When planning out my queer recipe, I had to account for two things:
First, that cream cheese will not spread well on ham.
Second, cream cheese and ham is a LOT of pretty bland and smooth. It needed some oomph!
I solved these issues by making a cream cheese dip. Most of my liquid dairy is fermented in the form of kefir, which I thought would add a nice tang to the creaminess, and I chopped fresh herbs to cut the fattiness and brighten it up. (Oooh, I'm talking just like they do on the Food Network! Wheee!)
So here's the recipe I ended up with:
A large forkful of cream cheese(about 3 Tbsp)
Enough kefir to liquify the cream cheese(about 3 Tbsp, again)
A handful of fresh basil leaves(or oregano, or sage, or rosemary... or whatever you want!)(1/2 cup, packed.)
I chopped the herbs very fine, because otherwise the texture is untenable. I mixed the cream cheese and kefir until it reached a nice smooth sauciness, then dumped in my choppedyness. I like the proportions such that the cream cheese mixture basically serves to bind the herbs together, but YMMV.
I cubed my ham into bite-sized pieces and dipped it into the sauce, and it's become a staple in my diet. Today I added cucumber to the list of things that are good to dip into this! Om nom nom!
I call it Herbed Cream Cheese-Kefir Dip. I may have to make a big supply!
