Thursday, March 29, 2012

Easter Ham!

Good afternoon!  I don’t have much time because I have to go get Addy from the bus stop in a few minutes…..How awesome is it that all kids get bussed to school in the Reno area?  I love the schools here.  I can’t say enough good things about Addy’s school.  The casinos funnel money into education here, so I’ve been told.  Well, keep it comin’ casinos…..

When Addy started kindergarten in CA, I had to pay over $400 before she even started in “donations” and “fees”.  For a public school.  And I didn’t even come close to paying the “suggested” amount.  When she started first grade in Reno, I brought my check book to registration, expecting to be robbed blind again.  They asked me for a donation of $12 to cover something for computers.  And they were super apologetic for even asking.  See?  It rules here.

Back to food….Like I said on Tuesday, Easter is quickly approaching.  It is one week from this Sunday, for those without a calendar.  Today I am going to show you a really yummy glaze for ham.  Everyone has ham on Easter, right?  I know I like to have ham on Easter.  One of those giant spiral sliced hams with a glaze/coating so sweet it is almost like a candy coating.  I will show you how to make just such glaze.



For this glaze, I used one small shallot, butter, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, Dijon mustard and Gourmet Rooster Ginger Pear Spread.  This glaze gets its sweetness from the Ginger Pear spread and the brown sugar, obviously.  It is also tangy and savory from the mustard and vinegar.  These items meld together to make the yummiest glaze.  You will want to drink it.  Like a ham glaze milk shake.



I used a nine pound spiral sliced sugar cured ham.  It’s like half a pig.

My ham came with a little foil pack of glaze.  I threw that away.



I started by putting my ham in a baking dish, fat side up.  This way the fat will melt downwards and cover the ham in delicious pork fat.

I covered mine tightly in foil and baked it at 350 degrees for about an hour.



To start the glaze, I melted some butter in a sauce pan and added my chopped shallot.  I softened the shallot over medium heat.  This took about 4 minutes. 

Oh yeah, I also added some salt and pepper.



Next, I added the mustard and vinegar and stirred.



I also stirred in the brown sugar.  And remember, this is all over medium heat.



Finally, I added the Gourmet Rooster Ginger Pear spread.  I let this simmer for about 15 minutes, over medium heat.  This glaze smells so crazy good.  You will smell the ginger, the vinegar, the shallot….all of it, and it is amazing!



After the ham has cooked for one hour, I took it out of the oven and got rid of the foil.  I poured the glaze all over the ham.  I popped this back in the oven for another 10 minutes, but this time at 450 degrees.  The high heat will caramelize the sugary stuff and give you that yummy “candy” coating.



When I took the ham out of the oven, I spooned the glaze all over the ham again.  I let this sit for about 15 minutes to cool off.



Holy crap, (I know, highly inappropriate for an Easter ham post) this ham is good.  You won’t miss the pack of glaze, and you also won’t need to make a trip to the Honey Ham store.  This ham will solve all your problems.



I served this ham with a little extra glaze spooned over the top.  I hope you make this ham for your Easter celebrations…….



Ginger Pear Ham Glaze

2 tablespoons butter

1 small shallot, chopped

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

¼ cup Dijon Mustard

3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

¼ cup brown sugar

1 Jar (9 oz.) Gourmet Rooster Ginger Pear Spread

One 8-10 pound spiral sliced ham

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place ham, fat side up, in a baking pan.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

In a sauce pan, melt butter.  Sauté shallot until softened, about 4 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.  Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer, over medium heat, for 15 minutes.

Take ham out of oven.  Remove foil and discard.  Pour glaze over ham and bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.  Spoon glaze back over ham and let ham sit for 15 minutes before serving.

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