Locally smoked bone-in sliced ham, one of many smoked products from North Country Smokehouse, Claremont, NH. Available in retail stores and mail order. www.ncsmokehouse.com

This recipe is adapted from The New England Book of Cookery and is great way to use leftover locally smoked ham. For those who prefer not to use a cream sauce, a light tomato sauce with a bit of optional curry powder works very well.

4 tablespoons butter, plus butter for greasing pans
1/2 cup finely chopped onion, (1 medium)
1/2 cup finely chopped celery, ( 2 stalks)
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 cups ground ham or finely minced
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon chopped dried sage leaves
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
salt
freshly ground pepper

SAUCE
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper

1.Preheat oven to 350
2.Butter a 12 muffin tin
3.Melt butter in a saucepan and saute onion and celery
until soft. Stir in milk and bread crumbs.
4.Cook gently over low heat for 10 minutes.
5.Stir in ham, eggs, and sage, salt and pepper tasting
carefully for salt (ham can be salty)
6.Pour into pan 12 buttered muffin tins set in a larger
pan. Place both pans in the oven and pour enough
hot water into larger pan to come two-thirds of the
way up the sides of the muffin pan.
7.Bake 20-25 minutes. Remove and let stand out of hot
water for 15 minutes to set (very important in
helping to unmold).
8.Using a sharp paring knife cut around the inside of each
timbale to loosen it from the cup.
9.Unmold by placing cookie sheet over muffin tin and
reversing it onto a pan.
10.Serve on a bed of saute mushrooms and fresh peas
covered with a light vegetable cream sauce.

Yield: 6 servings