What's on your Holiday table?

by Sarah Gilbert, Posted Dec 24th 2005 @ 12:31PM

the preamble to saveurs montes ham My husband's origins are Swedish (wayyyy back) so a few years ago we decided to start having Swedish-flavored Christmas celebrations. As it turns out, the Swedes like their pork, and what could be better than a holiday ham? Specifically, "Monte's Ham," a recipe I found years ago in Saveur, is the pride and joy of my Christmas dinner.

With so many different meaty delights to choose from - turkeys, rib roasts, racks of lamb, and roast duck, oh my! - what do you choose to feature on your holiday table, and how? Or do you forego the large roast meats for a nice wild mushroom risotto?

sarah's swedish ham a la monte
Start at least four hours ahead of your dinner. Go to the market and find a smoked ham on the bone - the kind that still needs more cooking. Check to make sure the label doesn't say "fully cooked" or "just heat and serve." Get a big one, 10 to 20 pounds. You'll only need two other ingredients: a large jar of good dijon mustard and a large jar of marmalade. I like organic peach/orange or apricot versions as they're free of high fructose corn syrup and other nasty stuff, but just pick whatever sounds good to you.

With the oven at 300°, trim the tough skin and excess fat from your ham. Place meat-side down in a roasting pan and cook about two hours. While cooking, mix marmalade and mustard together in a 3:2 ratio (1 1/2 cups to 1 cup), adding a cup or two of brown sugar or maple syrup if you like things really sweet.

Take ham out of oven and increase heat to 350°. Brush with mustard/marmalade mixture and return to oven. Cook one to two hours more, brushing with glaze whenever you feel like it. Let the ham sit a while before carving and serving.

Filed Under: Magazines, Raves & Reviews, Spirit of Christmas, Ingredients, Methods
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