Treat of the Week: Eggs Landers and Metzger's Field Cupcakes

 

In celebration of this year's "Ham for Miss Lander's Day" my mother came up with a truly brilliant new recipe which would incorporate Miss Landers' ham into the holiday in an ingeniously savory way.  

We'll call the new treat "Eggs Landers," a tasty take on Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine which combined beautifully poached eggs (done the proper way, just in boiling water, and not with one of those compartmentalized contraptions), rosemary ham, sauteed spinach, freshly-made hollandaise sauce, and an English muffin.  Lovely, lovely, lovely.  I'm a great fan of poached eggs in general, and enjoy them as often as possible.  This combination was quite perfect and an ideal way to celebrate this most important of holidays.  

The egg dish was served with individual salads which included greens, blue cheese, nuts,  berries, and, of course--pineapple.  After all, what celebration of an early-1960s heroine (involving ham) wouldn't also include pineapple?

For dessert, my mother added classic homemade cupcakes to the menu.  Baked from scratch, these yellow-cake cupcakes are piped with beautiful homemade icing--chocolate and vanilla and dressed with soda fountain sprinkles.  

In honor of Miss Landers, the cupcakes were served in a checkerboard pattern before her portrait and a martini glass of "Chuckles" fruit candy because...because that's what one does.

The cupcakes would be perfect to pack in your picnic basket as you go to watch Wally pitch a home-run game at Metzger's Field or to bring to Mrs. Mondello's house as part of a sympathy platter after Larry's gall bladder operation goes horribly wrong.  June Cleaver wasn't the best cake-icer, so, she'd probably buy hers at a bakery, but you can make your own.

Here's wishing all of you the happiest "Ham for Miss Landers Day."  Remember, don't let Eddie Haskell get you down.  Remember that if Judy takes down your name when Miss Landers isn't in the room, Miss Landers won't read the list.  And, most of all, when you need it, Hoss will always bring you a ham from the Ponderosa.

Happy Ham for Miss Landers Day, 2014!

On a chilly January Sunday, many years ago, Bertie and I were visiting my parents and we were all feeling a bit of ennui. Christmas and New Year’s Day had passed. The house was denuded of the shimmer and excitement of the holidays. Valentine’s Day was weeks away. Everything, for lack of a better word was, “blah.” And so, while my father and I set the table and tried in our own backward way to assist my mother with dinner, in the background, “Bonanza” played on TV. We noticed that the guest star in the episode was one Sue Randall, best known to most of us as Theodore Cleaver’s teacher—the beloved Miss Landers—on “Leave it to Beaver.” 

What was Miss Landers doing at the Ponderosa? We didn’t know. We weren’t paying attention. Yet, Hoss was going on at length about a ham. “What’s going on there?” My mother asked. “Dunno,” I replied. “They’re trying to get a ham for Miss Landers.”

And, suddenly, a light went on. It was “Ham for Miss Landers Day.” And, so, it has been since. The Sunday closest to January 28 is always “Ham for Miss Landers Day.” And, so, it is with great pride that I wish all of you a happy belated Ham for Miss Landers Day. It is my deepest wish that all of you (or even one of you) will celebrate this important holiday. After all, Miss Landers does need the ham. And though Sue Randall is long-gone—after having donated her body to science—we honor her memory and that of the charming, wide-eyed Miss Landers (to whom June Cleaver once “accidentally” made the gift of a lacy slip)—with these humble declarations of our support and obeisance. On this day, we eat in her honor. 

Offer gifts of modest underwear to your friends (or your child's second grade teacher), raise your glass of ginger ale high and bid your loved ones a very, very happy “Ham for Miss Landers Day.” Beaver would like that, and, I’m sure Hoss would, too.


This is what started it all...



Bonanza - The Horse Breaker from Bonanza Fan on Vimeo.

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. 

Happy Ham for Miss Landers Day!

On a chilly January Sunday, many years ago, Bertie and I were visiting my parents and we were all feeling a bit of ennui. Christmas and New Year’s Day had passed. The house was denuded of the shimmer and excitement of the holidays. Valentine’s Day was weeks away. Everything, for lack of a better word was, “blah.” And so, while my father and I set the table and tried in our own backward way to assist my mother with dinner, in the background, “Bonanza” played on TV. We noticed that the guest star in the episode was one Sue Randall, best known to most of us as Theodore Cleaver’s teacher—the beloved Miss Landers—on “Leave it to Beaver.” 

What was Miss Landers doing at the Ponderosa? We didn’t know. We weren’t paying attention. Yet, Hoss was going on at length about a ham. “What’s going on there?” My mother asked. “Dunno,” I replied. “They’re trying to get a ham for Miss Landers.”

And, suddenly, a light went on. It was “Ham for Miss Landers Day.” And, so, it has been since. The Sunday closest to January 28 is always “Ham for Miss Landers Day.” And, so, it is with great pride that I wish all of you a happy belated Ham for Miss Landers Day. It is my deepest wish that all of you (or even one of you) will celebrate this important holiday. After all, Miss Landers does need the ham. And though Sue Randall is long-gone—after having donated her body to science—we honor her memory and that of the charming, wide-eyed Miss Landers (to whom June Cleaver once “accidentally” made the gift of a lacy slip)—with these humble declarations of our support and obeisance. On this day, we eat in her honor. No, not ham. I don’t really like ham. But, pancetta is always nice. Offer gifts of modest underwear to your friends (or your child's second grade teacher), raise your glass of ginger ale high and bid your loved ones a very, very happy “Ham for Miss Landers Day.” Beaver would like that, and, I’m sure Hoss would, too.

Treat of the Week: Clove Cake

In honor of this year’s “Ham for Miss Landers Day,” my mother created a new recipe. This clove cake is the perfect treat for such a special day. First of all, cloves—a key ingredient in baked ham. But, since ham doesn’t make for a good cake, this clove cake features the sharpness of raisins and the mellow hum of cinnamon.

Baked in a “Bavaria” mold, this delicious clove cake is moist and flavorful. The preparation begins with the creaming of butter and sugar. Then, five eggs are whipped until fluffy separately and added to the creamed mixture before the rest of the ingredients are added.

This brings out the best in the cloves which can have a very aggressive taste. Here, however, they’re subtle and pleasing, smoothly married to the flavors of the raisins and the cinnamon. It’s the sort of cake Miss Landers would have served with iced tea, lounging on her patio with her tennis-playing boyfriend while Beaver looked on with innocent jealousy. “Something wring, Beaver?” Miss Landers would ask. “Gee, Miss Landers. Ummm…I just want a hunk of cake.” And, a hunk of cake you shall have, Beaver…always.

In the name of the Beaver, the Hoss and the Holy Landers...Amen.

Object of the Day: “Ham Street - the Walls of Ham House, Showing the Stables,” 1940

The Victoria & Albert Museum

On this blessed “Ham for Miss Landers Day,” I thought it best to examine some ham and/or pork-related artifacts and art. This isn’t specific to ham as a foodstuff, but it does have ham in the title, and, that’s always fun.

This drawing from 1940 is signed by John Sanderson-Wells 1872-1955). It depicts a view of a quiet road in Ham, Richmond upon Thames, England, bordered by trees on the left and the boundary wall of Ham House on the right. The work is pen and ink, tinted with blue chalk and watercolor on paper and is from the “Recording Britain,” a collection of topographical watercolors and drawings made in the early 1940s during the Second World War.

In 1940 the Committee for the Employment of Artists in Wartime (a division of the Ministry of Labour and National Service) introduced a plan to employ artists to record the home front in Britain. This scheme was funded by a grant from the Pilgrim Trust and offered employment to some of England’s finest watercolor painters who made paintings and drawings of buildings, scenes, and places which conveyed a sense of national identity.

The project, known as “Recording the Changing Face of Britain,” was the brain-child of Sir Kenneth Clark, then the director of the National Gallery. Over 1500 works were produced by 97 artists, of whom 63 were specially commissioned. I’m sure Miss Landers would have approved.

Happy "Ham for Miss Landers Day!"

On a chilly January Sunday, many years ago, Bertie and I were visiting my parents and we were all feeling a bit of ennui. Christmas and New Year’s Day had passed. The house was denuded of the shimmer and excitement of the holidays. Valentine’s Day was weeks away. Everything, for lack of a better word was, “blah.” And so, while my father and I set the table and tried in our own backward way to assist my mother with dinner, in the background, “Bonanza” played on TV. We noticed that the guest star in the episode was one Sue Randall, best known to most of us as Theodore Cleaver’s teacher—the beloved Miss Landers—on “Leave it to Beaver.”

What was Miss Landers doing at the Ponderosa? We didn’t know. We weren’t paying attention. Yet, Hoss was going on at length about a ham. “What’s going on there?” My mother asked. “Dunno,” I replied. “They’re trying to get a ham for Miss Landers.”

And, suddenly, a light went on. It was “Ham for Miss Landers Day.” And, so, it has been since. The Sunday closest to January 28 is always “Ham for Miss Landers Day.” And, so, it is with great pride that I wish all of you a happy belated Ham for Miss Landers Day. It is my deepest wish that all of you (or even one of you) will celebrate this important holiday. After all, Miss Landers does need the ham. And though Sue Randall is long-gone—after having donated her body to science—we honor her memory and that of the charming, wide-eyed Miss Landers (to whom June Cleaver once “accidentally” made the gift of a lacy slip)—with these humble declarations of our support and obeisance. On this day, we eat in her honor. No, not ham. I don’t really like ham. But, pancetta is always nice. Offer gifts of modest underwear to your friends (or your child's second grade teacher), raise your glass of ginger ale high and bid your loved ones a very, very happy “Ham for Miss Landers Day.” Beaver would like that, and, I’m sure Hoss would, too.