I bought a nice big spiral sliced ham for our holiday party at Aldi and cooked it following the America's Test Kitchen method - in a turkey bag and then slathered in homemade glaze and browned in a very hot oven Fabulous! Juicy and tasty. My expectations were low due to the price but I'd serve it anytime to family or work colleagues.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My in laws are coming for Christmas. My MIL always makes the same thing when we visit her for Christmas - ham. I get this is a traditional thing, but I'm not really a fan, and didn't grow up eating it myself! I'd love to make it, but in a more appetizing way (hers is the spiral with the glaze that comes with the ham). Want to honor her tradition, but also want to eat. Any good recipes for something a bit more elevated? (To be fair, my kids aren't big fans of the ham either, so I swear I'm not being a snob).

The bonus is that one of my SIL only eats salmon (like she will bring her own to Thanksgiving to cook instead of eating the turkey), so I would like to serve that as well.

So my Christmas wish, for anyone who's bored today is to develop a good menu with yummy ham, salmon, and good sides. Thanks in advance!!

Well, I am no ham expert. I am with write Anne Lamott who called it “salty, pink eraser.” Your MIL is probably used to the Costco spiral cut which is pretty well- received when I have served to ham fans. Make it easy on yourself and keep your MIL’s ham and elevate it with sides like Ina Garten’s fennel potato gratin.

Fennel is not a crowd-pleaser. But some sort of cheesy potato casserole will give you a side you can fill up on instead of eraser meat. What else do you like? Asparagus with lemon butter? Fruit salad? Green salad?

I am not wild about turkey, but it's what my mom likes for Christmas, so it's what I'm cooking for Christmas dinner. She's my mom.

Anonymous wrote:Just a heads up about Honey Baked Ham. Just because you order a particular size does NOT mean you will get that size. We ordered a small one for Christmas one year and ended up with a huge one, and had to pay the price of the big one. People working there said the small ones go fast and the reservation online pretty much meant nothing. We ate ham for days.

Also, even if you order a ham, your neighbor might end up with it!

You can buy honeybaked by the pound so you don’t buy as much.

Just don’t get that ham from Wegmans. I occasionally feel like it for brunch instead of bacon. It was not a winner

Anonymous wrote:It’s one meal. One meal out of 365 dinners. You can’t just eat the ham? I don’t like turkey. I just don’t eat it on Thanksgiving. The other 364 days of the year I eat what I like.

I’ll never understand people who put so much stock in one meal.

She’s doing the physical and mental labor of hosting a holiday meal. She deserves to have something she likes to eat. That’s not asking a lot.

We're doing Honeybaked and I am so excited for it!

I’ve done whole, uncut ham in the slow cooker. Super easy and tastier than pre-glazed spiral.

If you want to bake your own, this is what I've done for many years and the ham is juicy and popular.

You buy a ham shank (the part with the elongated part of the bone rather than the rounded ones). I find that the shank portion with more bone tends to come out slightly better when baked at home. Take it out of the plastic and wash it down. They are brined and shipped and if you don't rinse it down, it is very salty. Rinse it and let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse again. Take a couple of handfuls of brown sugar (either light or dark works depends on how much molasses flavor you want). Rub the cut end of the ham with brown sugar until no more will stick to the wet end. Put cut side down in a Dutch oven or lasagna pan or any oven safe dish that has at least a 2-inch lip. Rub more brown sugar on the skin again until it doesn't stuck. You can leave extra brown sugar in the bottom of the pan/pot. Next pour some apple cider (not juice, cider) into the bottom of the pan until you have about 1-2 in depth in the pan. Make a loose foil tent for the top of the ham. Put the ham into the oven and cook according to the instructions on the wrapper. About every half hour, pull the rack out, lift the tent and baste the ham with the cider/sugar mixture from the bottom of the pan. Put the tent back on and push back in. THe skin is going to get dry and hard and you will not be eating it, but I find that the basting helps to make sure that the ham stays moist throughout. You won't get dry meat and it also keeps the meat a little sweeter and tastier.

It takes about 5 min to prep the ham and get it into the oven. And when done, take it out and carve slices from the cut end and put on a serving plate. Can be served warm or cold.

Very easy and those who eat ham have enjoyed it.

Just a heads up about Honey Baked Ham. Just because you order a particular size does NOT mean you will get that size. We ordered a small one for Christmas one year and ended up with a huge one, and had to pay the price of the big one. People working there said the small ones go fast and the reservation online pretty much meant nothing. We ate ham for days.

Anonymous wrote:Get one from Honeybaked Ham. They're the best!

Another +1 for HoneyBaked Ham. You also don’t have to buy a lot of it. You can get a smaller half ham, or even buy slices by the pound.
I also do at least one more main — like salmon. For a small dinner I might do ham, turkey thighs, and have a course with smoked salmon.

I don't understand why you and DH aren't serving the meal of your choice. Why recreate someone else's menu? And if you don't feel like making salmon, by all means SIL can use your oven--how bizarre.

Get DH on board to make something different at your house.

Anonymous wrote:Get one from Honeybaked Ham. They're the best!

+1 Tastes great. Pick it up, warm it, done!

It’s one meal. One meal out of 365 dinners. You can’t just eat the ham? I don’t like turkey. I just don’t eat it on Thanksgiving. The other 364 days of the year I eat what I like.

I’ll never understand people who put so much stock in one meal.