiet.