Easter Leftovers

So what do you do with leftovers from Easter. As I said before I love ham. Since Sunday I have been chowing down on cold ham. After eating more than two pounds of ham in two days, I decided there had to be a better way. I went and searched online, but I couldn't find a recipe that I wanted to make. Then I thought about the first meal I ever made with leftovers, Chicken Pot Pie. A light went off in my head....HAM POT PIE!!!! My mind was blown!!

I looked up a few recipes, including checking out my post about chicken pot pie and came up with a recipe of my own. I decided to use what I had left from Easter, ham and yams. Unfortunately for this meal my in laws took the veggies home with them, so I cut up a carrot and some snap peas. I steamed the carrot for five minutes before chopping it up. In a sauce pan I melted 1/3 cup of butter with a chopped shallot, and a minced clove of garlic. After a few minutes I added 1/3 cup flower, salt and pepper and blending everything together. In stead of chicken stock I took a half cup of cream of mushroom soup and added it to a cup of water. I added that with a half cup milk to the rue. After I mixed all this together I added the ham, left over yams (about a cup), and the veggies. I only had one crust so I poured the mixture into a pie plate and covered it with the crust. I then baked it at 450 for 35 minutes. The smell while it cooked let me know this meal was going to be amazing!! The mushroom soup really gave this meal a kick. I was afraid the carrots would be over cooked but they were perfect, the snap peas and yams were both a nice touch. I usually hate leftovers but this meal was great. I'm not even sure you could call this leftovers since it was a new meal.

Even my wine was leftovers from Easter. I bought more wine for Easter than I needed. I did it on purpose in case any of wines were bad, if we all drank more than I expected and I wasn't 100% sure what wines I wanted to serve with the dinner until I was almost done cooking dinner. The bottle that I didn't end up opening was a rose from Provence. I love Provence rose. I got Bieler Pere et Fils at The Wine Emporium on Tremont Street. Max the wine buyer had tried it a few days earlier, fell in love with it, and bought enough to have a focus on it for Easter. He loves rose wines and I knew if he bought a lot of it, it had to be a great wine. Rose is a perfect wine for ham. The light fruit flavors don't over compete with the salty, sweet flavor of ham. This wine was no different. A blend of 50% Syrah, 25% Grenache and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. It's full of ripe raspberry, strawberry and cherries, with nice spice and oak notes and a long, crisp finish. What a nice bottle of wine!!

I love rose wines and drink them year round when I can find them. There are some people out there that tell you don't drink rose. Those people are close minded and often think that rose wines are sweet. Most rose wines are not sweet, what most people are thinking about is white zinfandel. White zinfandel is a SIN AGAINST HUMANITY!!! They add sugar to white zinfandel so it gets sweet. Wine makers have been making rose wine for thousands of years. They are light, fruity and perfect spring and summer wines. On a hot summer day there is nothing better than a cold glass of rose. If you've never drank a rose wine, go to your local wine shop and ask one of the wine people for a rose recommendation. I personally love French rose wines, especially from Provence, the Loire and the Rhone. Spain also makes fantastic rose wines. I promise if you keep an open mind, you will instantly fall in love with rose wines.