Baking an Easter ham is a tradition I carry on whether I have family coming for dinner or not. Like lots of folks, this has been a year dominated by Zoom get-togethers, nevertheless, I picked up a four and a half pounder from Costco that's become one of my favorites, and a creamy pre-prepped (we all deserve a break) casserole loaded with scalloped potatoes and cheddar cheese. Into the oven they all went and in less than an hour I had a savory feast to go with the delicate spring asparagus I'd found at Earth Fare.

To my delight, old friends called and made last minute plans to join me for an Easter Sunday reunion. It just goes to show, you can never have too much food on your table.

Almost as much as the day-of feast, I look forward to the leftover ham—a hefty chunk waiting to be transformed into a “salad” compliments of Mimi's longstanding recipe. My grandmother, Elizabeth Mankowski, would extract her old school meat grinder from a closet, clamp the cast iron thumb screw to a counter and hand crank chunks of smoky meat into a smooth, sandwich-ready hash—a treat that made for many a satisfying meal when I was away at college. Here's Mimi's easy recipe:

Ingredients

4 cups ham roast, cut into chunks

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon horseradish

Directions

Place the ham into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S blade and pulse several times until the meat is finely chopped. Add all other ingredients and blend until smooth.