Super Bowl Sunday Ham and Beans

There is nothing like a hardy soup or stew to watch a football game especially if you are in a cold snowy part of the country. The best part is that you can prepare it in advance and then let everyone help themselves during the game without any additional effort from you. You can actually enjoy the game along with your guests. The casual atmosphere keeps things light and fun for everyone.

White Navy Beans with Ham is a Southern recipe given to me many years ago by a friend from Arkansas, and I have been making it ever since. It is filling, very flavorful and feeds a large number of people. You can make it ahead of time, even the day before.

I make a cheese bread to serve with it that compliments the stew. When I made this for my friend she couldn?t believe that she had been eating this for many years without the cheese bread. The bread is very easy to make especially if you can buy the bread dough from your local market. Stuffed with an assortment of cheese of your choice, it is oozing with melted cheese when you cut it and adds warmth and flavor to the beans and ham.

White Navy Beans with Ham

Recipe Summary

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hr. 30 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

1 lb. dried white beans

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 onion, medium, chopped

2 celery small stocks, chopped

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 bay leaves

1 3/4 Pork Shoulder Daisy Ham (precooked)

3 cups water

PREPARATION

In a large bowl put the beans and cover them with water and let them to stand overnight in the water.

In a large saucepan sauté the onions and celery and green pepper in olive oil until they are translucent.

Drained beans and put them in the pan cover them with about 2 1/2 cups water (you may have to add more water as the beans cook and increase in size).

COOKING

Drained beans and put them in the pan cover them with about 2 1/2 cups water (you may have to add more water as the beans cook and increase in size).

Put in 2-3 bay leaves, add freshly ground pepper and let it come to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let it cook for about 1hour. Remove the cover from the pan and cook for another 30 minutes, the beans should not be mushy but hold their shape; the final dish should have a little juice. Remove the bay leaves and taste for seasoning. Be careful in salting the beans as the ham will most likely be already salted. Allow the beans to cool down and remove any fat from the top.

Reheat the beans and ham. Remove the ham and slice it-serve the slices with the beans.

Cheese Bread

Recipe Summary

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes @ 450ºF

Yield: 6 ?8 Slices

Preheat

Preheat the oven to 450ºF.

DOUGH

2 lbs bread dough bought from you local market bakery department.

Note: Gruyère, Roquefort, Chève, etc. are excellent strong flavorful cheese that I like to use in this bread.

FILLING

Note: A cheese selection of your choice (Gruyère, Roquefort, Chève, etc. are excellent strong flavorful cheese).

Take a selection of cheese, cut them into pieces. Oil the bottom of a pizza pan and spread the dough out into the pan. Fill the center of the dough with the cheeses of your choice. Take one length edge and fold it over the top. Do the same with the other. You can brush the loaf with olive oil, but this is not necessary. Be sure that the end edges are folded in or crimped.

Cooking the bread on a pizza stone would give it a nice crusty bottom. In this case, rub down the your surface lightly with flour. Begin to spread the dough out stretching it in a circle. Once it has started to stretch you can hold it with your hands and begin stretching it with your knuckles. Keep stretching it by pulling it around in a circular motion. Rub your wood pallet with flour, corn meal or semolina and place your dough on the board. Make sure that it moves on the board easily. Follow the directions as above and shake it off the palette onto the stone.

Cook in a 450º F oven for about 25 minutes. After about 20 minutes check the bread to see if the bottom and top are turning brown. If done, remove from the oven and allow it to stand for about 10 minutes letting the cheese to settle before cutting. If not the cheese will flow out of the bread when you cut it.

NOTE: Any selection of cheese can be chosen for this bread. I always use all the small pieces of leftover cheese in my refrigerator. Everything from goat cheese, blue cheeses, cheddar etc. will make wonderful bread.

The following is a previous post for Super Bowl Sunday Soup.

Super Bowl Sunday Soup ? Sausage with Rosemary & Ditalini

http://turosdolci.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/super-bowl-sunday-soup-sausage-soup-with-rosemary-ditalini/