Grinding out a new recipe

     Remember your mother's old fashoned meat grinder?  It was the one that clamped to the countertop and minced up virtually everything she put down the spout with the interchangable cutting attachments that screwed onto the front.  My mother used hers to grind up onions, celery and ham to make a fabulous ham salad that was great on crackers and in a sandwich made with Strohmann bread.  And I was always there to help turn the crank and watch the ingredients disappear into the auger and come out the other end.

     Now a days we have the sophisticated food processors that accomplish the same thing but without the charm.  I found a new spin (no pun intended) on that old ham salad recipe and recently cooked up a ham loaf for dinner.  I ground up a small ham in my food processor and then added some already ground pork to combine the two evenly just like that old meat grinder would have done.  The rest of the recipe is listed below:

HAM & PORK LOAF 

1 lb ground smoked ham                                  1 cup fine dry bread crumbs 

3/4 lb ground pork                                            1/4 tsp paprika 

1/2 cup finely chopped onion                          1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup chopped red bell peppers                    1/8 tsp black pepper

pinch sage                                                         3 eggs, beaten

2 Tbsp chopped parsley                                    1/2 cup peach preserves

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic                                     1 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp + 1/4 cup Dijon mustard 

     Preheat the oven to 350F.  Perforate a doubled sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil and place it on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet.  In a large bowl mix together the ham, pork, onions, bell pepper, sage, parsley garlic, and 1 Tbsp of the mustard.  Add 3/4 cup of the bread crumbs, paprika, salt and pepper and mix well.  Mix in the eggs and, as needed, add additional bread crumbs until the mixture comes together. 

     In a small saucepan bring the peach preserves to a simmer over medium heat.  Stir in 1/4 cup of mustard and the honey and cook, stirring, until well combined.  Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

     Place the ham mixture on the aluminum foil and form into a loaf approximately 2" high.  Spread about half of the glaze over the top.  Bake until firm and lightly browned and the meat is cooked through,  1 to 1 1/2 hours, spooning additional glaze on during the last 10 minutes of cooking.  Check internal temperature with a meat thermometer; it is done when the meat reaches 145 to 150 degrees.

     Allow to sit 5 minutes before serving.