Egged on by Ben, Phil had proclaimed in mid-December that we would eat in a decadent manner for a full Twelve Days of Christmas. Country Store ham! Ribeye roast! Fillet! Duck! Shrimp! The list went on. Well obviously, this was a ridiculous idea, and I’m not even sure what prompted it, but during plea bargaining, I talked him down to half a ham (still 10 pounds) for a different day in the week and the ribeye roast for Christmas Day. This week, he sheepishly (was sheep on the list?) thanked me for putting the kibosh on his grandiose meat plans.
The ribeye roast was delicious and consumed within 24 hours. The ham was also delicious, but large enough that we have been finding different ways to work it into other meals and dishes. We’ve frozen the bone to use for soup, Phil is experimenting with making ham loaf, and I’m thinking ham croquettes sound pretty great! If you have ever had Country Store ham, you know that using the remainder is no hardship.
The traditional meal the day after Christmas at Aunt Mary’s and Uncle Rachid’s is Kielke, leftover ham with cream gravy and homemade noodles. This is one of Sophia’s favorite meals, so she and Ben used Mary’s recipe to make it here this week. One Easter break, Sophia delayed her return to college just so she wouldn’t miss out on this dish!
A few years back, Mary solicited recipe contributions from everyone in the family, and then published them in a cookbook to honor her mother (Ben’s grandmother.) It is filled with family photos, traditions, recipes and stories that span more than 50 years. We find ourselves referring to this family treasure more than ever, as we try to maintain family connections this season.
Homemade Noodles
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups flour
- Combine eggs, water, salt, and flour in Kitchen Aid mixing bowl, using dough hook attachment, and mix on lowest speed until thick dough forms and cleans the side of the bowl. Continue on lowest speed a minute or two.
- If you have a pasta maker (or attachment for your mixer), divide dough on floured surface into 8 pieces. Shape into flattened pieces with your hands and then put them through the thickest setting on the roller attachment. Dust both sides of resulting oblong shapes with flour, and then run each oblong piece through noodle attachment to make long fettuccini type strips.
- If you don’t have a pasta maker, roll the dough into as thin a sheet as you can with a rolling pin. The dough will be very thick and hard to roll. Cut into whatever noodle shape and size you prefer.
- Cook noodles for about 3-4 minutes in boiling, salted water. Taste one, and if they are cooked to your liking, drain in colander.
Love Ben’s new shirt – and all this blog offers! We definitely understand the time and patience and perseverance it takes to do these things with Ben and greatly admire that (as well as the delicious food you produce in you kitchen!). But we also understand the amount of teamwork and especially the love that makes all this happen. Thank you for including us in this journey and sharing these glimpses into the Yoder Sprunger kitchen and home. Happy New Year to all! Especially to Ben! ?
Thank you so much, Vicki! You are right that it takes lots of time, patience and love, but any time I consider skipping a week, I remind myself of what Ben is getting out of it, and we soldier on! If anyone understands our family’s joys and challenges, it is your family. Thanks for reading!
Great job Sophia & Ben! Aunt Mary’s kielke with homemade “oodles of noodles” looks delicious! Thanks for the noodle recipe! Happy New Year!
Thank you! The noodles are awesome, and you can’t argue with smothering them in a cream, ham gravy! Happy New Year!
And they even served them with the usual peas! Cool to see your Kitchen Aid pasta maker, which is a different design than our old Kitchen Aid one.
The rest of us even had leftover ginger ale jello salad, but Ben prefers a green salad. It was a great meal!