A standard can is twelve ounces. Most of these use one can. Slice it about a quarter inch thick and you'll get eight or nine slices, depending on how steady your hand is before coffee.

Fried Spam & Eggs · Ardis's Hotdish · Leimomi's Musubi · The Highway Department Sandwich · Spam Kabobs

FRIED SPAM & EGGS
The one my mother made. Serves 2, or 1 of me.

1. Slice half a can into four slices.
2. Put them in a cast iron pan over medium heat. No oil needed, it brings its own.
3. Fry about 3 minutes a side, until the edges curl up and go golden brown and a little crisp. Don't rush it. The crisp edge is the whole point.
4. Move the Spam to a plate and crack two eggs right into the same pan. Fry them however your family does it. Ours were over easy.
5. Serve with toast. Ketchup is allowed on the eggs but not on the Spam. House rule.

ARDIS'S SPAM & POTATO HOTDISH
The one that got me married. Serves 6 at a church supper, 4 at our house.

You need: 1 can Spam, cubed · 5 or 6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced thin · 1 small onion, chopped · 1 can cream of mushroom soup · 1/2 cup milk · 1 cup shredded cheddar · pepper

1. Heat the oven to 350 and butter a 9 by 13 pan.
2. Stir the soup and milk together in a bowl with a little pepper. You won't need salt, the Spam takes care of that.
3. Layer half the potatoes, half the onion and half the Spam in the pan, then pour on half the soup. Do it again with the rest.
4. Cover with foil and bake 1 hour, until a fork goes through the potatoes easy.
5. Take off the foil, sprinkle on the cheese, and bake 15 minutes more until it bubbles.
6. Let it sit 10 minutes before you cut it or it'll run all over the plate. Ardis says that's the step men always skip. She's right.

LEIMOMI'S SPAM MUSUBI
From my daughter-in-law in Honolulu, who says every kid in Hawaii takes these to the beach. Makes 8.

You need: 1 can Spam · 2 cups uncooked short-grain rice (the sticky kind, sometimes called sushi rice or Calrose) · 4 sheets of nori, the dried seaweed, from the international aisle · 1/4 cup soy sauce · 1/4 cup sugar

1. Cook the rice and keep it warm. It has to be warm and sticky or nothing holds together.
2. Slice the Spam the long way into 8 slices and fry them in a pan until both sides are browned.
3. Stir the soy sauce and sugar together, pour it in the pan with the Spam, and let it bubble, turning the slices, until the sauce gets thick and sticks to them. Couple of minutes. Watch it, sugar burns.
4. Cut each nori sheet in half so you have 8 long strips. Lay one strip shiny side down.
5. In Hawaii they have a little plastic mold for this. Leimomi says plenty of folks just use the empty Spam can with both ends cut out, which I think is about the smartest thing I ever heard. (Mind the cut edges, they're sharp. File them down or wrap them in tape first.)
6. Set the mold across the middle of the nori strip, pack in a good layer of rice and press it down firm, lay a slice of Spam on top, then lift the mold off.
7. Fold the nori up and around it and wet the end with a fingertip so it sticks.

Eat them the same day. They're best a little warm. The first time I had one I ate four and Leimomi said, "Okay, Dad, you're local now." Proudest day of my life, just about.

THE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT SANDWICH
What I ate in the plow truck for thirty-one winters. Serves 1 cold man.

Two thick slices of Spam, fried crisp. White bread, the soft kind. Yellow mustard on both slices of bread. Two dill pickle chips. A slice of American cheese if you're feeling fancy. Wrap it in wax paper while it's hot and put it inside your coat. By the time you get to the far end of County Road 46, it's lunch.

SPAM KABOBS
For the Fourth of July, or any time Ardis lets me near the grill. Serves 4.

1. Cut a can of Spam into 1-inch cubes.
2. Cut up a green pepper, an onion, and open a can of pineapple chunks and drain it.
3. Thread it all onto skewers, taking turns. (If they're wooden skewers, soak them in water half an hour first or they'll catch fire. Ask me how I know.)
4. Grill over medium coals about 8 or 10 minutes, turning, and brush on a little barbecue sauce the last couple of minutes.