I sure wouldn't recommend that recipe....
Those stalks of celery will release a lot of water into the mix and it will get mushy...and there are very inexact directions for someone who doesn't cook.
Slice the ham, buy some biscuits in a can and make ham biscuits....buttered biscuits with a slice of ham and a smear of dijo0n mustard.
Linda C

I think it will be fine and would try it. I'm usually up to trying recipes from caterers though. Any kind of ham is fine because it gets minced anyway. I would use 1/2 cup relish and taste it. If it needs more, add more. Relish usually comes in jars.
Sorry Linda, but no canned biscuits for me. I would have to be very desperate.

I make a rather wet fake crab filling for wraps and it holds up well overnight but I use good, heavy tortillas.

I can understand your distaste for canned biscuits, but when someone who admittedly says she doesn't cook very much, I think they are really a pretty darned good substitute for the real thing! Much better in my opinion than watery ham filling.
I guess I just have a low tolerance for fillings that have "watered out" due to sitting over night with fresh celery or onions ...if you can't serve stuff with chopped veggies in it very soon after mixing...I don';t think I would serve it at all.
But....I guess I am fussy about watery salads.
How do you make your fake crab filling for the roll ups? Is it really wet? Or do the tortillas absorb the moisture and become soft and pliable and easily cut?
Linda C

I think the smoked ham will make the recipe taste even better since it's fresher. I would recommend chopping it or even running it through the food processor to get it to spreadable consistency. It's hard to say how much relish you will need for that recipe. I would guess about 6 to 8oz for 2lbs of meat but you're going to have to taste the mix and decide how much you like. As for the hot sauce I'm sure Tabasco would be fine.

Growing up in the South there is something about canned biscuits that just seems wrong. It's not just that they taste bad but that they kill biscuit culture. lol

Bumblebeez, I feel about fake crab the way you do about canned biscuits.

Fillagirl, I would say that you can definitely use smoked ham in place of a canned ham.

I'm not big on leftovers, but often when I bake a smoked ham I will use some of the leftover ham to make what I call Ham sandwich filling. Grind up the ham, add Hellmans, relish, salt and pepper. I like it on crusty buns.

Ann

Should I just leave out the celery if it may make the filling watery? or substitute something else?

Ann....that same technique works with leftover potroast.
But I add a little raw onion, and cut back on the mayo and add some prepared horseradish.
It's a good cocktail offering with some good whole wheat or rye crackers.

Ann, I wish we had real crab here but if we do I never see it. My women's group always scarfs down the fake crab wraps that I make exclusively for them. I'm sure they would eat canned biscuits quite readily too.
Linda, the tortillas do become soft and there is a period when they taste good but eventually, like the next day, are soggy. The last time I made them I used mission sun dried tomato tortillas.
The filling has fake crab, mayo, sour cream, cream cheese and cocktail sauce. Other stuff too but don't remember off hand.

For sure you can use the smoked ham, in fact I think it will be much better than the canned.

The celery is minced very fine and then mixed up with cream cheese so I don't think you'll have a problem with them being wet but 6 stalks seems like a lot of celery. Try 4 and see what the texture is like , you can always add more.

I have what I consider a medium size jar of relish and it's 8 oz. There is a lot of meat and cheese in this recipe so I think you can easily use a cup ( 8oz) of relish.

Good luck and let us know how it all works out.

The thing with roll-ups made with tortillas is that they can be quite dry...so I don't expect the moisture from the celery would be a real problem, not in the proportions to ham and cream cheese the recipe uses. You need a somewhat "wet" filling for roll ups or they fall apart when picked up.

The smoked ham will be better than the canned, as canned ham tends to the bland.

However, when cooking for a party, tried and true recipes are better than unfamiliar. Who wants to add the stress of a poor outcome in a dish to the stress of cooking for a crowd?

Hello, just wanted to tell you that I made this recipe (with your help - thank you!!) I cut down the celery to 4 stalks, used an 8 oz jar of relish, left out the hot sauce, used smoked ham cut up fine, added a bit of mayo ....AND IT WAS GREAT!

Thank you for all your help! As I noted, I don't cook much and I made these for a party for 40 people. The wraps are all gone, they went quickly, were easy to make and looked nice on the plate. They one thing I was add to the recipe was to make sure you roll the wraps tightly, and "seal" the end with a bit of cream cheese to make sure the wrap stays closed. I cut the wraps about an hour before the party, put them on a platter with sprigs of parsley as garnish, then back in the fridge. T'was easy, good & nice addition to lots of cheese & veggie platters.

Thank you again for your advice, it is very much appreciated!