Cheesy Ham — Potato Packet — Same Comfort, Different Container

The cooking classes are finishing their spring session and I have been thinking about what comes next, about whether to expand—more students, different days, something offered more formally. Sister Aisha has been suggesting for two years that I consider an online component, a cooking class filmed for the YouTube channel, and I have been resisting this because I believe cooking is transmitted person-to-person, hand-to-hand, and a screen between the teacher and the student removes the most important element, which is the feel. You cannot feel dough through a screen. You cannot smell the moment when the oil is right through a speaker. The physical is the point. The physical is the transmission.

But. But. Dr. Langley has been gentle about this: I am not always going to be able to be physically present. My knees are already telling me things I am not yet ready to hear. Someday the standing will be limited. Someday the students who need what I have to give will be in Memphis and Atlanta and wherever else Black Southern church kitchen granddaughters are living in the world, far from Birmingham, far from Saturday morning classes, looking for the knowledge that their grandmothers couldn't give them before they died. The Memphis woman who made mac and cheese at three in the morning. She needed what I have. She found it through words. Maybe she would also find it through a screen. Maybe the screen is not the enemy of transmission. Maybe it is just a different pot, a different container, carrying the same thing.

I said this to Sister Aisha and she said, "Mother Simms, that is the most yes I have ever heard you say." I said, "Don't make a big deal of it." She said she wouldn't. She immediately made a very big deal of it. The filming starts in June.

When I told Sister Aisha that the screen was just a different pot, I meant it as a philosophy — but standing in my kitchen that evening, I found myself making this Cheesy Ham & Potato Packet and thinking: yes, exactly this. You take the same potatoes, the same ham, the same cheese, the same care, and you wrap it in foil instead of a baking dish, and it comes out tasting just as right, just as whole, just as nourishing. The container changed. The thing inside did not. If I can remember that about a packet of potatoes, I can remember it about a cooking class on a screen.

Cheesy Ham & Potato Packet

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 1/2 cups diced cooked ham (about 8 oz)
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
• 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for serving
• Heavy-duty aluminum foil

Instructions

1. Preheat. Preheat your oven to 400°F (or prepare a grill to medium-high heat). Tear four large sheets of heavy-duty foil, each about 14 inches long.
2. Season the mixture. In a large bowl, combine the cubed potatoes, diced ham, onion, and bell pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and season with garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Toss until everything is evenly coated.
3. Assemble the packets. Divide the mixture evenly among the four sheets of foil, mounding it in the center of each. Fold the long sides of the foil up over the filling and crimp tightly, then fold and seal the short ends to form a fully enclosed packet.
4. Cook. Place packets on a baking sheet and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender. If grilling, cook over medium-high heat for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once halfway through.
5. Add the cheese. Carefully open each packet (watch for steam), top evenly with shredded cheddar, and leave packets open for 3 to 5 minutes until the cheese melts.
6. Serve. Scatter fresh parsley over the top and serve packets directly on plates, or spoon contents onto the plate. Eat while hot.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 380 | Protein: 22g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 34g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 820mg