Recipe(tried): Ham and Mushroom Pie

Hi Everyone!

Well now the creativity for all of us sets in...what to do with the leftover ham!! I spent some time last night looking for at least 4 recipes to use this week. This is what I came up with:

Monday - Ham & Mushroom Pie
Tuesday - Split Pea & Ham Soup
Wednesday - Ham & Noodle en Kyathion
Thursday - New Orleans Red Beans & Rice

We had a wonderful quiet time for our holiday meal...the Strawberry Bavarian Trifle was out of this world!! I will surely make that again!

I have doen so much around the house that today I am just going to get comfortable and catch up on some of my reading.

Here's tonight's special supper:

Ham & Mushroom Pie
Leftover Cold String Bean Salad
Leftover Strawberry Bavarian Trifle
Rolls
Coffee
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Ham & Mushroom Pie
serves 6
The Heritage of Southern Cooking
Camille Glenn

2 lbs. mushrooms
3/4 stick butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 c. cubed baked ham
3 T. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. chicken stock
1/3 c. Spanish Sherry
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
Cream Cheese Pastry (recipe follows)

Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Reserve stems for another purpose. Slice the mushrooms.

Melt 4 T. butter in heavy skillet. Add the muchrooms and saute. Do not brown. Season with salt and pepper.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mushrooms to a 1 1/2 quart shallow baking dish. Cover them with ham.

Add the remaining 2 T. butter to the juices in the skillet. Stir in the flour and blend til smooth. Add the chicken stock gradually and cook over medium heat stirring constantly until it has thickened and is smooth. This takes about 5 minutes.

Stir in the Sherry and the cream. Pour the sauce over the ham and mushrooms.

Preheat oven to 425. Roll out the pastry for a top crust large enought for it to extend 1 inch beyond the edge of the baking dish. Lay it over the pie. Fold the edges under and press the pastry to the edge of the pan with the prongs of a fork. Make several slits on top and bake about 30 minutes when pie is golden brown.

Cream Cheese Pastry

1 stick butter
3 oz. cream cheese
1 c. sifted all-purpose flour

Cream butter and cream cheese til well blended.

Add the flour and mix well. Form into a ball. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

When chilled, roll out on a lightly floured surface and cover pie.