I got so many great ideas for chicken that I decided to come back and ask for ideas for ham. I searched the recipe board, but didn't come up with anything.

My mom and dad are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary tomorrow. My mom did NOT want to go out to a restaurant, so I am cookiing them dinner at their house. I did this for them a couple of yers ago for Christmas when they couldn't host the festivities b/c my mom had just gotten out of the hospital. I just delievered dinner in casserole dishes and they warmed them in the oven.

I have decided on the classic ham dinner: Ham, baked beans, yams, rolls, cole slaw, veggie tray, deviled eggs, and cake and ice cream. My grandma is pitching in- she wants to bring the slaw, beans, and eggs and go halfsies on the cost of the cake.

I want to make it as simple as I can, but I want it to be good. Usually when I fix a ham, I put it in a roaster with some water and add some orange juice and brown sugar for a sweet glaze. But I had the idea to instead bake the ham with the sweet potatoes inside the roaster. What do you all think?

Any other creative ideas would be welcome!

By Ginny~moderator on Saturday, June 24, 2006 - 07:48 pm:

You wouldn't want to put the sweet potatoes in at the same time you start the ham, because they'd get way overcooked, I'd think. But I think it would work, if you added the sweet potatoes for the same timing you'd use if you were cooking them separately.

I use marmalade for a glaze for ham, which is not quite as sweet as the brown sugar glaze, but I like it less sweet.

Your menu brings back memories of my mom cooking a smoked ham for holiday meals. Because it was a farm smoked ham, she had to soak it for two days to remove the excess salt, then boil it, and then it finally got baked. She used the same orange juice & brown sugar glaze. She left a thin layer of fat on the top of the ham and scored it into diamonds, with a clove in the center of each diamond. I haven't thought of that in years.

By Cocoabutter on Saturday, June 24, 2006 - 08:09 pm:

I am glad I could make you smile!

My mom said it would be better to do them separately, so I guess I will. I just thought it might simplify things a bit.

Thanks, Ginny!

By Ginny~moderator on Saturday, June 24, 2006 - 10:37 pm:

Lisa, what I do to speed things up, with either sweet or baking potatoes, is to do them in the microwave first. You can either cook them fully in the microwave and wrap them in foil for 10-15 minutes to "finish" off the cooking, or cook them partiallly in the microwave and put them in the same oven with the ham to finish off. But I suppose as long as you are cooking the ham, you might as well tuck the sweets in alongside the roasting pan or on another shelf - it isn't going to make much difference. If you have a crockpot, you might do the beans in the crockpot, and "finish" them off (to get the crusty top) in the oven.