For those of us not eager to forfeit the mortgage money to round up expensive ingredients for that uber-trendy recipe we found in a pricey cookbook, there is and likely always will be Spam. Go ahead and laugh. That Monty
For those of us not eager to forfeit the mortgage money to round up expensive ingredients for that uber-trendy recipe we found in a pricey cookbook, there is and likely always will be Spam.
Go ahead and laugh. That Monty Python song (“Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam. Lovely Spam” — that’s all the lyrics, honest) has been a classic for 42 years. I know people who have made that little song the ringtone on their cell phones.
I happen to be a veteran of Spamarama, an annual festival held in Austin, Texas, for many years to celebrate the canned pork product made by Hormel Foods Corp. in Austin, Minn., since 1937.
Spamarama was not so much about eating the stuff, although the event did introduce Spamalama Ding Dongs. (Think Spam, chocolate and gobs of whipped cream.) The festival was more a family-friendly combination of Spam toss and Spam jelly tug-of-war games.
World War II introduced Spam, probably the modern military’s first MRE (meals ready to eat) to the rest of the world. The www.hormelfoods.com website boasts that, following the war, “world leaders the likes of Dwight Eisenhower, Margaret Thatcher and Nikita Khrushchev all credited Spam luncheon meat for its role in the Allied victory.”
Hawai‘i, arguably more than any other state, has since made what some once called Special Army Meat its own. Hawaiian steak, anyone? The folks at Hormel Foods confirm that Hawai‘i continues to claim the highest per capita consumption among the states, opening more than 6 million cans a year.
Hawai‘i’s Barack Obama is probably the only U.S. president to eat Spam in public, on a golf course. And why not? He didn’t grow up a rich kid. And Spam is cheap, filling and ready to eat whether or not you “forgot” to pay your electricity bill. There’s no need to refrigerate or cook it.
Spam (SPiced Ham = Spam) is on the menu at McDonald’s here on Kaua‘i, and it’s also served up at plenty of sit-down restaurants. When Longs Drugstore in Lihu‘e has a Spam sale, just watch the shelves empty of those compact cans.
And, Hawai‘i-wide, you can visit just about any convenience store to pick up Spam musubi — a spiced slice of Spam on sticky rice held together with a seaweed wrapper that fits in the palm of your hand — usually for less than $2.
Kaua‘i for five years has been the site of a Spam Pupu Party at a resort catering to seasonal visitors in Kapa‘a. When I visited last week, several people who winter each year on the island showed off the cruise ship they had fashioned from Spam and also shared a few “Spam-tastic” recipes.
Sherri Green of Seattle, Wash., is especially fond of deviled eggs made with chopped Spam. She also made Spam kabobs with green pepper and pineapple chunks.
Guest hotels don’t come with gourmet ovens, Green said, so she has learned to compromise with a toaster oven and a two-burner hot plate. Hence, her recipe for Spam-stuffed mushrooms — mushrooms stuffed with a mixture of chopped Spam, spices to taste and Stove Top Stuffing.
Pat Hyatt of Burlington, Wash., made Spam puffs with packaged Pepperidge Farm pastry shells — perfect for a toaster oven, she said.
Canadian Barb Bowman of Victoria,British Columbia, made a tray of Spam sushi.
What to drink with Spam-inspired party foods?
“Carlo Rossi Rhine wine is a perfect pairing with Spam,” Bowman said, solemnly.
“In the gallon jug,” Green added, not so solemnly.
On April 28, O‘ahu will celebrate its 10th annual Waikiki Spam Jam, a free street festival on Kalakaua Avenue in Honolulu featuring Spam-laden food booths that last year attracted an estimated 20,000 people, organizers announced at www.spamjamhawaii.com.
Volunteers man family game tents, Spam trademarked T-shirt and toy concessions and a Spam product collection bin for the Hawai‘i Food Bank.
For those who can’t go, popular Honolulu restaurants upload favorite Spam recipes to www.spamjamhawaii.com/recipes.html.
For a foodstuff that’s also fun to pronounce, the Greek restaurant Leo’s Taverna offers its recipe for Spamakopita. It calls for one package of puff pastry dough, one can of Spam, one cup of crumbled feta cheese and one egg, beaten. Place a slice of Spam on the center of one square of dough, sprinkle with feta cheese crumbles and fold over into the shape of a triangle. Brush the top with the beaten egg and cook in the oven at 350 degrees until the dough turns golden brown, advises the restaurant.
The Internet has dozens more websites from which to download Spam-inspired recipes.
For one list, visit www.spam.com/recipes. For another, visit www.spamrecipes.net.
