Treat of the Week: Ham for Miss Landers Day, 2013

This year’s “Ham for Miss Landers” Day was ham-less as usual, but that doesn’t mean we all weren’t squealing with delight. 

The festivities began with a succulent pork barbeque, shredded and seasoned to perfection. White and brown rice adorned with herbs, peridot-green cabbage and a crust ciabatta bread made for a hearty celebratory meal. 

But, as always, the real treasure was the dessert. And, this one looks as if it could have come straight from June Cleaver’s kitchen…well, only better, because let’s face it, June was no cook. This Cream Cheese Pineapple Pie was made from a combination of recipes my mother had gotten from her mother. This creamy treat really was the kind of dessert popular when Beaver was in Miss Landers’ class. In fact, my mother even decorated it in that late 50s, early 60s way—complete with maraschino cherries! The cream cheese pie, atop a thick cookie crust, is topped with crushed, fresh pineapple. I very much enjoyed this retro dessert and liked the combination of textures as well as the tartness of the pineapple combined with the creaminess of the pie’s filling. 

 

Since this was a recipe culled from, I think, three different other recipes, it’s not one that I can competently share, but, I’m sure a search for similar delights would yield a recipe which would bring this luscious joy into your kitchen.