Easter HAM

of course, this is a Thanksgiving turkey...and I do a fair-to-middlin job with that..



But I am FAMOUS FOR MY HAMS. I don't have any pictures of my incredible Easter Hams to put up on this blog...but you have to take my word for it.......nobody makes a better ham than I do.

Thanks to my mother-in-law, Helen Farro.

Of course, you should buy the best "whole ham" you can find.

Then -- and here's the magic -- bake it with the fat side DOWN...

Helen's theory was that the salt stays in the fat -- and if you cook it fat side up -- the salt will run down through the meat...

And I am a believer!!

After the ham is baked, get it out of the oven, turn it over, cut OFF the fat, then score the ham. Stick whole cloves into the "x" spots (optional). Frost with the brown sugar glaze, use toothpicks to hold whole pineapple slices in place (garnished with red cherries) and stick it back in the oven until the glaze bubbles (20 min)...

Brown sugar glaze:

1 1/2 cups of drk brown sugar
3 tbl yellow mustard
Pineapple juice (just enough to make the glaze the consistency of peanut butter)

YOUR HAM WILL BE DELICIOUS...

AND -- if you want to make ham gravy -- here's another Helen Farro tip. Pour the grease off, and add 1 c. of water to the drippings -- and a handful of RAISINS. Let it simmer for 30 minutes or so -- the raisins ABSORB THE SALT. It's a very neat trick. Remove the raisins and proceed with your gravy, as per usual.