Goat Cheese and Ham Wrapped Asparagus

These Goat Cheese and Ham Wrapped Asparagus were a huge hit at Matilda's "Tea for 2" party.  And surprisingly it was the men who really gobbled these up!  They are a great finger food because they don't require a fork and are easy to pick up and eat while you socialize.

Serves 15-20
Ingredients:
2 lbs. fresh asparagus
1/2 lb. honey ham
8 oz. herb goat cheese
1/3 brick cream cheese, softened
30+ fresh chives 

Cut off the tough ends of the asparagus (approximately 1"- 2"). Cook asparagus.  Only cook for a few minutes in boiling water and then shock them in a large bowl of ice water.  You do not want to over-cook the asparagus because they will lose their beautiful green color.  You also still want them to have a good bite and not be flimsy.  I'd say, in this case, better to under-cook than over-cook.

Clean your fresh chives.  We picked these from our herb garden so they are super long.  You will need one chive per asparagus spear.

Combine your herb goat cheese and the 1/3 block cream cheese.  The cream cheese will help the goat cheese be easier to work with when spreading it on the pieces of ham.

Cut ham in half or thirds (we did thirds because our ham slices were very large).  Spread a very thin layer of goat cheese on each piece of ham.  Roll up asparagus in ham/goat cheese.  Tie with a chive to secure.  Place in a container to keep cool in the refrigerator.  Can be made a day in advance.

Remove from refrigerator just prior to serving.  Place on a serving tray.  I love using white because I think it makes the colors pop, but you can use whatever you'd like.

I would suggest discarding any un-eaten asparagus after the party if it has been sitting out for several hours.  These asparagus were eaten up SO quickly. I would recommend making more than you need and maybe bringing them out in two rounds so they don't spoil. 

Give this recipe a try - you're going to love it!