Happy Ham Day!

The Official 2010 Ham Day T-shirt

Today is Ham Day.  I enjoyed ham as part of my three meals today, did you?  For dinner especially, I adapted one of Patrick's recipes to make a ham/bacon linguine.  I sauteed some vegetables in butter (of course delicious), added some bacon (sounding better), then added a little ham, sherry, and chicken stock and cooked it down till it was thick enough to pour on the linguine.  I highly recommend something along those lines if you're looking for a non-tomato/non-cream pasta sauce.  It was easy, and you can put in whatever root sort of vegetables you want (leeks, onions, carrots, celery, etc.).


The below was written by my sister, the Prophet of Ham Day.  She did her part to spread the holiday this year by taking ham biscuits to school to share with her friends and teachers.  I really think this holiday is starting to take off.  I encourage you to read its history and mark your calendars for a year from today (and don't worry if you missed it, you can celebrate a day late):



Ham Day: some fear it, some turn their noses at it, some even doubt its existence. Well, I’m here to tell you once and for all that some, are wrong.

Ham Day is a time-honored holiday celebrating its eleventh anniversary this year. Its fans are concentrated mostly in Austin, Texas, its hometown. However, this fan base is growing, and all of y’all get to contribute.

Ham Day started, as so many great things do, in the mind of--most would say--a child prodigy. She had noticed the constant comparison of ham and turkey, a battle for the ages. People were taking sides, things were ebbing on outrageous. Manufacturers were trying to outdo each other with spices and packaging. Judgmental sidelong glances were being shot across the aisles of grocery stores based the contents of carts.   And the omnipresent question at every sandwich restaurant loomed over each customer, “Ham or turkey?!”

Society was losing it, the world had gone mad!

If something didn't change soon, we could’ve lost everything near and dear to us. Enter Clara Navarro, our protagonist. There could only be one winner.  There just wasn’t room enough in the fridge drawer for two deli meats.

Obviously, ham was the superior choice. To secure its place in the winner’s circle, she saw only one option: a holiday honoring all that is ham. She knew that it would be an instant hit and was right on all accounts. It continues to touch the very fiber of humanity’s being every year on September 20th.

The basis of Ham Day is simple: do all possible to show your love for this pig-derived wonder. That means its presence at every meal is mandatory. Shirts, hats, and banners announcing the sheer joy ham has brought into your life are heavily encouraged. Ham is a versatile food. There are endless possibilities and absolutely no excuses for a Ham Day, God forbid, lacking ham. Tell everyone you know, plan a festive dinner, host a hog-tying contest--whatever tickles your fancy, go for it!

The one rule: by no means, NO MEANS is there to be any turkey celebrating! Celebrating includes eating!

So now, armed with knowledge and filled with the spirit of this awe-inspiring meat, go forth and make a ham sandwich, fully confident that you have chosen correctly.