The verdict?  Nope, not Mom’s, but really good and absolutely perfect for a night when it’s 20 degrees outside.  My brother said it was actually pretty close to Mom’s – I just don’t remember any carrots or celery in hers.  But I really, REALLY enjoyed it! :)

Recipes after the jump:

Ham & Bean Soup

1 pound dried Great Northern Beans, soaked overnight or via the Quick Soak Method and drained.  (Some say drain after soaking, others don’t, I don’t think it matters *that* much.)
1-2 ham hocks (depends on size, I used 2)
~ 3/4 c. chopped carrots (~1 medium carrot)
~ 3/4 c. chopped celery (~1.5 stalks)
~ 3/4 c. chopped sweet onion (I went with a somewhat large chop, and chose sweet over white since the white onions this season have been incredibly strong, and I didn’t want it to overpower the rest of the soup.)
~1-2 cloves garlic, smashed
2-4 c. water
2-4 c. chicken stock
1 ham steak, diced or shredded (optional, but that way you get more ham in the soup!)
ground black pepper

Sweat the onions, garlic and celery over medium low heat with about half the ham steak pieces.  (The ham adds a little more fat for the aromatics to happily bathe in.  Or, “it seemed like a good idea at the time!”)

Once the onions are soft, add the ham hocks, the rest of the ham steak, 2 cups of water and 2 cups of stock.  (That was how much was needed to cover everything in liquid.)  Bring to a boil.  (Takes 10-15 minutes.)

Add the beans, carrots and a few shakes of black pepper, and if needed, a little more water if the beans aren’t covered by liquid.  Give it all a good stir and bring to a boil again.

Reduce heat to low and cover.  Check about every 30 minutes and add more liquid (half water/stock) if needed.

Simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours or until beans are tender.  When the skin on the beans splits when you blow on them, they are supposedly done.  However, the skins were splitting about an hour into it, and the beans didn’t taste “done” to me.

An hour and a half in, I took out the ham hocks and let it simmer on low for another 30 minutes uncovered.  Up until this point, the soup hadn’t been very thick at all, and I was ready to add some cornstarch, but it decided to cooperate and thicken up nicely.  (Probably because at this point the beans are technically overcooked, but who cares, they’re nice and soft and tasty!)

Assuming 8 one-cup servings: Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 280 Calories; 3g Fat (10.2% calories from fat); 24g Protein; 39g Carbohydrate; 12g Dietary Fiber; 26mg Cholesterol; 1282mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable.

Cornbread Madeleines

I totally cheated on these and I don’t care who knows it.  (Perhaps the bottoms sticking to the pan is karma getting back at me, LOL.)  Good old Jiffy Corn Muffin mix, prepared as directed with a squirt of honey added for good measure.  Baked at 400 degrees for approximately 8 minutes.  Next time I need to get out the Baker’s Joy…

Insanely easy instructions after the jump.

Mayo, sweet relish, diced ham. (I actually used about 2.5 cups when all was said and done.) Yes, I am a Hellman’s gal.

Little food processors are SO freakin’ handy. (Hazard of moving: I don’t know where my Cuisinart mini is. The Black and Decker worked fine, though.)

Half a dozen pulses later, it should look like this:

Dump into your favorite mixing bowl (in my case, Mom’s old stainless steel, complete with the dent in the bottom that I probably put there when I was a kid.) The mayo actually looked nice for the photo until the spatula tried to leap out of the bowl. Start w/small amounts of mayo until it’s the consistency you want – easier to add more, I’ve never had luck with getting rid of excess mayo…

Sweet relish – again, small amounts until it tastes the way you want. I like a lot of it in mine.

Pop into a container and put back in the fridge to get chilled down. If you’re a nice person, you can tell your brother that there is ham salad to be had. If you’re not, then keep it a secret.

The fun bread!

And serve and snarf. :)

Bake potatoes @400 degrees for 1 hour, let cool and chop into bite sized cubes. (Skin on/off, your choice)

Melt butter, saute onions & garlic until tender, add flour for roux.

Add everything except the potatoes, half & half, ham and corn.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Add potatoes, half & half, corn & ham, bring to a boil again, reduce heat to low and let simmer another 15 minutes.

Garnish with the cheese, chives & bacon