Rico Maierhofer, James Yap, and Jonas Villanueva present their Purefoods Fiesta Ham recipes for the yuletide season.

In the world of professional hoops, “fiesta conference” usually refers to one of the most grueling and competitive basketball seasons in the year. 

At the San Miguel Culinary Center in Pasig recently, it meant kitchen duty for three of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)’s most exciting cagers.

James Yap, Jonas Villanueva, and Rico Maierhofer, temporarily traded in their jerseys, sneakers, and basketballs for aprons, kitchen knives, pots, and ladles, to see who could come up with the best Christmas recipe for the no. 1 premium noche buena staple, Purefoods Fiesta Ham.

“Minsan lang ang Pasko, kaya dapat espesyal ang handa.  Ito ang special recipe ko, (Christmas is a special occasion, and this is my special recipe)” said James.

Jonas and Rico, both coming from big families (Jonas has 10 siblings while Rico is the eldest of seven), meanwhile came up with recipes sure to be popular at big gatherings.  The San Miguel Culinary Center gives us the low-down.

JAMES’ PUREFOODS FIESTA HAM WITH ORANGE MARMALADE GLAZE
Ingredients:
1 whole     PUREFOODS FIESTA HAM®, thawed
Brown sugar for coating ham
Glaze:   
½ cup Orange marmalade
2 tbsp Prepared mustard
1/3 cup Brown sugar
½ cup Water

Procedure:
Glaze:  Mix all ingredients in a saucepan.  Cook over moderate heat until consistency resembles maple syrup.  Set aside. Coat ham with brown sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.  Brush with glaze occasionally.  Slice ham upon serving. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

JONAS V’S CREAMY HAM AND PEAS PASTA
Ingredients:
400 gm Spaghetti or fettucine   
¼ cup Butter
½ cup Chopped onions
½ cup Red bell pepper, sliced (1” x 1”)
¼ kilo PUREFOODS FIESTA HAM®, sliced (1” x 1”)
¼ cup All purpose flour
2 cup Chicken broth
1 cup All purpose cream
1 cup Green peas
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Ground black pepper
½ cup Quezo de Bola grated
¼ cup Chopped parsley

Procedure:
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
In a saucepan, melt butter, sauté onions, red pepper and ham. Blend in flour. Add chicken broth and all purpose cream. Cook over low fire, stirring continuously until sauce is slightly thick. Add green peas and seasoning. Simmer for three minutes. Right before serving, toss pasta, sauce, grated cheese and parsley. Add extra cheese on top. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

RICO’S HAM & CHEESE PANINI
Ingredients:
4 pcs focaccia
3 tbsp mayonnaise
2 pcs tomatoes, sliced
12 slices    queso de bola , thinly sliced
16 slices    PUREFOODS FIESTA HAM®
2 tbsp butter, softened

Procedure:
Pan fry ham. Spread mayo on the inside of the bread. Place tomatoes, cheese and ham.  Spread butter on the outsides of the bread.  Repeat to make a total of four sandwiches.
Heat a Teflon pan and pan-grill the sandwiches until outside is crispy, around 1-2 minutes. Makes 4 sandwiches.