How To Make Easter Ham and Our Easter Dinner 2011

I thought you might be looking for some options for your Easter Dinner.  Here is our menu and how I prepare Easter Ham! Also check out the other Food Friday recipe today for this delicious Refreshing Punch!


Menu:
Ham glazed with Brown Sugar, Mustard, Pineapple and cloves (recipe below!)
Cheesy Potato Bake (Look for the recipe here next week on Food Friday!)
Green Beans
Basil Carrots 
Fruit Plate or Fruit Salad
Jellied Cranberries (I almost forgot to put these down!
They are my husband's favorite!)
Homemade Bread
Dessert:  Strawberry Whipped Sensation  (Recipe next week on Food Friday!)

It's really very simple to bake a ham!  I don't make it often, but it is a special traditional dish on Easter Sunday for many people.  By the way, I have come to refer to Easter as "Resurrection Sunday"!
Last year I posted about Resurrection Eggs and an Egg hunt with our nieces and nephews--very cute photos!

at Amazon

The book, "Benjamin's Box," tells about Resurrection Eggs, which help you teach your children about Jesus' death and resurrection.  You can buy them at Family Life Today, among other places!
We are having my mom and our good friend, Clarice, over for dinner--not a big gathering, but a special one.
How To Make Ham
Ingredients:

• Ham (4-5 lb or so)

These instructions are for a non-spiral sliced, bone-in ham.  They could be adapted to use with non-bone-in and spiral cut hams, though.

• 1 can pineapple slices in juice
• whole cloves (in the spice section of the grocery store--unfortunately expensive)
• brown sugar (approximately 1/4-1/2 cup--to your taste, and the size of ham)
• mustard (approximately 2-4 Tbsp, again to taste and size of ham)

This photo also shows maraschino cherries in the centers of the pineapple slices, which is pretty, but I don't use them, as I usually carve the ham before bringing it to the table, anyway, and the ham is sweet enough with the pineapple and brown sugar.

Directions:

• Thaw ahead of time, if frozen
• Place the ham in a baking or shallow roasting pan (9x13) on top of a metal rack.
• Cut away some of the fat/skin on the top/side, and score it about a 1/2 inch deep, with a sharp knife.
• In a small bowl, mix together about a 1/4 cup (to start) of brown sugar, and about 2 Tbsp of regular mustard. You may wish to use more brown sugar if you like it sweeter, or more mustard, if you like that.  This is to your taste.
• Spread the brown sugar mixture over the top and sides of the ham with a knife, spoon--not too thick, or it will just fall off.  You can make more of this, and heat it in the microwave briefly, but I usually don't heat it.
• Place pineapple slices on sides and top of ham, anchoring with the cloves, (you can use toothpicks, but I usually don't need to).  Just as best you can.  I can usually only get a few of the pineapple slices to stay--but they do add sweetness!
• Poke whole cloves into the ham (these resemble little thorns, which is symbolic to me of Jesus' crown of thorns).   Remove the fat where needed, so you can get them into the actual ham.  Between or in the scored parts. Place them in a tic-tac-toe pattern, rows crossing each other, or just randomly, however you want.  These, too, add flavor.  Spread them all over the ham.  I usually add a lot of these; maybe 20-30.
• Cover with a tent of foil, and place in a 325 degree oven (preheated).  Check periodically, and add a little bit of water in the pan, if the drippings are burning on the bottom.  Baste or brush with additional glaze, if you like, every 15-30 minutes. You can also baste with the pineapple juice, but it will burn on the bottom of your pan, if it runs down too much.
• Remove foil for the last half of baking, and continue to brush with glaze.
• Bake for 20 minutes per pound, or about 2 to 2-1/2 hours (until it reaches 140 degrees).
• Remove all cloves!  You don't want to eat these!!
• Carve and serve with browned pineapple slices.

Here is also a video of Rob Barrett cooking an Easter Ham, which I posted awhile ago, which shows him preparing and baking ham in a very similar way to what I have just described, so you can see how it can be done!  Fun to watch, too!
Enjoy!
And remember our Lord's sacrifice and Victory over sin and death as you Celebrate Jesus Christ's Resurrection!
Happy Resurrection Day!