Lou's Clues: Hamming it up!

Last week, I gave you a great recipe for one of my favorite cold cuts -- roast beef. This week, we're moving on to another popular lunch meat: ham!

I think ham is just about the most versatile meat on the market today. Don't believe me? Then consider this: one day of good ham prep could help feed you for the better part of a week -- heck, even longer if you make the right dishes.

Ham can start as a Sunday dinner, get sliced into sandwich meat (using that handy slicer you bought two weeks ago) for Monday's lunch, chopped into tasty croquettes for Wednesday's dinner, and the bone can be simmered for a few hours to make a tasty ham and bean soup! Freeze the soup, and you have something that can be reheated in a few weeks when life has you too busy to make a proper meal.

See? A little ham goes a long way -- and at bargain basement prices, too! In my experience, ham can usually be found at about a buck per pound. Cheap, versatile, and tasty: ham is one of the ultimate money-saving, flavor-giving foods around.

"But Louie," you may be saying, "I've been eating ham my whole life, and it's never really rocked my world. It's too salty, or too dry, or just too... blah." Well, you're in luck, because I'm here to provide a recipe for ham that is out of this world: Chef Louie's Hot/Sweet Ham.