I have some very talented friends. One, Chef Jared VanCamp, does amazing things with pork. Lovely beautiful things. This year he sold a limited number of house made hams and salumis for the holidays. I, of course, bought a few things and oh my lord were they good. Amazingly good. That ham was a boneless cherry wood smoked wonder and the finocchio salumi was just fantastic. But here’s the twist … me being me, I carried my special purchases along on the flight to Phoenix for the holidays. Didn’t even think twice about it but apparently I have several friends who find this hysterical. Oh sure, it may have caused some concern with TSA and perhaps an extra security screening during which I learned that hams look a little suspicious on the x-ray screen no matter their pedigree. Whatever. But what really sent my pals into fits of giggles is that I brought a chunk back with me. I see absolutely nothing funny about this. That was a damn good ham and it was coming home with me.
STRESSCAKE 