2011 April — A Southern Fairytale

[donotprint]I simply can’t believe that I just typed that title.

That means it’s April — would someone please tell me where February and March went!

I’m thinking about buying a ham this week with the excuse that I want to play with and perfect a new marinade but, truthfully — it’s just that I love ham and we’ve been so busy with kickball and out of town traveling that I haven’t cooked an actual meal in nearly a week and a half and I’m seriously jonesin’ to get back in my kitchen and dirty it up.

Last year, we had a ‘trial run’ Easter and invited friends and family over to try some new recipes and just spend a fun day together — I highly suggest doing that, it was SO fun and everyone went home with new recipes!

Both of the hams that I made last year were packed full of flavor, easy and delicious (and really, isn’t that what we all want?)

Bourbon Brown Sugar Ham

I am wholeheartedly NOT a sticky sweet glazed ham person — you know those packets that come with store bought hams? No Thank you. This however, was delicious, a bit savory with just a little crispy sweetness.
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Recipe: Bourbon Brown Sugar Glazed Ham

Ingredients

3/4 to 1 1/2 C Bourbon
1 Tbsp ground mustard
2 C dark brown sugar

Instructions

Your oven temp. will depend on your ham, boneless, bone-in etc.. follow the directions on your ham package.
Place your ham fat side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Lightly score the fat about 1 inch apart.. pour 3/4 C bourbon whiskey over ham and pour 1 C water in the bottom of the roasting pan.
Cover tightly with foil or a roasting pan lid and bake ham as directed.
Mix brown sugar, mustard and remaining bourbon in a bowl to create a paste, set aside.
When you have 40 minutes left for your ham, pull the ham out of the oven and remove the foil/lid. Slather the paste onto the ham, use a spoon or basting tool and drizzle the juices from the roasting pan over the ham.
Cover the ham and place it back into the oven for the remaining amount of time.
Pull the ham out of the oven, allow it to cool and then slice.

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Then there was the Pineapple Chipotle Glazed Ham that totally rocked my socks with the smoky chipotles, sweet pineapples and honey and a hint of zing from the fresh ginger.

Pineapple Chipotle Honey Ginger Glazed Ham

I adore fresh ginger. I think fresh ginger should be a staple in everyone’s lives. Really and Truly
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Recipe: Chipotle Pineapple Honey Ginger Glazed Ham

Ingredients

1 (20 oz) Can crushed pineapple or sliced pineapple with 1/2 the juice drained out
1 to 3 chipotle peppers ( I used two and didn’t seed them) This adds a delicious smoky heat to this sweet and savory glaze
1 C honey, if you can, use local, wildflower honey.
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
salt and pepper, to taste.. (I added 1 Tbsp of RSS)

Instructions

Follow the directions on your ham package as to oven temp and times.
Place your ham, fat side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Put 1 C water in the bottom of the pan and then drizzle 1/2 C of the glaze over the ham.
Cover tightly with foil or roasting pan lid and bake according to your package directions (This was a 10 lb ham.. 325 degrees F.. 25 minutes per pound)
When the ham has 1 hour left, put the rest of the glaze in a medium saucepan and bring to a slow simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove ham from oven; uncover and pour the glaze over the ham.
Put back in the oven and bake for the remaining 45 minutes.
Remove ham from oven, let cool and slice.

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I think that this week, I’m going to twist up my Pork Orange Chipotle Marinade and try it for ham!

Do you have a favorite Easter Ham Recipe? A favorite side dish? Do you do trial runs of your recipes? I’d love to hear y’all’s ideas and favorites!

I’ll share some side dishes later this week, too!

Happy Monday, y’all!
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