Ham and Sweet Potatoes

From the Rosie’s Riveting Recipes historic cookbook

I once had a friend who loved sweet potatoes. I mean seriously loved them. So much so that she would have done nothing short of grabbing a steak knife and telling you to back off if you got too close to her sweet potatoes. Now that’s a food devotion. However, she wasn’t much of a cook, and when I began testing recipes for Rosie’s Riveting Recipes, I passed this one along to her. It’s easy to prepare, even for those who are kitchen challenged. It’s also a nice dish for those who wax nostalgic for holiday meals over the course of the year.

Gayle Martin

HAM WITH SWEET POTATOES

  • 1 1/2 pounds sliced ham or shoulder
  • 3 cups raw, sliced sweet potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 1 tablespoon margarine

Cut the ham or shoulder into pieces for serving. If the meat is very salty, parboil it in water and drain. Brown the meat lightly on both sides and arrange the pieces to cover the bottom of a baking dish. Spread the sliced sweet potatoes over the meat, sprinkle with sugar. Add hot water to melted margarine and pour over the sweet potatoes and meat. Cover the dish and bake slowly until the meat and sweet potatoes are tender, basting the sweet potatoes occasionally with the gravy. Toward the last, remove the lid and let the top brown well. Yields 6 servings.

Modern adaptation: Heat oven to 350F. Butter may be used instead of margarine. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for approximately one hour, basting the sweet potatoes occasionally as directed in the original recipe. After baking for one hour remove foil and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes have browned. Turkey ham may also be used, and the sugar can be decreased to one teaspoon.

Cover photo by Robert Resetar.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon Barnesandnoble.com, and other online booksellers.

 

Split Pea Soup

from the Rosie’s Riveting Recipes historic cookbook
© Can Stock Photo/ Yasonya

There’s nothing like a bowl of hot soup on a cold winter’s day, and this historic recipe from the Rosie’s Riveting Recipes historic cookbook is tasty and easy to make. Some dishes simply never go out of style, and this is one of them.

Gayle Martin

SPLIT PEA SOUP

  • 8 oz. cooked cubed ham (about 1 1/4 cups)
  • 1 ham bone
  • 2 1/2 quarts ham stock
  • 1 1/2 cups split green peas
  • 2 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 cup sliced onion
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 6 tablespoons flour

Place ham bone, stock, peas, seasonings and onion in large pan. Simmer 2 hours. Melt butter, add flour and blend. Add a small amount of soup stock and stir until smooth, then stir into soup to thicken slightly. Let cubes of ham heat in soup before serving. Makes 4 generous servings.

Modern adaptation: Ham hocks may be used in place of the ham bone. To make a ham stock boil the ham hocks or ham bones in water for approximately one to two hours. Chicken stock can be added to the ham stock or even used as a substitute for the ham stock. Cornstarch can also be used as a thickener instead of flour.

 

Cover photo by Robert Resetar.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.