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Ham I Am! Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham with Random House Children's Books and Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P.

Fans will have a chance to win a year supply of Ham I Am! products, a cash prize, memorabilia and more by participating in the "HAM It Up" video contest

DALLAS -- Sep. 22, 2010 -- Ham I Am!, purveyor of fine meats and manufacturer of HOGWASH, a tasty condiment to hams and smoked meat, is excited to announce it will be participating alongside Random House Children's Books and Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. in the 50th anniversary celebration of Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs and Ham" by supporting their video contest, "HAM It Up."

Fans across the United States will be submitting a video capturing their theatrical interpretation of a scene from the book for a chance to win the Grand Prize; a year's supply of ham from Ham I Am!, a $2,000 cash prize, a beautifully framed 50th Anniversary Green Eggs and Ham print, and a flip camera.

"We are thrilled to be a part of this celebration and congratulate the Dr. Seuss Enterprises on this major milestone," said Meghan Meehan, Vice President of Ham I Am!. "Participants should have fun with this contest, the sillier, funnier and hammier the better!"

Dr. Seuss fans can find details on how to enter and read official contest rules on Seussville at GreenEggsContest.seussville.com. Entrants can submit their video by upload, in-browser recording, or via a YouTube url. The contest platform will display videos within a player so that they are shareable and embeddable. Entrants are encouraged to promote their video to friends and family to boost their ratings. The general public will decide which participants best tapped into their inner Sam-I-Am during a public voting period. The videos with the most votes will be judged by the Random House Children's Books team and Dr. Seuss Enterprises to determine the best overall acts. Prizes will be awarded to one grand prize winner and 10 runners up based on the following criteria: creativity and originality, representation of the contest theme and public votes.

The Grand Prize winner will receive their choice of Ham I Am!'s award winning pork products over a year's time. Up to one prize delivery per month will ensure that the grand prize winner gets their fill of green eggs and Ham I Am!. "A year's supply of ham is the perfect addition to the grand prize winnings; you can 'eat in a house, with a mouse, or in a box with a fox'! We know the winner will like Ham I Am!," said Meehan.

Creating books for preschool children through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books and novels, Random House Children's Books brings together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. In 1957, Random House pioneered the beginning reader genre when it launched the Beginner Books series with Dr. Seuss's classic The Cat in the Hat. Each year, Random House Children's Books, along with Dr. Seuss, proudly supports the National Education Association's Read Across America initiative, which calls on America's children to celebrate the joys of reading in conjunction with Dr. Seuss's birthday, March 2. Random House Children's Books is a division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is Bertelsmann AG a leading international media company.

The primary focus of the Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. is to protect the integrity of the Dr. Seuss books while expanding beyond books into ancillary areas. This effort is a strategic part of the overall mission to nurture and protect the relationship consumers have with Dr. Seuss characters. Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) said he never wanted to license his characters to anyone who would "round out the edges." That is one of the guiding philosophies of Dr. Seuss Enterprises. Audrey S. Geisel, the widow of Dr. Seuss, heads Dr. Seuss Enterprises as President.

Plenty of foods play a role in romance-oysters, strawberries, and chocolate come to mind-but rare is the delicacy that acts as seducer in its own right. Take bacon, for example.

Ah, bacon (or to quote Homer Simpson, "Mmm... bacon"). So powerful is its allure that "even vegetarians...think lusty thoughts about it," writes Joanna Pruess in Seduced by Bacon: Recipes and Lore About American's Favorite Indulgence (Lyons Press, October 2006), a new cookbook as irresistibly luscious as its subject. "The moment I hear that sizzle in the pan or even read about bacon on a menu, my senses are aroused ... and I am not alone." Indeed she is not: Pruess, a food writer and author of numerous cookbooks, is enraptured by this porky delicacy, and she writes with a passionate flair that will have you haqnkering for a few rashers--and that's just the introduction. The book is further enlivened with anecdotes and bacon lore contributed by Bob Lape, Pruess's husband, fellow bacon aficionado, and a longtime food writer and restaurant critic.

