Care to Guess What Day This Is?

Today is National Pigs in a Blanket. So naturally I’m making Hot Dogs wrapped in crescent rolls for dinner tonight. Not much of a recipe to share there.

Rather than share something so simple, I thought I’d go in another direction. Like a Baked Ham. After all, hams are pigs, just not wrapped in a blanket. But before we get to my delicious ham, I’d like to take a walk down memory lane and stay on the subject of Pigs in a Blanket. I cannot remember just how old Kiddo was at the time, but we had been invited to a friend’s home for dinner. We became friends when Kiddo and their daughter were in preschool together, and although we live in different states now, we’ve remained friends. I don’t know about you, but the people who have remained in our lives through thick and thin have all been people of faith.

Anyway, when Kiddo was little, back in the day when money didn’t hold us back, we did some terrible things to his childhood without realizing it. We had a swimming pool in the back yard right up until Kiddo was ten, and our world imploded. Having a pool isn’t the bad part, it was that he missed other experiences by having a pool. We were forced to down-sized and having a built-in pool was no longer part of the package. It was then that Kiddo played in the sprinklers for the first time in his life, and he thought it was amazing. It was around this same time that our friends had us over for dinner. They had made Pigs in a Blanket with hot dogs and crescent rolls. Kiddo had never seen anything like it. He was blown away. What I learned that summer was just because you can give your child a privileged life doesn’t mean you shouldn’t also give them the simple, down to earth pleasures of childhood. Like running in the sprinklers. Or catching frogs in a nearby pond.

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And now, as promised, my latest adventures in Baked Hams . . .

Smoky Brown Sugar Glazed Ham
10 lb fully cooked bone-in Smoked Ham
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
1 tablespoon Liquid Hickory Smoke
1 cup packed Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Yellow Mustard
2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

Heat oven to 300-degrees.

Place ham on a rack in a roasting pan, cut side down, bone side up. Using a sharp knife, score the top surface of the ham with quarter-inch deep cuts to create a diamond patter. Measure chicken stock in a glass measuring cup. Whisk in the liquid smoke. Pour stock in the bottom of the pan. Cover ham tightly with foil; bake for about 2 hours or until thermometer reads 130-degrees.

While the ham warms, combine brown sugar, mustard and enough vinegar to create a thick paste. Set aside. Once the ham has reached desired temperature, remove from oven and uncover. With a turkey baster, syphon off about a tablespoon or so of the pan liquid, add to the grown sugar paste to create a pourable thin glaze. Pour brown sugar glaze over the ham. Return to oven, increase temperature to 325-degrees and let cook for another 10 minutes. Remove ham from oven, transfer to a platter to carve.

Quicker Better Than a Box Au Gratin Potatoes
3 boxes AuGratin Potatoes
2 tablespoons Butter
1 cup Milk
2 cups Boiling Water
3 tablespoons Onion Flakes
1/2 cup Mild Cheddar Cheese
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste

Heat oven to 450-degrees. Empty freeze-dried potatoes into a casserole dish. Set aside.

Melt butter in a sauce pan with milk. Add onion flakes and cheese. Stir to blend.

In a microwave, heat water. Add cheese packets from the boxed potatoes, whisk until smooth. Pour into the sauce pan, bring to a simmer. Pour cheese mixture over the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven, bake for 25 minutes or until soft. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Steamed Asparagus with Blender Hollandaise Sauce
Asparagus
1 bunch Young Asparagus
Water for steaming
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Break off the tough woody ends of the asparagus with your fingers. Tie asparagus together in a bundle. Place in an asparagus steamer basket. Pour about an inch or so of water into the steamer, add lemon juice. Insert the basket, bring to a boil. Simmer on low for 6 minutes.

While the asparagus steams, make the Hollandaise Sauce

Hollandaise Sauce
10 tablespoons Butter
4 Egg Yolks
1/2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
Cayenne Pepper to taste

Chop butter, place in a 4-cup measuring cup. Melt in the microwave on HIGH in 30 second intervals until butter is fully melted and hot.

Separate egg whites from yolks. Discard whites or save for another purpose. Place yolks in the blender. Add lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Blend.

Slowly pour hot butter into the blender through the pour hole at the top of the lid with the blender running. Continue to blend until a thick sauce is made.

Transfer steamed asparagus to a serving dish, remove twine. Drizzle with Hollandaise Sauce, serve additional sauce on the side.

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May God have pity on us and bless us;
may He let His face shine upon us.