Holiday Fare · Meats · Uncategorized

Baked Ham

A friend of mine just wrote and ask me if I made ham with cloves and pineapple. My response was that I had never made it that way. It brought back so many great memories of sitting around our table having ham, cooked with brown sugar, pineapple and coke with golden raisins. When I searched my blog for the recipe I discovered that I had never posted our favorite way to have ham. My  ex Father-in-law, Elwood always made this for almost every holiday and was happy to give us his recipe. He was a great cook and made the best fried shrimp you could find. The secret to this sauce is that you cook it for a couple of hours before pouring it over the ham to then bake in the oven. If the ham is over 4 lbs, you will want to double the ingredients. It  might not take all of the sauce, depending on the size ham, but you can freeze the rest and use it at a later time.

1/2 box  (15 oz size) golden raisins

1 12 oz coke (regular, not diet)

1 regular size can (not the short 4 oz, sorry but I don’t have one on hand to check the size but it is just like the regular size can) of crushed pineapple

1 cup of water

3/4 cup light brown sugar.

Combine all of the above ingredients and cook over a low heat for a couple of hours. When sauce has thickened, pour over the ham. Cover the ham and cook according to the directions for the size ham you are preparing.

Uncategorized

Ham, Asparagus & Mushroom Bread Pudding

Just thinking about pumpkin season just being around the corner, has me in a cooking mood. At night, I am already just sitting and looking through magazines for new fall recipes, all the while watching the food network, with a plate of French vanilla cake sitting on my lap.  Last night I found the recipe that I will be making for our breakfast for New Years’ day when our house will be full of friends and family here to watch the Rose Parade. It combines one of my favorite things, bread pudding,  with wonderful additions to create a new breakfast feast. Be sure to keep this on your mind for the holiday season. Because with all the butter and cream, it will definitely be on your hips.

1/4 cup plus 1 tables butter, divided

2 (8 oz) packages sliced baby Portobello mushrooms, rinsed and drained dry

1 tables minced garlic

1 pound croissants, cut into 1″ pieces (about 8 large croissants)

1/2 cup butter, melted

3 cups diced ham

3 cups shredded Gruyere cheese

1 (1 lb) bunch asparagus (trimmed and cut into 1/2″ pieces

2 cups milk

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 teas salt

3/4 teas black pepper

1/4 teas ground nutmeg

1/2 teas ground dry mustard (optional, but I add this to add a little kick)

8 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9×13″ baking dish greased with 1 table butter; set aside.

In a large Dutch oven, melt remaining 1/4 cup butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic, cook, stirring occasionally for 12-14 or until lightly browned. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss croissants with 1/2 cup melted butter. Add ham, cheese, asparagus and mushrooms; tossing to combine.

In a large saucepan, combine milk, whipping cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and mustard. Heat over medium heat until milk mixture is barely simmering, stirring frequently. Cool for 5 minutes before adding egg mixture.

Whisking constantly, slowly add eggs to warm milk mixture; whisk until smooth. Pour egg mixture over bread mixture; let stand for 10 minutes.

Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish. Place baking dish in a larger pan. Pour enough hot water into larger pan to reach halfway up sides of baking dish. Bake for 1 hour or until custard is set and bread is golden brown.