By By Lisa Tindell – news writer
Easter is just over a week away and I'm not ready. I hope that you are more ready for the holiday than I am. Although Easter is not quite as stressful as Christmas, it does carry a certain amount of stress.
Easter is very important at my house. Although I'm not required to buy gifts and put up special decorations for this holiday, I do feel that a special meal is imperative. And being the cook that I try to be, getting a holiday meal just right is pretty stressful.
Last week I gave you a few recipes that would make any meal delightful. This week I hope to pass on a few more recipes that will give you some good ideas for a great Easter dinner.
When I asked around the office, most everyone agreed that a ham and some deviled eggs are necessary to make it a perfect Easter meal. I am including a recipe for a honey-glazed ham that will give you almost the same taste as one of those expensive hams usually purchased at the &#8220ham” store. It takes a little time and effort, but when you taste the results and consider the money you saved, you'll think it was worth every moment of your time.
Honey Glazed Ham
5 pounds ready-to-eat ham
One-fourth cup whole cloves
One-fourth cup dark corn syrup
2 cups honey
Two-thirds cup butter
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Score ham, and stud with the whole cloves. Place ham in foil lined pan. In the top half of a double boiler, heat the corn syrup, honey and butter. Keep glaze warm while baking ham. Brush glaze over ham, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Baste ham every 10 to 15 minutes with the honey glaze. During the last 4 to 5 minutes of baking, turn on broiler to caramelize the glaze. Remove from oven, and let sit a few minutes before serving.
Having the ham pre-sliced at the store will make preparing and serving the ham a little easier. Just remember to bind the slices before cooking or you'll end up with a big mess and the glaze won't stick to the outside of the ham to make a crust.
That's your main dish, now on to some side dishes. Last week I gave you a recipe for a sweet potato casserole that will go great with the ham. One other thing that apparently needs to be on your table for Easter is deviled eggs. You can use the eggs that cracked in the water as you preparing eggs for dying. I usually put in at least six extra eggs when boiling them just for that purpose.
This deviled egg recipe is a little different. It calls for cream cheese, and let's face it, anything with cream cheese in the mix just has to be good.
Creamy Deviled Eggs
12 hard-cooked eggs
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
Paprika, optional
Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks; place in medium bowl. Add cream cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar and sugar; mix until well blend. Pipe or spoon into egg halves. Sprinkle with paprika.
The recipe above also gave some ideas on toppings for the eggs. Some toppings include crumbled bacon and finely chopped green onions; chopped sun-dried tomatoes with sliced fresh basil; chopped red peppers and chopped cilantro; and a canned baby shrimp with a little fresh dill.
I hope you can enjoy these recipes for Easter or any other meal you plan to prepare.
Since we have one more week of Cook's Corner before the big day, I plan to include some vegetable recipes that would be great go-togethers with those I have already given you.
If you have any ideas for the Easter meal, or any other meal for that matter, let me know. I'd love to pass along your recipes and ideas to the readers of this column. You can give me a call at 867-4876 or drop your notes off to me at the office at 407 St. Nicholas Avenue.
If you'd like to save time, you can email me at lisa.tindell@brewtonstandard.com. I'd love to hear from you.
Until next week, Happy Cooking!