Bacon's enticing amalgam of "salty, smoky, and ever-so-slightly bitter tastes," as well as its tantalizing crispy-chewy texture, is showcased here to mouthwatering effect. Recipes such as Sweet Potato Rosti with Hazelnuts, Apricots and Bacon on Watercress; Open-Faced Cheddar & Turkey Bacon Sandwiches with Beer-Glazed Onions; and Risotto with Shrimp, Asparagus & Pancetta take full advantage of the ingredient's marvelous affinities with everything from avocado to cheese to chicken livers. Nutmeg-Scented Cantaloupe Sherbert with Bacon Tuiles may raise a few eyebrows at first glance, but it's really a playful (and very tasty) riff on the classic combo of prosciutto and melon. And in Liesa Cole's sumptuous, photos, the dishes truly come to life, from the crumbly, bacon studded glory of Mexican Cornbread to the comforting heartiness of Sauerkraut, Kiebasa & Bacon.

But Oscar Mayer has a place in Pruess's bacon-loving heart, too, and her recipes range from humble favorites like the Egg McEnglish Muffin, The Perfect BLT (variations include Wonder Bread with iceberg as well as sourbough with herbed mayo), Blazin' Baked Beans, and Spaghetti Carbonara to the more refined Warm Dandelion & Bacon Salad, Lobster Bisque, Crispy Oven-Roasted Chicken with Sage & Bacon, and French Apple Tart with Cheddar Cheese Crust & Sweet Brittle Topping.

Bacon for dessert?! You bet--while 71 percent of bacon is still consumed at breakfast or brunch (one of the faxcinating facts scattered throughout texts as "Bacon Bits"), this porky pleasure is as versatile as it is appetizing. Seduced by Bacon is larded with useful tips for buying, storing, and cooking bacon, including a terrific oven-bacon method, entertaining stories about Julia Child, M.F.K. Fisher, and other bacon lovers; a glossary of "Baconology" from guanciale to speck; and a list of artisanal suppliers.

"Bacon is far more than food," states Pruess. "It is a happy state of mind." Seduced by Bacon is the perfect vehicle to reach that happy place--and this is one love affair that is evn better the morning after.

To be sure people don't go away hungry before dinner, we opened the feast hours earlier with platters of Tids & Bits. You don't know what Tids & Bits are? Yes you do. They are anything edible that someone brings, or you already had on hand, or might happened to have ordered from a food catalogue-as long as you can eat it with your fingers.

We put out the spiced pecans Carol had brought from Houston. We served Parmesan aioli (left over from two days before, when I'd used it as a dip for asparagus) spread on grilled slices of French bread and broiled until some bubbles showed up. We put out the little pastry cups filled with creamed spinach that had come from the Neiman Marcus Holiday Catalogue. (I used to order the pepper-coated ham from their catalogue every Thanksgiving, until one year the catalogue didn't offer it and Neiman's wouldn't give me the name of the supplier, no matter how nicely I begged. Don't say no to reporters. If you want the best-tasting, juiciest water-free, peppered-coated ham available anywhere, you too can order one by calling the former supplier to Neiman Marcus, Ham I Am! in Plano, Texas, at 800-742-6426. Tell them I sent you. Some secrets are meant to be shared.) The Tids & Bits are accompanied by champagne. It was the champagne that got me in trouble at the 2002 Thanksgiving and I never drank a drop.

I asked Buddy, our favorite Big Blond Broadway leading man, to set up the champagne glasses, bucket, and bottle. To get him started, I filled the bucket halfway with water-if you use ice only, you can't get the bottle in deep enough to do any good-handed it to Buddy, and turned back to the sink to help Rebecca wash bowls. Not everybody volunteers for cleaning chores throughout the day: only those who want to eat. When I looked back, Buddy had dumped out the water, filled the bucket with ice, and was struggling, manfully if unsuccessfully, to stuff the bottle into it. I like to think I maintain an even strain, that our holidays are not like my grandmother's, or my mother's. Ours, I tell myself, are stress-free zone, no tears, no fuss. I also like to pretend I'm not a controlling bitch. Sometimes it leaks out.

Ham I Am!(800-742-6426) has a huge number of fans for it's Texas pork products, including Ozark Trails Peppered Bacon.

Tips On Buying Ham

Local ham purveyor Sharon Meehan knows a thing or two about ham. Her Plano-based company, Ham I Am, has been a nine-time winner at the International Fancy Food and Confection Show. Whether you're buying a fully cooked or a partially cooked ham, she offers some insight.

