Holiday foods and recipes

[GGT]

I'm looking for a good ham recipe to replicate the Honey Baked Ham trademark sweet and crunchy crust.

I've found a ham rub of brown sugar, kosher salt, pepper, cumin () ginger, dry mustard and ground cinnamon. The cumin could screw it up...maybe I should use cloves instead? After keeping the rubbed ham in fridge overnight to marinate, recipe calls for grilling for 2 hours, covered, over white hot charcoal. Then brushing on the glaze, covered grill for another 30 minutes, while basting every 10 minutes.

The glaze is butter, honey, vinegar, and fresh thyme. I'd like to add some fresh pineapple spears because it's on hand, and because it goes so well with ham. Not sure how that would make a crunchy crust, though. I've also never cooked a ham on the grill before.

Any suggestions?


ps, most hams here are already "fully cooked", so it's a matter of adding flavors and heating up the middle section without burning the outer parts.

pss, would also appreciate a good potato latke recipe that isn't just making potato pancakes....

[GGT]

Guess I'm the only one up at this hour, watching Miracle on 34th Street, drinking wine and planning menus.

Here's a great dip recipe, for anyone who's interested:

One (5) ounce can of tiny shrimp, rinsed and drained
One (8) ounce package Philly cream cheese
3 Tablespoons Heinz chili (cocktail) sauce
1/2 teaspoon onion juice or onion salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
Four tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Beat all ingredients with mixer until smooth and creamy
Serve with crispy crackers or chips

Very yummy, one of my all time favorites.

[Aimless]

This may be of interest:

http://www.food.com/recipe/honey-bak...-copycat-45896

http://www.copykat.com/2010/03/25/ho...oneybaked-ham/







Let us know how it goes!

[Aimless]

Or this:

[Aimless]

[Dreadnaught]

I feel like the logical next step for every aspect of this thread is to share a recipe for Jew Bread:

1) Collect three Christian children, preferably around Passover. Store in cool basement for no more than 24 hours.
2) Tell them there is no Santa
3) Dice (do NOT purée) into small cubes
4) Render in water until soft
5) Purée
6) Bake and let cool

[LittleFuzzy]

Got my own question. Normally I make mint brownies for Christmas but I know my brother isn't fond of mint. I made peanut-butter brownies a few months ago and don't want to just repeat that. Do you guys think adding a few teaspoons of ground cinnamon to fudge brownies would go over well?

[Dreadnaught]

How about replacing the peanut-butter with nutella?

[Timbuk2]

Brandy butter, to go with Christmas pud.

200g Unsalted butter
400g icing sugar
6 tablespoons of finest brandy

Blend until smooooooth and creamy. Simple, but so good.

[Aimless]

Got my own question. Normally I make mint brownies for Christmas but I know my brother isn't fond of mint. I made peanut-butter brownies a few months ago and don't want to just repeat that. Do you guys think adding a few teaspoons of ground cinnamon to fudge brownies would go over well?

Cinnamon is a brilliant addition to chocolatey things! Cardamom too!

[Hazir]

Cinnamon is always good.

[GGT]

Dunno about the brownies, Fuzzy. I like them as fudgy, unadulterated squares of chocolate gewy goodness. No mint, butterscotch, peanut butter....and no nuts added. If I want nuts with my chocolate I'll eat chocolate-covered nuts. Better to set up a brownie bar, with things to add by choice. Hot fudge, ice cream, caramel, nuts, cherries, creme de menthe, that kind of thing. That way everyone can have their brownies without mucking up ALL the brownies.

I ended up making a prime rib with an herbed salt rub (because the kids had the Honey Baked ham at their dad's house).

Pretty easy, quite tasty. Basic ingredients were equal parts butter/kosher salt/cracked pepper/minced garlic, with half parts rosemary and thyme. Key was making sure the meat was at room temp, letting it sit out for at least 6 hours, without worrying about bacterial growth. To be on the safe side, I seared the raw meat first and let it rest for 6 hours

Preheat oven to 500 degrees (F). *Very important. Must use oven for this single-item only.*
Rub all surfaces of the hunk 'o meat with the mixture.
Bake in shallow metal pan, uncovered, 5 mins per pound.
Then....turn the oven OFF. Do NOT open oven door, not even to peek!
The meat will cook slowly as the temp reduces.
After two hours, check internal temp (should be about 195 degrees)

Remove from oven, let sit or "rest" for another 30 minutes. Can tent with foil for longer if needed.
Use pan juices and crusty tidbits to make a gravy or au jus:
whisk in flour and water slowly, bring to a boil, stirring continuously
add beef *stock* if desired (not consume or broth cubes).

Meat will be pink, juicy, and warm when carving.
Serve on heated plates with hot gravy or au jus.
A horseradish cream dip is nice on the side, too.

ps: If you use bone-in meat, ask the butcher to slice them off first and tie to the body so they cook together but aren't a carving mess. I used a boneless hunk, and cooked it with the fatty part UP, so the juices would drip down and into the meat, and cook in its own juices (not propped up in one of those meat holder grill thingies).

PSS! One nice surprise about using beef at Christmas (instead of ham or turkey) was finding prime rib on sale for $4.99/pound! That's the normal price for hamburger!