Ham Cake-ettes

Welcome back from the holidays.  I hope your's was cooler than ours.  Yuck!  70-something degrees, shorts and t-shirts.  At least it rained all day.  If I couldn't have a white Christmas, a gray, rainy Christmas is second best for me!

We received another wonderful Smithfield ham from one of Jim's suppliers.  They sent us one last year and it was just so good.  I was thrilled when this one arrived.  But needless to say, with just the two of us we definitely had some leftovers.  So yesterday I went on a search for something different.

Don't get me wrong.  I love the standard potato/ham casserole (see the post just a few days before (12/16/15) called Cheesy Ham and Hash Brown Casserole.....I'll definitely be making that again!)  But this was just a little something different.  Potato pancakes with ham and dill and dijon.  Oh my!!! this is some good stuff.

I made a little tossed salad to go with it.  Last month my friend, Donna, took me to a notable Chattanooga hole-in-the-wall that was closing after 50 years.  Mom's Italian Villa had been a fixture all these years and she was kind enough to invite me along on their last day.  Traditional pizza and Italian fare, with a wonderful, simple side salad.  For my own purposes, I'm listing the ingredients below so I don't forget.

HAM CAKE-ETTES (4-6 servings)

1 cup finely chopped cooked ham
1 1/2 cups cold mashed potatoes
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 egg (1/4 cup egg substitute)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs, divided
vegetable oil for frying

Mix ham, mashed potatoes, green onions, egg, mustard, dill week, S&P, and 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs together in a bowl until thoroughly combined.  If mixture is too moist to hold together, mix in an additional 1/4 cup of crumbs.

Place remaining Panko crumbs into a shallow bowl.

Scoop about 1/3 cup of mixture and form into a ball, slightly flatten into a patty.  Press both sides of patty into the Panko crumbs; tap off any loose crumbs.  Repeat with remaining mixture.

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat until very hot; pan-fry patties until golden brown on each side, 3-4 minutes per side.

Recipe Source: http://allrecipes.com/search/results/?wt=ham%20cake-ettes&sort=re

MOM'S ITALIAN VILLA HOUSE SALAD

shredded Romaine or iceberg lettuce
grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
diced red onions
sliced green olives
sliced black olives
finely diced ham
shredded Mozzarella cheese
Italian salad dressing, or the dressing of your choice