Daughter-in-Law Ham Mess

It is Friday, the first full school week is over-

and speaking of over, it is overcast, and it's been seriously overcast and raining, which means one thing:

NPR, wine, and cooking.

Yep, how aspiring middle class can you get?  I accept this about myself.  Tonight NPR delivered a high(ish)-culture approved version of "We Won't Stop." You just have to do it doo-wop style, and then the insane catchiness is okay.  No more cognitive dissonance.  Thanks NPR!  <3  I'll file Postmodern Jukebox with the Vitamin String Quartet under "music for people who think they are too old for pop music."  Trust me, it works. Bonus: you'll note on the PMJB video there are actual black people singing.

Back up.

Yeah.  Moving on.

You can tell I am not into rehearsals yet, because I have the energy to cook.  It's a wondrous thing.  It's a good day for comfort food, and in this case, approximating Dave's ultimate comfort food: ham mess.  Happily, his mom makes it every time she comes to the island, or every time we make the trip to NH.

The name's humble, but the dish helped me overcome an illness-related aversion to asparagus.  It wasn't until the last visit Bobbie made to the island (carting two pans of the casserole) I realized the truth

This is basically Croque Monsieur in casserole form.

Damn it, I was going to post the recipe, but I have spent so much time on a tangent, the food is ready and I should eat before my 30-something metabolism shuts down for the night!

Here's my love for Dave made manifest in bechamel, ham, bread, and broccoli: