Sunday Dinner: Crunchy Ham Balls and a Delicious Salad

I was pleased with the textures and flavors of this Sunday dinner.  The ham balls are amazingly good, but I'm not always sure what to serve them with. 

 

 

Here, their richness is complemented by a unique salad that our friend Danene concocted and served us recently.  She took about 2 cups each sliced cucumber and cantaloupe (in the pictures here, I used canary melon, but the cantaloupe is prettier), added a little chopped fresh mint, and dressed it with the juice of half a lime, a splash of rice vinegar, and salt.  I've made it several times since then and we love how light and refreshing it is.  I might experiment with it by adding a little feta cheese or some proscuitto.  I could see this salad served as part of the main course, or served more like a fruit salad at a brunch or with dessert. 

 

Then, for just a little more bulk in my Sunday menu, I added the small patty pan squashes, which take about 10 minutes on a hot grill.  However, you could use any summer squash and simply roast it or saute it in butter if you're not the grilling type.

Saturday:
mix up ham balls

Sunday morning:
roll the ham balls, place in oven on timed bake
make melon salad
set the patty pans out

Sunday noon:
set table
grill patty pans

Crunchy Ham Balls (from Rebecca from somewhere)

2 c. very stiff mashed potatoes (use leftover if you can plan ahead!)
1 c. shredded Swiss cheese or other cheese that you love
2 c. finely diced/shredded ham
1/3 c. finely chopped onion
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp. prepared mustard
1/4-1/3 c. mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. pepper
2-3 c. crushed cornflakes

I use the food processor for the ham and onion. You could probably grate the cheese there, too. In a bowl, combine ingredients except for cornflakes.  Start with the lesser amount of mayo.  You're aiming for stiff, moldable texture.  You can refrigerate the mixture at this point - to stiffen up, to fit your schedule.  Roll the mixture into balls - tennis ball size is usually what mine end up.  Roll each ball in the crushed cornflakes and place on a greased baking sheet.  I usually get 9-12 balls (I think). Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  Serve hot or hide them in the back of the fridge as the most desirable leftover and sneak them cold when no one's looking - cook's privilege.