Cooking: Christmas Dinner

Like this past Thanksgiving, I had to cook a Christmas dinner for just two. The smallest ham I could find was 10 pounds. Holey moley is that a lot of pork for two people because I'm used to figuring out how to cook enough protein 1 pound per person for a big holiday meal. I also had these Parker House rolls in my freezer that I wanted especially for a ham dinner of sliders. I took out a half dozen to thaw in my fridge the night before, so there would be time for them to rise and double in size the next day before baking. And a bag of broccoli (because I have to have some sort of green vegetable as much as possible at dinner) as well as leftover mac 'n cheese in my fridge. And a husband who just recently complained that I waste too much food.

I rarely cook a ham for a holiday dinner, and so I read up on the how-to. I learned that I bought a boneless city ham (precooked) as opposed to a country ham (usually with a bone as well as uncooked). And so I covered it with foil for the first half of heating so as not to dry out. 

Oh boy. I blanched the broccoli before pan roasting and then almost burned them. Note to self, just pan roast and then cover to steam like I usually do with Brussels sprouts. The ham, however, was tender and not dry and not too salty. And I liked the brown sugar glaze I made. Worried that I would have to toss my Parker House rolls, which I did except for the two the hubs ate, I also steamed green peas for a starchy side, forgetting that I already was serving the leftover mac 'n cheese.

Like I said, 10 pounds of ham is a lot. I figure I can serve ham for dinner another night along with scalloped and au gratin potatoes. And I do love ham and Swiss sandwiches. I can also do grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for dinner next week. There are also a couple friends I could give a slab of ham too. It's all good.