2 Questions: I don't know how many of you do this, but if I see something interesting in the store

C

cynupstateny

Well-known member
(especially if I've never had it before) I almost always buy it. This is the reason I have a bottle of Mexican Crema in the frig. Any idea of what to do with it? I don't even know if it's sweet or sour. I hate to open it just to taste and then have nothing to use it on. Figured I'd check with my FK friends first!

Question #2: A friend made a country ham and brought me about a half of a pound of very thin slices. It's really salty (such is the nature of country hams) and I have no clue what to use it for. Don't just want it on biscuits. We've gotten too used to not using excessive salt.

 
Oh, and I do compulsively purchase things I've never tried before, the most fun are

when I make a trip the the Middle Eastern market - my son and hubby think its funny, but they always make me try everything first.

 
I've a similar compulsion....

and as a result, I have a few things that I have yet to find a use for.
A trip through an Indonesian grocery in NYC left me with a small jar of "white lime paste" which I think I will not even open. A friend who also bought the same thing read that it is rolled with some sort of leaf and chewed, leaving the chewer with red teeth, and heaven knows what sort of other effects.....sigh.
They can't all be winners, you know!

As for the crema, it's Mexico's answer to creme fraiche.

 
Question #2: Answer: . . .

Use that salty, salty ham as seasoning in things:

Mince finely and sprinkle on/in:
Green beans, cauliflower, baked potatoes, eggs, omelets, cooked greens/cabbage.

Try on little biscuits with perhaps some scrambled eggs. Put the eggs and the ham inside the biscuit.

I betcha it would make a nice addition to a fresh tomato sandwich.

You could chop some and then lightly fry and then make a cream gravy with the ham and pan "drippings" and serve it over biscuits, or mashed potatos or even baked potatoes.

Need I say, don't salt anything you add the ham to until after adding the ham!

You could try soaking some in cold water for a time to see if this would lessen the salt, which it should.

 
Also, use it like prosciutto to wrap around chunks of melon. A little goes a long way,

and I believe melon is a diuretic, like cucumber, so you may break even!

 
1 & 2

1. I always look for and buy anything I have never tried before.

2. Country ham, fried, sunny side up eggs, red eye gravy, grits, biscuits, and black coffee.

Nothing better in life than searching through a food store or enjoying a decadent Southern breakfast.

Earnie

 
New Year Cheer

A couple of years ago, I shipped a country ham to Maui for the Christmas/New Year holiday. My New Year buffet included a country ham, the above mentioned items, and some extras.

Battle of the pigs! Country vs Kalua. The South invaded Maui!

I did warn the people about the salt thought. LOL

Earnie

 
HEY Mistral! good to see you again!!!!

it's an ill wind indeed that brings no one good.

 
I always get so excited when I see something that has not been available here before and I >>>

purchase it immediately and then wonder - what was the recipe I saw with that.
Elaine TA

 
Ha! That's the way I ended up with the red and green curry pastes, bottles of Calvados and Pernod,

file powder, annato seeds, green pepper corns, pink pepper corns, dehydrated green peppers, red peppers (what was I thinking!) and several other assorted unopened Penzey's bottles, a packet of pickled mustard greens, black vinegar, goyza wrappers, and other things I can't think of right now. I can't resist something that looks interesting. Or I see a recipe that uses it and like you, can't remember where it was. Hey, I always tell my dh, better than collecting shoes.

 
I have successful used Crema in several recipes calling for creme fraiche or sour cream or...

even cream (pasta sauce finishers)

 
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