Ham Balls - Comfort food to the Max

This is a recipe from my childhood. Both my aunt and my Mom made these ham balls whenever they were serving a crowd. The recipe makes 32 ham balls that are about 2.5-3.0 ounces each. Two ham balls makes a very generous serving. My brother has been making this recipe lately and says it is as popular as ever. Scalloped potatoes and a green vegetable make excellent sides to go with the ham balls. Believe me, these ham balls are comfort food to the max!

Ingredients:(recipe could easily be halved)

Meatballs:
21/2 lb. very lean ground ham
2 lb. lean ground pork
1 lb. ground round
3 eggs
2 Cups graham cracker meal
11/2 Cups milk
Have your butcher grind the three types of meat together if possible.

Sauce:

2 Cups condensed tomato soup
2/3 Cup vinegar
2 tsp dry mustard
21/2 Cups dark brown sugar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the meatball ingredients together thoroughly. To make balls, use 1/3 Cup measure, heaped per ball. Makes 32 balls. Arrange balls in baking dish. Prepare sauce by combining all sauce ingredients and stirring well. Pour sauce over meat balls and bake in the 350 degree oven for 1 hour and fifteen minutes, turning balls once or twice during baking. 

Easy Valentine Dinner Menu

Happy Valentine's Day

Come on fellows, you can do it ! Here is the easiest valentine dinner menu you will ever see and if you make it for your sweetheart she will be thrilled!! 

Step one - order flowers and have them delivered. 

Step two - buy a heart shaped box of assorted chocolates.

Step three- Prepare all ingredients, i.e. peel potatoes, chop parsley, trim asparagus, etc.

Step four - preparing Alaskan king crab legs with drawn butter, new potatoes with parsley, and roasted asparagus. This is a menu anyone can prepare with minimal practice or work. For dessert share some chocolates from step two above. A little champagne or nice crisp white wine goes well with the crab.

Alaskan King Crab Legs

Ingredients: 

2 - 3 Lbs. King crab legs(available at Costco or any large food store)
8 TBSP butter

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Crab legs are only sold pre-cooked. They are steamed on the boats immediately after the crab are caught, so all you have to do is heat them up in the oven. Lay the crab legs out on a cookie sheet with sides and put into the 375 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes. While the crab is reheating, place the butter in a microwave proof dish and melt the butter in the microwave on high heat for about thirty or forty seconds. Once the butter is melted, use a spoon and skim the froth off of the top of the butter. Place the melted butter into two ramekins or other small dishes to serve. When the crab is hot remove from the oven and serve. You will need a couple of crab or nut crackers to help get the crab out of the shell as you eat it. 

New Potatoes with Parsley

Ingredients:

8-10 small potatoes, about 1" in diameter. I like to use a mix of red                                                                      and yukon gold.
2 TBSP butter
1 TBSP finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Preparation:

Before putting the crab in the oven peel about half of the skin off of each potato. I generally peel around the middle of the potato and leave the skins on the ends. Remove the leaves from a fistful of fresh parsley and using a chef's knife chop the leaves finely. Put the potatoes into a small pan of cold water. Add a pinch of salt. After the crab has been in the oven about ten minutes, bring the potatoes to a boil on the stovetop over high heat. Reduce the heat slightly but keep the potatoes at a boil, but don't allow them to boil over. It will only take ten to twelve minutes to cook small potatoes. Check them by poking with a fork. You will be able to tell when the potatoes are done as the fork with easily pierce the potatoes. When the potatoes are done drain them by placing a colander in the sink and pouring the contents of the potato pan through the colander. Dump the hot potatoes back into the pan you cooked them in and add the 2 TBSP of butter. Stir until the butter melts and covers all of the potatoes. Add the parsley and stir until the potatoes are nicely coated with parsley. Salt and pepper as desired. Cover with a lid and hold on the stovetop on low heat until the crab is done. 

Roasted Asparagus:

Ingredients:

1 LB fresh asparagus
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Course ground sea salt

Preparation:

Before putting crab into oven, trim asparagus. Hold one piece of asparagus in the middle with one hand. Using the other hand snap off the bottom of the piece of asparagus where it naturally wants to break. Lay the piece of asparagus down next to the rest of the asparagus and using a chef's knife trim the rest of the asparagus to the same length as the piece you snapped by hand. Lay the asparagus into a 9 x 13" glass baking dish in a single layer. Drizzle the asparagus with extra virgin olive oil and shake the baking dish so that the asparagus gets evenly coated with the oil. Salt lightly with the coarse ground sea salt. After the crab has been in the oven for about 15 minutes put the asparagus into the oven as well. The asparagus will take about 10-12 minutes to cook. 

If you follow the steps above everything will be done at the same time and you will be able to serve a dinner to your Valentine that looks like this: