The Eight Days of Ham 

Day One

Yes, it's that time of year once again.

And this year my dear husband received not one,

but two hams.

So we will be having two Eight Days of Ham marathons 

in the next few months.

Fortunately, we now have a larger refrigerator,

so we can store one of the hams until spring.

By then we might - maybe - feel like

looking at ham again.

We started off with the smaller of the two hams.

This is a ten pound ham. 

The second ham is fourteen to sixteen pounds.

Both are bone-in, fully-cooked hams.

I decided to use this one first as it was spiral-sliced.

It came with a granular spice mix.

The directions said to mix it with sugar.

First I brushed honey over the outside of the ham

and then sprinkled the mix over the top.

Cover with foil and bake in a 325 degree oven

for 45 minutes.

Uncover and continue baking for 15 minutes.

Well, that's according to the package directions.

Why do I keep listening to the directions?

The ham never warms up in that amount of time.

Silly me.

Note to self:

come back and read this blog post

before cooking the next ham.

Meanwhile, I had made homemade creamed corn

by melting one tablespoon bacon joos (fat) and 

one tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet.  

Toss in two slices of fully cooked bacon that have been diced.

Add in two tablespoons of finely diced onion 

and saute for about five minutes over medium-high heat.

Add in about two cups frozen corn and heat through

before pouring in about two to three tablespoons

half and half or heavy cream.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook for about two more minutes before

removing from heat.

Add a bit of water to some of the spice and sugar mix

and heat in the microwave to make a glaze for the ham.

And Christmas dinner is served.

Simple but filling.

Thus ends the First Day of Ham.

Monday Night Dinner

After a less than stellar weekend in the kitchen (hey, we all have bad days, or weeks, or years...), I decided to make up for it with Monday night's dinner. It would also be the last time my husband would be home for dinner for a few days, so I wanted it to be special. Hmm, now I sound like Ina Garten.

My daughter watched an episode of Down Home with the Neely's with me on Food Network Sunday afternoon and she expressed an interest in the Southern Creamed Corn recipe and asked that I make it. After seeing that rather smallish fresh corn on the cob is priced at 3 for $2.00 this time of year, I decided to just use the frozen corn I already had in the freezer at home. A quick search on the internet revealed that one ear of corn is roughly equal to 1/2 cup of corn, so I also decided to halve the recipe. Now I just had to figure out the rest of the menu. Fortunately, I went to the grocery store Monday morning, so I picked up two boneless beef ribeye steaks that were on sale and I was in business.

Mise en place for the Southern Creamed Corn.

As I didn't have any bacon grease (or joos) on hand, I just skipped that part and added a bit more butter. I always use unsalted butter. What can I say? I'm a control freak.

And now we wait, and wait... (Apparently my dear husband forgot to tell me that he was necessarily delayed at work) And still waiting... This dish is supposed to simmer for 30 minutes. This night? An hour and thirty minutes. Fortunately, I found that this dish can adapt. I simply turned down the heat and bided my time.

Once the word finally arrived that my husband was on his way home, I began the meat. These are simply seasoned with kosher salt, cracked black pepper and olive oil.

The steaks sear nicely and then go on a plate and are covered with aluminum foil to rest. On to the next step. Just in case you are wondering how we divide two steaks between three people: after resting, each steak is cut into thirds and we each get two pieces of steak.

I brown sliced crimini mushrooms in the same pan.

I added 1/2 cup beef stock, 1/4 cup white wine and simmered for a few minutes.

Late in the game I added two slabs of beef bone marrow that I had roasted in the bone earlier in the afternoon. More on that later.

The corn is finished right on time.

Despite the unexpected delay in serving the meal, it all turned out on time and it was all delicious. It's a good thing that after 25 years I have learned to accommodate my husband's sudden, and often unannounced, schedule changes. A tossed salad rounded out this meal and we were all well fed and very happy.