Party Guide: ham party
A la alison roman
In response to popular demand (ask and you shall receive my friends! We’ve got you.), and to the fact that we absolutely believe in our souls that people need to be getting together more with their beloveds, in real life, no excuses! complete with clinking glasses, and conversations while the kids play make-believe under the table, and singing together, and having little dance parties in the kitchen…We are bringing our party guides back. We’ll give you ideas for food and drink and themes, but the important thing to remember is this: what makes a party fun is that it is personal. Don’t try to make it too perfect or polished.
I have a reputation in my friend group for organizing party meals around what we refer to as, “large format meat.” That is to say, something along the lines of a leg of lamb, a pork shoulder, a whole chicken or two, a ham…(If you are one of those wondering why, I have a food intolerance to legumes - i.e. beans of all sorts - and most nuts and seeds, so vegetarianism just isn’t in the cards for me. But, I’m very careful about where I get my meat!) The meat serves as a centerpiece of sorts, and everything else radiates out from it.
Now ham, it turns out, makes a GREAT party meat. I would never have thought of this on my own. ALL credit goes to the one and only Alison Roman, who hosts an iconic holiday ham party (or several) every year. Norwegians do have pork for the holidays (well, Southern Norwegians do. But, the regional differences between Norwegian Christmas meals are a topic for another day!), but apparently the idea of ham during the holidays is APPALLING. Just ask my mom. We received a nice ham as gift from someone - maybe a vendor or something? I can’t remember - and I brought up the idea of having it, not for Christmas, but on a day in the general vicinity of Christmas, and my mom looked at me like I was suggesting that we eat worms. On the other hand, ham during during spring has been deemed quite acceptable. So, we are having a ham party for spring. We are making Alison’s slow cooked ham, which is a sweet-salty-smokey flavor sensation and pairing it with many mustards and pickles (her suggestion) plus a variety of flavor-taming, earthy root vegetable sides. And of course squishy buns. And doubly of course some great cocktails.
Let’s have a ham party!
The Vibe
Spring! But not cutesy or saccharine! The vibe is fresh, transitional, new energy. Chaotic good. Informal but in a beautiful and appealing way. What does that mean? Light spring green (like buds) or jade green paired with ecru, apricot orange and the not quite pink, not quite red of cherry chapstick. Fabrics with homespun-feeling textures and prints, like linen or quilted fabric. Ceramic and glass jars filled with gangly, stemmy florals like tulips. But, also remember! ***Vibes and themes are only fun if they inspire your creativity, not if they stress you out or make you feel like you need to buy a bunch of new things that you might never use again. Eclectic and personality-filled is always the best approach.***
The Drinks
The key to finding drinks that pair well with ham is to also think about the foods that pair well with ham. The best pairings for that sort of smokey, salty, richness are flavors that have something jammy and/or herbal to them.
Apricot Negroni - this spin on a negroni is bittersweet with jammy-honey notes from a spoonful of apricot jam
1 oz. Vikre Spruce Gin
1 oz. sweet vermouth
2/3 oz. Suze
2 tsp. apricot jam.
Shake all the ingredients with ice and double strain into a lowball glass with a large ice cube. Garnish with an orange peel.
Palambra Ultima - this the format of a Last Word, but brings in the incomparable deep and fruity flavor of black currant, offset by our Cedar Gin, and Amaro.
3/4 oz. Vikre Cedar Gin
3/4 oz. Vikre Amaro Superiore
3/4 oz. good quality crème de cassis
3/4 oz. lemon juice
Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. If desired, garnish with a small sprig of herb or an edible flower.
NA Jammy Mocktail
Make a fun mocktail by combining 1 Tbs. apricot jam, 1 Tbs. lemon juice, and soda water in an ice filled glass. Stir well and garnish with an herb of choice - apricot is remarkably amenable to virtually any herb. But, rosemary, mint, or taragon are especially nice choices.
Also have LOTS of water because this ham, while delectable, is salty.
The Food
It’s a springy ham party. The ham is the star. There is no reason to mess with a good thing, so we are using the ham queen Alison Roman’s recipe. Serve plenty of pickles and mustards alongside. And, provide squishy, smallish white-bread buns (like Hawaiian rolls,) for making small ham sandwiches. You want the bread to be mild to offset the power of the ham and mustard.
For sides, we are going for mellow roasted root vegetable in a couple of guises. The tame, yet interesting, earthiness and sweetness are good alongside the punchy ham. Make Ina Garten’s roasted carrot and arugula salad (I make it without nuts, but you don’t have to!). Make some simple roasted parsnips (just peel, core, slice, and roast with olive oil and salt and pepper), which are good with an herby sauce. Here’s a recipe, if you are looking for one. And then, add in a juicy, crisp, and aromatic fennel and citrus salad to add a final contrasting set of flavors and textures to the meal.
I don’t think a ham party actually needs a dessert. But, if you would like to have dessert I would say choose one of two extremes. Very rich and a bit salty (I made this pudding for a potluck not too long ago and, dare I say, it was the hit of the party). OR, bright and on the light side.
The conversation
It’s a ham party! Start by talking about the ham, and I’m pretty sure the rest will take care of itself. If you run out of topics, return to the ham saying something like, “boy was that succulent ham. Which mustard was your favorite?” Then you can have a discussion about whether people like things like strong mustard, or horseradish, or wasabi, that clear out your nasal passages. This is a subject that always incites some level of passion for or against. Other interesting topics/questions include: “what is the worst piece of advice you’ve ever received?” and “what is a book you’ve read that most significantly impacted your worldview?” Then go from there!
