[Illustration: COLD HAM COVERED WITH CHAUDFROID SAUCE AND DECORATED WITH TRUFFLES TO IMITATE BRANCHES--ORNAMENT ON TOP A HALF-OLIVE SURROUNDED WITH SLICES OF PICKLE--A PIECE OF THE HAM-SKIN LEFT ON THE BONE END AND THE EDGE OF THE SKIN DECORATED WITH TRIANGULAR AND DIAMOND-SHAPED PIECES OF TRUFFLE--PAPER FRILL ON HAM-BONE--DISH GARNISHED WITH LETTUCE, WATER-CRESS, OR PARSLEY.]
Soak and prepare the ham as directed above. Let it simmer for two hours; then remove it and take off the skin, and bake it in a moderate oven for two hours; baste it frequently, using a cupful of sherry, two spoonfuls at a time, until all is used; then baste with drippings from the pan. When done, cover it with a paste made of browned flour and brown sugar moistened with sherry, and replace in the oven for a few minutes to brown.
Cut the ham very thin. If very salt, place it in boiling water for a few minutes. Then dry and broil it over hot coals for three or four minutes.
Put a few pieces of salt pork into a frying pan. When tried out, add the eggs, one at a time, from a saucer. Baste the top of the eggs with fat from the pan. Let them brown a little on the edges, but not blacken, and serve them around the slices of ham.
Boiled ham may be broiled. If so, cut it into thin, small pieces, and after broiling it, place on each piece a fried egg.
Chop fine some cold boiled ham. Boil six or eight eggs very hard (see page 262). With a sharp knife cut them in quarters lengthwise. Remove the yolks, and press them through a coarse sieve or strainer; lay the white segments in warm water. Make a white sauce, using two tablespoonfuls of butter; when melted, add two tablespoonfuls of flour, and let cook for a few minutes; then add slowly two cupfuls of milk. Stir constantly, and when a smooth, consistent sauce, season with salt and white pepper.
Moisten the chopped ham with a little of the sauce, and place it on the fire just long enough to become well heated. Stir constantly so the sauce will not brown. Make a smooth, rounded mold of the ham in the center of a hot dish. Pour over it the white sauce. Sprinkle thickly over the top the yolk crumbs; then range evenly around it the white segments of the eggs.
Cut bacon very thin, as shown on page 78. Lay the slices on a hot frying-pan. When clear turn them over. Tip the pan a little, so the fat will run to one side. If not wanted crisp and dry, turn the slices before they look clear, and remove before all the fat is tried out.