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Easter Favorites
From Lori K.
This has been our favorite Easter ham recipe for many years. The mingled
flavors of ham and maple syrup make for a wonderfully flavored dish.
Maple Baked Ham
Serves 10-12
One-half boneless precooked smoked ham (appox. 5 pounds)
1 Cup maple syrup for each 5 pounds of ham
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Cup water
1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Maple extract (optional)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place the ham fat side up on a rack in a
shallow roasting pan. Do not cover or add water. Insert a meat thermometer
and bake the ham. (For a precooked ham, the internal temperature should be
130 degrees when finished). When the ham is about half baked, approximately
45 minutes, pour the pan juices into a medium saucepan. Skim off excess fat
and set the drippings aside. Pour the maple syrup over the ham, and return
to the oven. Occasionally baste the ham with the syrup from the pan while it
finishes baking; the total cooking time for a 5 pound precooked ham is about
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.
To make the sauce, remove the ham from the pan and set aside on a carving
board. With a whisk, blend the flour into the reserved drippings in the
saucepan. Add the water, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and maple syrup
drippings from the roasting pan and combine. Add a bit of maple extract if
desired. Bring to boil, stirring constantly, then remove from the heat and
keep warm.
Carve the ham into thin slices. Pour the hot maple sauce into a gravy boat
and pass with the ham.
This is my favorite pie and I enjoy making it for family and friends at
Easter. Everyone loves this pie and it is simple (it's mixed right in the
shell) and fun to make.
Amish Brown Sugar Pie
Serves 6
1 unbaked 8 inch pie shell
1 Cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
2 1/2 Tablespoons butter
Ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the pie shell, place the brown sugar, flour,
and salt. Mix with your fingers. Pour the evaporated milk over the flour
and sugar, but do not stir or mix this in. Dot with butter, and drift
cinnamon liberally over all. Bake for 50 minutes, or until the filling just
bubbles up in the middle. The filling will never completely set, but that's
the way it's supposed to be. This pie is better eaten at room temperature.
If you refrigerate leftovers (if there are any!), reheat them in the oven
before serving.
NOTE: Recipe can be doubled and prepared in a 10 inch pie shell. Bake for 1
hour and 20 minutes if doubled.
SeptemberLady "Born and have lived in Southern MD most of my life. My husband and I just finished building a new home on the family farm, where I hope to retire in the near future.
My interests: Doll collecting, cookbook collector (especially old ones), antiques, family/friend get-togethers, cooking/baking, flower and vegetable gardening, bird-watching."
Memorial Day: Backyard Grilling Memorial Day signals the start of barbecue season. Everyone wants to light that fire and charcoal that first meal. A few tips might pre- vent your entree from becoming a "Burnt Offering."
Read these tips for plenty of grilling ideas, make this year's barbecue perfect!
Growing and Using Garlic Chives Garlic chives, Allium tuberosum, is a hardy perennial (Zones 3-9) that will grow to about 12 inches high. The stems are skinnier and flat, instead of hollow as are regular chives, with greenish white blooms that are about an inch wide and not as rounded. They bloom in the summer rather than spring. The bloom stalks grow much taller than the leaves, sometimes up to 30 inches.
The stems and blooms are both edible and have a mild garlic onion taste. I've noticed many writers will list this as primarily as an Asian herb, as they are also known as Chinese chives, Chinese leeks, ku chai (China) or Nira (Japan), but it has many other uses as well!
The Perfect Porch Swing Perhaps it is the soothing rhythm or the reassuring creak of the porch swing that attracts us. Perhaps it is the companionable silence or quiet conversation. Or maybe swings simply remind us of more genteel times.
Although porch swings can be purchased in a wide range of materials, the most common are wicker and wood. You can also make your own porch swing from one of the myriad of woodworking patterns available at garden centers, hardware stores, or on the Internet.