Ham takes the cake for the best holiday food out there. I know what you are thinking. Ham for Thanksgiving? Yes! Ham that tastes like a canceled school day due to snow, or the beginnings of fall with the feeling of freedom still lingering from summer. Before I became a vegetarian for almost six years, I looked forward to my dad’s home-baked ham every Thanksgiving. My family was never a rule follower with a traditional turkey, and there’s no rule that says ham can’t be the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving feast. I stopped being a vegetarian about a year ago and when I had that first slice of ham my taste buds needed more.
This ham is the most flavorful and comforting food there is. The recipe is simple and the instructions are easy. This recipe calls for
1 ham
1 ½ cups of brown sugar
1 canned small pineapple rings
Whole fresh cloves
Now to bake to perfection we will take the ham and place it in an average clear glass baking dish. Slice the top of the ham in a diamond shape cutting one way and then cutting against the marks just made. Next, grab some brown sugar with your hands or a spoon and put it into all of the sliced areas where the cuts were made. You will then add a whole clove to each cross section and some along the midline. Don’t be shy, if they fall to the bottom of the pan that’s okay, leave it there and replace it. Next, open the pineapple can. You will need 3 to 4 slices. Pour the pineapple juice into the sliced sections where the cloves are. Save some of the juice from the can, as this will come in later.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cover with foil. Cook for 20 minutes max to avoid burning the sugar. Take the ham out and uncover. Take a spoon and pour the rest of the pineapple juice onto the ham. Place back in the oven for 5 minutes without covering. Serve and eat.
This holiday season why not bring in a new tradition of doing things out of the norm to spice up your dinner table!