My first ham!

This was a YES - I have never enjoyed eating ham so much in my life. I planned a nice dinner to welcome home my mom after a weekend away - it turned out she wasn't coming back for another day, but I stuck with the plan. But the rest of the family ditched me - I ended up eating with the dog, which was a bummer. I wanted to hear some praise for my beautiful ham :-D

I made au gratin potatoes from a box mix and heated up some veggies - I couldn't eat either of these, so they were kind of for nobody's benefit. The ham however - AHHH! Orange juice and brown sugar... *sigh* After trying the ham the next day, my dad went and bought another one and asked me to make it again. And ya see what's in the background of this picture? The remains of a raspberry rhubarb pie - ignore the piece of pumpkin beside it. ;-)

I know I took pictures of it, but they have disappeared - sad day. :-(

That was another experiment of the afternoon, and I have to say that, that goes in the top five yummiest things I've ever tried making. It was DEE-licious! I feel like making another one right now!

Ham Glaze Ingredients:Glaze
1/2 cup orange juice
3 cups brown sugar
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons corn syrup (I used sugar and water to make a substitute)
3 teaspoons dry mustard

Directions
1. Score ham with diamonds, insert whole cloves (I skipped the cloves - I have to see pictures to do that), bake at 325- 350 for about 1-1 1/2 hours (you can add a little water to the bottom of the baking dish).
2. Baste often with glaze, watching carefully that the outside does not start to burn.
3. If desired serve with the glaze drizzled on slices, or even put the sauce in a bowl for the table and everyone can help themselves!) Yummy!




1/2 pint raspberries (I used frozen)
1/4 cup honey
6 tablespoons cornstarch (I put that in anyway - that's what Benadryl is for!)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon zest, grated (skipped that. I put some lemon juice into the raspberry mixture, but then I realized I should have put it into the sugar and water mixture, so I added more. And it was fine!)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
7 cups rhubarb, cut in pieces (I used 1/3 frozen, or rather thawed, and 2/3 fresh. For a bit I thought it might not work, but I just had to cook it longer to get the fresh rhubarb cooked thoroughly)
1 (9 inch) pie shells, fully baked

Topping
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped (skipped these)
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup ol-fashioned rolled oat
1/4 cup butter, cold (I used soy butter)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon


Directions


1. Filling:
2. In blender, puree raspberries and honey. Scrape through fine sieve into bowl.
3. Whisk in cornstarch to dissolve; add vanilla.
4. In saucepan, bring zest, sugar, and water to a simmer. Add rhubarb. Cover and simmer 8 minutes. Rhubarb should be tender, but hold shape.
5. Add berry mixture and boil 1 minute, stirring till thickened. Pour into pie shell.

6. Topping:
7. Combine all ingredients in bowl. With fingers, rub till mixture is enenly moistened and forms clumps. Crumble over filling.
8. Place foil under pie to catch drips. Bake at 425 for 15 to 20 minutes until brown.
8 lbs ham (or smaller)