Biscuits, ham and sausage gravy? Pow goes the waist-line. Ham, mac-n-veggie cheese, pow-pow.

A dear friend of mine's father was a neurosurgeon. He once saved a man's life with surgery and the family couldn't pay, so every year, they brought him a fresh ham and some cured pork as well. She was known as "The Pig Lady". My friend would fix the fresh ham - a MAJOR chore - but oh my but it was special.

To me a fresh ham is just a pork roast and a country ham is too salty. I'd have gone with the "city" ham too, and I'd still put slivers of it into sweet potato biscuits.

Sleevendog, your meal sounds delicious to me. I won't be having the traditional New Year's meal because my family is having their Christmas celebration that day. I've managed to sneak creamed spinach into the menu as the "greens" part of "greens and beans", but I think that's going to be it.

So it'll be standing rib, glazed ham, creamed spinach, Mustangs' salad with proscuitto and figs, Sol's Honey rolls, crashed garlic and cheese potatoes, banana cream pie, cheesecake and a gluten free pumpkin roll, plus cookies, fudge, a cheeseball and various pickles/olives/etc.

On Monday we diet!

Annie

We will be back to shopping in the freezer for brothy soups and seafood chowders after this plays out.

Julia's braising makes a CityHam just perfect. Draws out some salt. Made up a dry rub for the ham and for the beans this morning. Bit of a Turkish kick with some spices i have. Toast and warm up in some maple sugar i think. Winging it. I'll take some meat from the hock end for the beans.

Biscuit recipes are all over the place. Make them so rarely. One fold and roll out...7 folds and roll out....never roll out, but that is a drop biscuit. (Mom Nelly's method). Rest for an hour, never rest, lol. I do know not to use a thick edge drinking glass and never spin-cut. I'll find something. I only have my EnglishMuffin rings. BigDaddy size. Tin can is fine...like the ones for beans.

BananaCream Pie?! Mom Nelly had a Diner and was expert in pies. That was my favorite.

New Year's Day will be a traditional PA Dutch dinner of pork, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and applesauce. We usually have a whole pork loin but tomorrow, the pork component will be pork tenderloin and kielbasa so we will be having both fresh and cured pork.

Sounds so good. Just decided to start some fresh kraut. Picked up some cabbage, a savoy, (frizzled) and a baby ruffled red one. Won't be a pickled/crocked/fermented, but a fresh roasted. I suppose more like a marinated roasted slaw.

Found a fresh big horseradish root and grated on the microplane for a horseradish cream sauce.

Cleaning out the freezer that has been holding out-of-date for me issues. Time to start with some fresh things. The iceberg stays, lol. (not lettuce, an actual iceberg chunk) Anything else 2015 goes. Found an old half loaf of bread and old croutons. No need for that as DH has been baking boules....one batch of rising dough started this morning.

Maybe while cleaning out i'll find some apples. I did make apple butter last year....