Happy Birthday SPAM !

SPAM hit the shelves on July 5, 1937 ! Does anyone cook with it? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/hungry.gif" alt="" />

Simply put - <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Sick.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Sick.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Sick.gif" alt="" /> If someone comes up with a recipe using the stuff that they think "works" I'm all ears!

Made me think of my Dad, he loved to have a slice of Spam fried up on a bun with cheese and mayo. I guess it goes back to his Navy days.

SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, eggs and SPAM...

[color:"blue"]Mrs Bun: Have you got anything without Spam?
Waitress: Well, Spam, egg, sausage, and Spam; that's not got much Spam in it.
Mrs Bun: I don't want any Spam!
Mr Bun: Why can't she have egg, bacon, Spam, and sausage?
Mrs Bun: That's got Spam in it!
Mr Bun: Not as much as Spam, egg, sausage, and Spam,
Mrs. Bun: Look, could I have egg, bacon, Spam and sausage, without the Spam?
Waitress: Bleurgh!
Mrs. Bun: What do you mean "Ugh?" I don't like Spam!
Vikings: [singing] Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam... Lovely Spam! Wonderful Spam!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Waitress: You can't have egg, bacon, Spam and sausage without the Spam.
Mrs. Bun: Why not?!
Waitress: Well, it wouldn't be egg, bacon, Spam and sausage, would it?
Mrs. Bun: I DON'T LIKE SPAM!
Mr. Bun: No need to kick up a fuss, dear; I'll have your Spam.
I love it! I'm having Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, baked beans, Spam, Spam, Spam and Spam!
Waitress: Baked beans are off.
Mr. Bun: In that case, can I have Spam instead?
Waitress: You mean Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, and Spam?
Mr. Bun: Yes![/color]

Recipes using SPAM from around the net may be found here http://www.spamrecipes.net/ <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/hungry.gif" alt="" />

I think it is the national dish of Hawaii. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

A very favored gift in South Korea as well.

Great! They can have it! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

My Dad liked it but I'm wit you. No thanks.

when I was a kid, in the late 50's/early 60's, we used to have Spam for lunch or dinner alot...
it was pretty popular back then...

So do I dare bring up mayo vs. miracle whip? I was brought up on the latter but switched for my hubby. Now I'm a mayo junkie. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

I use mayo mostly, but for some reason I need miracle whip for turkey sandwiches and deviled eggs.

Now you have gone and started a whole other debate....Mayo wise I only use Hellmans, or Best Foods as it is called out in California. They have some slop in a jar here in North Carolina called Dukes. It is the Marmite of Mayo as far as I am concerned but the folks born out this way swear by it <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Argue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />

I like Helmans Canola Mayo...or Helmans real mayo... or Helmans Olive Oil Mayo... or Kraft Mayo...
Others mostly suck...
[color:"blue"]Miracle Whip IS NOT MAYO![/color] It's salad dressing!
and I don't even like it for salad dressing...
BUT! it's can be good for a deviled egg! depending on what you mix it with!

Yup, whole can of worms opened in this debate!

Best Foods (aka Helmans) Olive Oil May is great. Especially for my homegrown tomatoes making a tba.

Now you're talking....heaven on bread!!

Helmans is my favorite but I don't really understand the Canola or Olive Oil ones. Can't tell the difference other than texture so I'll stick to the real stuff and just listen to my arteries squeak. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

I honestly don't really taste much difference in any of them, although I don't really eat them straight and I don't eat many sandwiches that I put mayo on. Usually just buy light mayo and eat my ham salad with potato chips! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

SPAM salad <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Sick.gif" alt="" />

If you are creative enough, you can make, almost, anyting taste great!

I've never had SPAM but isn't it just chopped up ham? Seems that if you enjoy a ham sandwich you'd enjoy a SPAM sandwich, no?

I don't like mayo but it is the easiest dressing on earth to make:

Dump these ingredients

2 egg yolks, room temperature
1 whole egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice, plus more if needed
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
Big pinch freshly-ground white pepper
into a blender & whir for 10 seconds.

Leave blender running & drizzle 1 cup of olive oil very slowly in, taking about 60 seconds per cup of oil. Start with 1 cup of oil & up to 2 depending on egg size & how thick you like it.
That's all. And the flavor is in a different world entirely than the commercial stuff.

*Be sure to wash the eggs thoroughly before use and if you can get your hands on farm-fresh eggs you'll be AMAZED at how much better they are as well as minimizing the risk of salmonella.

it's chopped up ham with a ton of SALT, so if you like salty ham sandwiches then you're good w/spam as a sub for ham - I'll eat it if it's the last and only thing I have left to eat, after a couple of days trying to catch or pick anything else.

