Cinderella’s Hearth: The Hammiest Thanksgiving, by Kate Wolford

Note: This was originally published in 2021 in a small newspaper I used to write for. It was a post-Thanksgiving column, but I think it’s potentially perfect for this year’s feast. Not everyone likes turkey, and when there’s lots of houses to visit on the big day, this is perfect for a breakfast celebration. Here’s the article in its original glory.

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and it’s Black Friday. I won’t set foot out of the house on Black Friday. People are too nuts! You stand in line forever, and the best deals have come and gone before I wake up. 

Cecil and Todd, on the other hand, are hardier souls and are preparing to face the multitudes. No doubt they still feel fortified by the delicious ham and egg casserole we had for Thanksgiving dinner. Yep. No turkey.  We just don’t like it. We’re a ham family.

Our Thanksgivings are a little different from most, as we have brunch. That way Matt and Cecelia can visit his side of the family and have time between feedings. This normally means that we have a breakfast casserole, and this year was no different.

We had the hammiest egg casserole ever. It’s simple to make, but remember, the quality of the ham is very important, because the dish takes on the flavor of the meat. I do think you could probably make this with cooked sausage or bacon—make a pound if you substitute one or the other of them for ham.

We bought HoneyBaked ham, and it was worth it, because the taste was so predominant. We also used quality dinner rolls for the bread, and (this is very important), we pulled the bread the night before and put it on paper towels to get stale before making the casserole Thanksgiving morning. The casserole would have been too mushy had we not dried out the bread.

With those tips in mind, here’s the recipe, adapted from the website The Happy Brown House.

The Hammiest Casserole

2 cups of best diced ham (a little more is fine)

6-7 good quality dinner rolls, pulled into small pieces

6 large eggs, beaten

2 cups of milk

2 cups of shredded cheese, your choice

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon ground mustard (powder form)

Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 13-by-9-inch casserole dish (egg bake will be shallow after baking). By the way, I haven’t tried it yet, but I think this could be quite good in a smaller dish. 

Mix the meat, dried bread and cheese together thoroughly. Put mixture in the bottom of the greased casserole dish, and spread it around evenly. 

Mix all of the other ingredients together thoroughly. Pour the wet mixture over the dry, and tip the dish around so the egg mixture is spread evenly. This mixture will not look super wet before you cook it, but it comes out just fine.

Bake for 40 minutes, but you may need to do more, depending on your oven.

Let rest for 10-15 minutes, then serve. This is great with fruit salad and three bean salad.

This recipe was a real success for us and I hope it will be for you as well!

News: This is the next-to-last Cinderella’s Hearth. Next year, I’ll be doing longer-form deep dives into fairy tales and folklore, and I’m really excited for it. So Cinderella will soon be riding away in her pumpkin carriage and away from the hearth, but our posts will always be here!

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Kate Wolford was the publisher and editor of The Fairy Tale Magazine for many years. She’s now enjoying being Resident Fairy Godmother.