What do Baked Ham w/ Pineapple, Eggs Benedict, and Mushrooms All Have in Common?

These food holidays seem so random sometimes. Not to mention, they point out the fact that not only are there not enough hours in the day, there are not enough days in the year.

At least for all of the foods that somehow managed to get their own food holiday dedicated to them.

Case in point, today. It's national baked ham with pineapple day, AND national eggs benedict day, AND national mushroom day.

Alrighty then. That's a hell of a mix.

I mentioned baked ham with pineapple in my post yesterday, which was glazed ham day. (There is a great recipe on there from @momskitchen that features bottled sweet Thai chili sauce and is super easy!) I guess the whole two hams back to back are in light of the fact this is the Easter season?

That's my best guess, anyway.

After researching for that post yesterday I already know there aren't any Steemians I can use for the ham and pineapple. I used to make it that way back in the day because it's what I grew up on and how my dad always made it.

Unfortunately, I don't have ham. Or pineapple. Or maraschino cherries...

But, I do have some pretty good curating skills, so you get to see one anyway!

Pineapple Honey Glazed Ham

This recipe from Immaculate Bites is as about as close as I have found to the way dad did it. The only difference I can really see is he didn't use thyme (that I remember, anyway), and instead of rum, it was bourbon. He would also stick whole cloves all over it, which was really fun when you tried eating it later. Ever bitten into a clove?

I use Jack Daniels in mine, but it doesn't really matter. Ok, it does, but only if you are picky about your bourbon and whiskey!

The mix of pineapple and orange juice with honey and spices give the ham a flavor you just can't get from the included glaze packet that comes with most hams. If you've never tried it, you should at least once.

Just be sure you have a ton of toothpicks; you're gonna need 'em!

Get the Recipe

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Eggs Benedict can be super easy to make, or super hard.

It all depends on if you are going to cheat and use a hollandaise powder to create the sauce or if you want to go all out and make your own. It can be pretty tedious, but the end result is well worth it.

You can also add all sorts of 'spins' to the recipe, such as fresh spinach, fire roasted red peppers, or avocado slices. I've had it multiple ways, and so far they've all been delicious.

If you like seafood, try this dish with fresh crab. Oh. My. Gawd.

However, The first step before getting creative is to learn how to make the classic dish as it was meant to be.

I actually found a Steemian that did what looked like an original post on how to make this, so that is the one I picked for here.

Eggs Benedict by @mingoroom

Now, this recipe calls for enough to feed multiple people, so you may have to scale it down a bit.

And, it calls for peameal bacon or regular bacon. I had to do some research on this because I have never heard of peameal bacon.

It turns out, that what I know as Canadian bacon is also known as cornmeal bacon, back bacon, or peameal bacon. Learn something new every day!

This was posted about four months ago and didn't get any love at all. It looks like none of their posts did and they gave up.

Maybe some support could bring them back?

If not, at least you now know how to make Eggs Benedict. 🙂

Get the Recipe

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On to the 'shrooms! 🍄

For this post, I was thinking that I would just look for a tasty recipe that featured mushrooms prominently.

And then I learned something new today...again.

Anyone ever heard of "chicken of the woods?"

No?

Neither had I.

Now, I love mushrooms, and I cook with them all of the time. Usually, it's the typical button or Portabello mushrooms that I'm cooking with. That or canned, which are nothing more than sliced buttons.

Personally, I have never gone out and gathered mushrooms to eat or cook with. Honestly, I wouldn't trust myself to do that. I may love to eat them, but I am definitely not a mycologist. With my luck, I'd think it was ok and then be tripping for a week. Or dead.

This being the case, I was really intrigued when I saw the amount of fungi enthusiasts on Steem. Not that I'm surprised there are a ton of people that know more than I do because my knowledge is next to nil. I just didn't think I'd find 10 pages of results!

There was one particular post that really caught my eye.

Check it out:

Pickled Wild Mushrooms (Chicken of the Woods) by @elianasgarden

Is this not the most unique thing you've heard of today?

Maybe I'm just sheltered. But I look at recipes for a good part of the day for these posts, and this is quite distinctive.

These mushrooms are Laetiporus cincinnatus. Ok, time to do some research...

Turns out, @elianasgarden is not just a cunning wordophile. (Yes, I made that up so no grammar nazis please lol - it's technically logophile, but that sounds like someone that loves logos to me!)

According to Wikipedia:

Laetiporus is a genus of edible mushrooms found throughout much of the world. Some species, especially Laetiporus sulphureus, are commonly known as sulphur shelf, chicken of the woods, the chicken mushroom, or the chicken fungus because many think they taste like chicken.

A mushroom that tastes like chicken? I am definitely going to have to find this and try it. Honey, we're going for a hike!

Get the Recipe

Well, there you have it. Three recipes celebrating all three foods that share today as a national food holiday.

Be sure to check them out and let me know your favorite - and if you knew what the heck a chicken of the woods was. Maybe I've just been living under a rock.

Although, if that were the case, I'd probably definitely know what a fungus that tasted like chicken was... 🍄🐔😏

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Sources: All images linked to their respective owners.

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That's all for today. Did you enjoy it? Are ya hungry?

If so, my job is done. 😊

If you liked it, please show it some love. 💛

And if you are like me and enjoy useless knowledge that gives you a reason to celebrate 🎉 every day like crazy food holidays do, hit that follow button under my name or @ambrosial.

Or you can learn more about me before deciding
in my Introduce Yourself post.

Other #FoodHolidays Posts:
I just started this, so there aren't many!

🧀 What Does Mad Men and April 11th Have in Common? 5 Gooey Recipes, That's What.

🧀 7 Grilled Cheese Recipes You Never Thought Of (But Wish You Had!)

🍑 If You Love Peach Cobbler, You'll Love This Post (Whether You're a Good Cook or Not!)

😋 6 Pecan Recipes From Fellow Steemians Guaranteed to Make Your Stomach Growl!

🌶 A Little Bitching With a Side of Sweet Thai Chili Ham