For years now I have been threatening to order a Kentucky country ham for Christmas from Colonel Bill Newsom – a nephew of my dear uncle by marriage.  Newsom hams (newsomsham@yahoo.com ) have won accolades and prizes the world over so by the time I get around to calling for the holidays, all of the hams are gone.  To get a taste of what might be, I brought home a package of sliced country ham from the Alexandria Farmers Market – I’m sorry to say that I have forgotten the name of the farmer who was selling hams.

Once the weekend rolled around, I decided that it was time for a good ole Southern breakfast featuring the longed-for country ham.  Here’s what we had:  Fried ham slices, creamy grits, my take on red-eye gravy, biscuits, and sliced tomatoes.  Thank God for those tomatoes – they became the buffer for the salty ham and gravy.  I had forgotten just how salty a country ham can be and that, taken in tiny, thin slices on a biscuit the salt is forgiven but that taken in a thick slice, the salt creates an immediate salt burn on the tongue.  With all of this complaining, I can tell you that we each ate every bit on our plates – and some, who shall remain nameless – went back for seconds!