Tea Room Recipe #10 - Wenham Tea House (Wenham, Mass.)

As soon as warmer weather comes I promise I'll stop featuring these hearty, comfort-food recipes from my old tea room cookbooks. But until that day comes, I must confess I've gone all Paula Deen on us again this week with another rich and delicious recipe, this one for Asparagus-Ham Casserole.

This recipe comes from my 1992 Wenham Tea House Cookbook from Wenham, Mass. Happily, this tea room is still in business! The tea room is owned by the Wenham Village Improvement Society, which according to the tea room's web site is "a philanthropic organization which turns profits back to the community through scholarships, summer programs, and other philanthropies." You can go here to read more about it.

Now I love-love-love asparagus, partly because it's such an elegant looking vegetable, and I love to "roll up" foods for casseroles and tea sandwiches, so this recipe was perfect for me—and so easy!

I was a little nervous about making the cream sauce with cheese, but I needn't have worried.

It baked up beautifully with a sauce as smooth as velvet!

Asparagus-Ham Casserole

1 pound asparagus, fresh or frozen (I used fresh)
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste; I'm not much of a salter)
Pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon grated onion
1-1/2 cups milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons lemon juice
8 thin slices of ham (I used Black Forest ham from the deli)
2 cups cooked rice

Cook asparagus until tender-crisp and keep warm. Melt butter in a saucepan, then whisk in flour, salt, pepper and mustard. Add onion. Continue to whisk over low heat, stirring constantly, for a couple of minutes. Slowly add milk in several additions, again whisking constantly until mixture is thick and smooth. Add cheese and whisk some more. Drain asparagus and sprinkle with lemon juice. Roll up asparagus in the ham slices (I used about three spears per roll-up). Spray an 8- or 9-inch-square baking dish with cooking spray and spoon in the rice. Add ham rolls, then top with sauce. The cookbook recommends broiling 6 inches from the heat source until golden brown. Broiling makes me nervous, however, so I just cooked mine at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. And. Man. Was. It. Good! Yields 6 servings. (Or more, if you have a little restraint!)