"christmas ham" news and stories

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring ... except for the Fancy Fast Food Chef, stirring apple filling and honey mustard in a saucepan for a traditional Christmas dish!

We are talking about the traditional holiday ham, the centerpiece at many a Christmas dinner, which is unfortunately an item that fast-food restaurants don't sell (the whole ham anyway), so we'll have to get creative -- as usual.

This year I did the Swedish ham a la Monte a little differently; I used peach preserves and cut down on the brown sugar. It was moist and delicious and I didn't need nearly so much marinade as I thought. It was only about eight pounds, and I cooked it for about two-and-a-half hours. It was just about perfect.

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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.