Buy it with the bone.

"As with any meat, the bone-in meat is more tender, more succulent," says Ms. Meehan. She likes a whole ham, "so I can have leftovers." A whole 12- to 14-pound ham serves 20 to 24 people, with leftovers, says Ms. Meehan. But if that's too much for your crowd, she suggests buying a half ham.

Buy cooked ham unsliced.

"The meat tastes better when it's sliced thin," she says, "and you get more slices out of a ham that's not already sliced. It probably takes five minutes to slice a whole ham. I'll always put five minutes into something if it's going to taste better.

Ham Guidelines

Carving

Spiral-cut hams are popular because of their convenience. But purists insist that if you're warming it in the oven, an uncut ham has better flavor and texture than its spiral-cut sibling. Once you get the hang of it, it takes only five minutes to carve a ham; it's easier to carve than most meats because it's soft. For detailed instructions on carving click on www.theotherwhitemeat.com

Servings

A bone-in ham will yield two to three servings per pound; a boneless ham will yield four to five servings per pound. If you want leftovers, factor those servings in when you buy your ham.

Heating fully cooked hams

Although fully cooked hams may be served cold, most ham purveyors recommend heating for best flavor.

Ham I Am! was mentioned with some of the best hams in the nation as a good choice for your Easter dinner.

Did you catch us in November on the Food Network? Watch your local listings for "Recipe for Success"

They did a wonderful segment on Ham I Am!. Thank you Food Network! We received many new customers and new Ham I Am! fans from your show!

This is an article from Esquire Magazine, by Francine Maroukian:

"HEALTH ALERT: All that anti-lard nonsense is just a big fat misunderstanding. Lard – which has less saturated fat than butter and almost none of the trans-fatty acids you'll find in polyunsaturated substitutes like Crisco--is a comparatively "good" fat. More important, it's a taste-good fat, yielding flakier biscuits, crispier fried chicken, better tamales and more flavorful refried beans. What you don't want, though, is the mass-produced stuff (often hydrogenated for longer shelf-life) you'll find at the supermarket. You want pure lard, ultra-white and silky smooth – what the fancy chefs are using."

The Best Bacon in America by Francine Maroukian

Ham I Am! was listed as the Number 1 Smokehouse in America! Click here to view a PDF of the full article.

"Ham I Am! has a huge number of fans for its Arkansas and Texas pork products, including Ozark Trails peppered bacon."

"There is no store, but Ham I Am! delivers. And the products from this small company are worth the wait."

"Ham, Hogwash (a yummy sauce for ham), and the best Peppered Bacon you've tasted are smoked in the Ozark mountains."

"(972) 424-0127 or www.hamiam.com."

"When selecting the holiday ham, consider these expert tips from Sharon Meehan, owner of Ham I Am!. Look for a ham without an outer skin that has to be trimmed. The best hams have a short shank, no visible fat, and no water added. For extra flavor, Meehan suggests a side sauce or glaze. Her company's "Hogwash", a combination of brown sugar, lemon juice, horseradish, and spices, doubles as both. Or, stir equal parts of red wine, bourbon, and brown sugar with a bit of grated orange peel and horseradish. Hickory Smoked Ham, and Hickory Smoked and Peppered Ham,(whole)$79.95; (half) $49.95; Hogwash, $6.00; Ham I Am! (800)742-6426"

"Interestingly, the one bacon in our testing that is smoked for a relatively long time, about 20 hours, was judged so vastly superior to the other bacons, with such a different taste, that most tasters put it in its own category. That was Ozark Trails Bacon, one of our mail order "ringers", which has been flavored with brown sugar and pepper coated during the long smoking process. It was included in our test to highlight the flavors in normal bacon and show what a more creative approach to bacon can produce. For the sake of our results, we keep it separate because it is a very different product than the supermarket variety"

"...most of the meat will be accompanied by a jar or two of Hogwash, the secret sauce she (Sharon Meehan) conjured in her kitchen to spice up parties. She'll sell about 100,000 jars of the tangy-sweet-with-a-tinge-of-horseradish concoction this year..."

"...her products are sold by Harry and David, Dean & Deluca. New York City is her hottest market, followed by Chicago and San Francisco."