Ham

I have NEVER made a ham before, my mom always did it so it has never came up that I needed to make one. When talking to Adam about Christmas dinner he said he wanted ham. I was up for the challange, but then realized we would be gone all morning and wouldn't get home until about an hour before we needed to eat. So I asked my mom to barrow her Nesco, so that is how I cooked the ham. I did it for about 7 hours on about 150.

I planned on cooking the ham with cloves and pineapple, but I had food network on last weekend and Adam said this sounded good so I decided since I am taking the leap I will take a BIG leap. So I kind of combined the 2.

It turned out AWESOME, it had wonderful flavor! I used honey mustard instead of regular mustard, and a little less honey. I didn't have any cognac so I used just a little more apple juice, the glaze didn't reduce as much, so I want to try it again the right way

Jimbo's Hambo (From: Guy Fieri)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced yellow onion
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons cognac
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup apple juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (8 to 10-pound) smoked, unglazed ham
• Whole cloves

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Once heated, add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions become translucent. Remove pan from the heat and carefully add cognac (the alcohol can flame up).

Return the pan to the heat and let reduce for 2 minutes. Add mustards, pineapple juice, apple juice, brown sugar and honey. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Turn down heat to low and allow to reduce by 1/3, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice ham diagonally approximately 1 1/2 to 2-inches deep. From left to right and then right to left, making diamonds on top of ham. In each point of a diamond, press in a clove. Place ham in roasting pan, on cooking rack. Add small amount of water to base of pan to keep drippings from burning. Place in oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Liberally apply mustard glaze to ham and bake the ham for another 30 minutes or until the glaze begins to turn brown and caramelize. Remove, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes

A Warm Minnesota Supper

Tonight for dinner, Adam had requested Wild Rice soup, and I figured I would make a special warm dessert to go with it since he worked out in the cold and the wind today.

The soup was Ham Wild Rice Soup. It is so rich and creamy and tasty. The recipe is from my mom she found it and gave me and is a wonderful recipe. I always use Ham but you can use chicken instead, and you can add celery too if you like that. I prefer to serve it with some fresh bread and butter.

Wild Rice Soup

6 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. minced onion
1/2 c. flour
2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans chicken broth
2 c. cooked wild rice
1/2 c. finely grated carrots
1/3 c. minced ham or 1/2 c. cooked chicken
1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped silvered almonds
1 c. half and half
1/2 tsp. salt
Snipped parsely or chives for garnish

1) In a large saucepan, melt butter and saute onion until tender. Blend in flour and then gradually add broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and boil for 1 minute.

2) Stir in wild rice, carrots, ham (or chicken), almonds, and salt. Simmer about 5 minutes, blend in half and half and heat to serving temperature. If too thick, you may thin with chicken broth.

3) Garnish with snipped parslely or chives.

For dessert I found a recipe for bread pudding, I have never had homemade bread pudding but tried it tonight it was wonderful. I also made Vanilla sauce to top it with, the sauce didn't thicken all the way, but I don't think I boiled it long enough.

Bread Puddding (from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS
6 slices day-old bread
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

Vanilla sauce (from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups water
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in the water, stirring until blended. Bring mixture to a boil and continue to cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Serve warm.