Mayo vs Mircle Whip, they are the same thing only MW has vinegar in it.

MW also has sugar!
A basic Mayo Recipe also has Vinegar!
Miracle Whip Recipe vs. Basic Mayo Recipe...

Ham is salty anyway!

Extra salty ham and sugary, vinegary mayo... yuck and yuck! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Tonguea.gif" alt="" />

all mayo has vinegar! you can't make mayo without vinegar! it just don't work otherwise...
salt and pepper are optional... but all commercial prepared mayo has some salt...

I've only used lemon juice. But the little bit of dijon would have vinegar too.

But I'm just not a fan of mayo, so I'm really not one to judge which one is better!

Fried spam and eggs for breakfast!
(Started doing that at boyscout camp!)

Spam Fried Rice... Love it!

http://www.hawaiiforvisitors.com/recipes/spam-fried-rice.htm

Yepr... Boy Scouts in the '60's ! SPAM and eggs! a staple Boy Scout Breakfast!
and then cleaning out those cast iron fry pans in the stream! with BRILLO!
(I'd NEVER use BRILLO on any of my Cast Iron today!)...
Did you also coat the bottoms of the cast iron pans with soap b4 cooking???
so the soot from the fire wouldn't stick so bad? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />

Yummmm! SPAM ain't that bad! It is quite tasty if done right!

I use Brillo on my cast iron anytime stuff gets badly stuck on & it doesn't seem to affect it at all! Some of my cast iron belonged to my grandmother & some is pretty new, but it's all extremely well-seasoned and holds up to serious scrubbing without a problem.

Dharma,
BRILLO will kill your cast iron! NEVER!! EVER!! or any soap!
Ifyou have anything that sticks, it is NOT seasoned right!(or you are cooking at too high a temp. or not using enough oil/fat while cooking)...
You need to season your cast iron! and keep it seasoned!
Lightly coat with vegetable oil...
put in the oven, and then start oven for 300F...
for about two hours... shut off the oven til itis cold...
and then, forever,NEVER use anything to clean it, except maybe some coarse salt and water...
It will then get a patina that is better than the BEST Teflon you'll ever find!
I only clean mine with a paper towel... everything just slides off the pan/dutch oven...
and always lightly oil any cast iron before storing...
My Fry Pan & my Dutch Oven were both from my grandmother...
and she got them from her mother... so they are both at least 125 years old! NOTHING EVER STICKS to them!

I can cook two eggs, with one tsp. butter, in the fry pan or dutch oven... and they will just slide out... paper towel to clean...

a well sesoned cast iron pan will be black, and smooth, and have no metal showing!
if it is stored and gets any hint of rust... it has lost the seasonng!

use Kosher Salt and hot water to scour ONLY! then lightly oil...

Here's a good article from LODGE:
http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-care-seasoned-cast-iron.asp

my college roommate was loads of fun, but cooking was not her strong point. she decided to get creative one day and made something similar to spam in a blanket. even in our drunken stupor, and hungry as we were, i nearly threw up when i tasted it. she didn't tell me it was spam until after the fact. no more spam for me.

Did I not say my pans are well-seasoned? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Tonguea.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

I have things that stick sometimes because I cook with almost no oil- would never cook 2 eggs with a whole teaspoon of butter! Typically I'll spray a squirt of olive oil or rub a little on with a paper towel, but that's about it. So it's a trade-off. I generally try to boil stuff loose but that doesn't always work after pan-roasting at 500 degrees with very little fat!

But my pans have no rust, no metal, and are beautifully smooth & black! My whole point was that if they're well-seasoned, I can do just about anything to them without damaging them. If they start to get dry-feeling, I re-season in the way you mentioned, but I haven't had to do it in years!

No coddling in this kitchen! Not of pans, nor eggs. Not even with Spam. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />

I didn't shy from a abit more butter/oil when cooking for my mother when I started looking after her in her late 70's. When I started she had COPD, CHF, Diabetes, her left hip was gone but could not be replaced due to her health. When she died earlier this year (which was God's gift to her) the doctors told me they had not seen a patient in her condition with such good nutrition. Needed no meds for the diabetes, cholesteral great, sodium level below most and overall well nourished. Sometimes I think we can take our cooking overboard. Use the good fats, lower the sugars (carbs not just sugar) and balance your protein. No preserved or canned foods with added sodium (most). Add salt at the last stage.

BTW, tonight's dinner was white clam sauce (extra clams) over a bit of anger hair pasta.

After posting I noticed it was to the Spam thread. Dad loved it but no one else.