Holiday favorites...

“Hometown Ham”

“Hometown ham” is high on our list of priorities for holiday dinners – or any other excuse we can come up with. Fortunately, Western New York doesn’t have to accept second-rate hams, as is the case in so many other areas of the country. These are hams with no water added, delivering excellent taste, quality, and value. One of our very favorites is the award-winning Smith ham from the Smith Provision Company in Erie, PA ( HYPERLINK "http://www.smithhotdogs.com" http://www.smithhotdogs.com), located just a quick 90 mile ride west of Buffalo on the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90). And because these hams are available from Tops, a local supermarket chain, we don’t even have to schlep to Erie to buy them. Another favorite is Redlinksi ham, available from Redlinski Meats ( HYPERLINK "https://www.buffalofoods.com" https://www.buffalofoods.com), a Buffalo based, family-owned producer and sold through their retail outlets. Both companies offer online ordering for their hams and multiple other products. For anyone not in our area, it’s worth taking the time to locate a regional brand of ham that doesn’t have water added to it – the difference is a ham with character, not one with insipid flavor and a mushy texture.

Tony Green, our friend and sometime neighbor here on the lake, came up with this delicious orange ham glaze. It’s a tasty, super-easy change from the usual glazes and delivers one beautiful ham. Decorate your serving platter with orange segments and plenty of bright green parsley. We recommend that you also serve a bowl of lovely warm Asian pear relish with your ham (recipe follows).

Baked Hometown Ham with Tony Green's Orange Glaze

1  12- to 14-pound Smith or Redlinski ham or comparable quality ham with no water added

Whole cloves

1 cup light brown sugar

Grated rind of 1 orange

The juice of 1/2 to 1 orange, depending on how juicy the orange is

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Stud the ham with whole cloves. Line a shallow roasting pan with heavy-duty foil - this is required as the glaze running off the ham makes a terrible mess. Place a rack on top of the foil and place the ham on the rack.

Mix the brown sugar with the grated orange rind and then add enough of the juice to form a thick paste. Lightly drizzle about one third of the glaze over the top of the ham. Bake the ham for about 3 hours, adding more glaze after the first and second hours. It will roast to a dark brown crunchy topping. Remove the ham from the oven and let it set for 15 to 20 minutes before removing the cloves and slicing it for serving.

Wonderful Asian pears are now frequently available in season from quality supermarkets and even some warehouse clubs. The first time we spotted them, they went into the shopping cart in a flash. Rob created this recipe for a relish that is the perfect accompaniment for roast pork or baked ham.

* For a description and photo of Asian pears, go to  HYPERLINK "http://www.melissas.com" http://www.melissas.com.

Warm Asian Pear Relish

1 Asian pear

Extra virgin olive oil

1 small shallot, chopped fine

3 ounces simple syrup *

½ teaspoon Asian Five Spice Powder

Dash of salt and pepper

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Peel and cut the pear into ¼-inch chunks; set aside. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a medium pan and sauté the shallot for a few minutes. Add pear chunks and sauté slowly until they have a bit of color. Add remaining ingredients and cook slowly over very low heat until a small amount of liquid remains. Serve warm with pork or ham. Serves 4.

* To make a small amount of simple syrup, bring ½ cup water and ½ cup sugar to a boil, and simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour into a covered container and chill in refrigerator before using. 

Pan Roasted Chicken with Jerusalem Artichokes and Roasted Grapes

It’s easy to bypass Jerusalem artichokes, also known as sunchokes, in the produce section of your local supermarket. The gnarly looking brown tuber, resembling ginger root and tasting somewhat like water chestnuts, doesn’t appear to offer much possibility. A further deterrent is the fact that, at around $4.00 per pound at the time of this post, they aren’t cheap. Marketed in limited quantities as a gourmet vegetable throughout the U.S., Jerusalem artichokes are often featured on the menus of upscale restaurants. They are typically cooked like potatoes or serve as a popular ingredient in soup. Properly prepared, they offer a delicious variation to the mid-winter table.

The plant itself resembles a sunflower, and it’s a member of the aster family. European explorers discovered its cultivation by North American Indians, and Samuel de Champlain introduced the Jerusalem artichoke to France in 1605. According to the Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plant Products, there are various explanations for the name Jerusalem artichoke: “The artichoke became a staple food for North American pilgrims and was thought of as a new feed in a "new Jerusalem." A second theory is that the word Jerusalem is a twisting of the Italian word for sunflower - girasol. One additional explanation involves a 17th century gardener named Petrus Hondins of Ter-Heusen, Holland who was known to distribute his artichoke apples throughout Europe. Ter-Heusen was modified to Jerusalem in the United States.” 

Chef Rob combined Jerusalem artichokes with luscious oven-roasted red grapes to accompany pan-roasted chicken, a perfect dish to serve on a cold winter evening. To borrow a descriptive phrase from Food Network Chef Anne Burrell, the result provided definitive proof that “brown food is good food.”