Ozeki Takanohama's Happy Ham
By Wanda June-Johnson

New York, NY, November 8, 2002 - While attending a weekend clinic on Flow Management I was delighted to spend a few precious moments with international unipong superstar, Ozeki Takanohama. Did we discuss the importance of pre-game meditation? Not quite, we talked about ham.

Fans may recall that Mr. Takanohama's preferred in-season source of protein is ham in all of it's glorious, conventional manifestations. What you may not know, is that Mr. Takanohama has recently been exploring the daring, playful aspects of ham and he was generous enough to share one of these recipes with me. And with his permission, I'm sharing Ozeki's Takanohama's Happy Ham with you. Enjoy!

Grilled Happy Ham Sticks (with exotic spices and peach preserves)
Keep kids happy by serving them grilled ham cut into sticks. Adults will love the peach and spice coating on their ham slices.

Peach preserves
Ground cinnamon
Ground ginger
Ground nutmeg
Salt
Fully cooked ham slices

For adults, mix all ingredients except ham (about 1/2 cup preserves to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and a dash each of ginger, nutmeg and salt). Place ham slices on grill rack or on rack in broiler pan. Cover and grill 4 to 5 inches from medium heat, or broil 6 to 7 minutes for 1/4 inch thick slices, 8 to 10 minutes for 1/2 inch thick slices, brushing portion of ham for adults occasionally with preserves mixture. Cut portion of ham for kids into 1/2-inch sticks.