Meemaw E's Ham

The holidays are here!! Jason decided to decorate the house (and himself) today. I decided to really get festive and bake a ham. Every year since I can remember my Meemaw E would bake a ham for Christmas. Her recipe is really easy and I swear this is the best ham you will ever put in your mouth.


I always buy a bone-in ham, because it has more flavor. I try to find a smoked ham. These hams are technically already "cooked," but we're heating it up and adding great flavor.

Meemaw E's Ham:
1 bone-in smoked ham

1 cup of brown sugar (maybe a little depending on how big the ham is)

1 can or bottle of Coca-Cola (not diet, not pepsi, not some off brand, get the real thing)

Black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. I cook this in the crockpot, but you can also cook this ham in a 300 degree oven.

2. Score the ham with a sharp knife.

3. Rub entire ham with brown sugar.

4. Pour coke over entire ham and sprinkle with black pepper.

5. Cook the ham for about 4 hours, basting every 30 minutes.

My First Encounter with Red Currant Jelly

Today was a good day. Jason was finally feeling better and I felt like cooking something new and exciting for dinner. I had a pork tenderloin that I wanted to cook but I didn't know what to do. I found this recipe for a marinade....actually, it's a reduction sauce, but I used it as a marinade. It was so good and pretty easy. It made the entire house smell good and I think I'll try it again on beef or maybe even chicken.

The recipe called for red currant jelly. I've seen this in the grocery store before, but it was always one of those jellies that had dust on the top of it, so you knew it wasn't something popular. The jelly by itself is tart and not very sweet at all. I wouldn't want any on toast, but in a marinade it was perfect!!


Red Currant Marinade:
1 shallot, finely diced
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 red currant jelly
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Add butter to a saucepan and cook shallots until tender.
2. Stir in chicken broth, jelly, vinegar, thyme, and rosemary then bring to a boil.
3. Cook mixture until it has reduced to 1 1/2 cups (cook about 17 minutes).
4. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt.

I cut holes in the pork tenderloin and poured the marinade all over it. Because I had time, I let this marinate for about 5 hours. I poured the meat and all the marinade into a baking dish and cooked at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. It was pretty awesome!

Pork Tenderloin Magic

Tonight I took a gamble and it paid off. I decided that I wanted to cook a pork tenderloin for dinner. I decided to get creative and make up my own marinade. So, this morning, I threw a few things in the food processor and created magic. This tenderloin was moist, flavorful and pretty much awesome. Here's how I did it:

Pork Tenderloin Marinade:
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 green onions
2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
1. Throw everything into the food processor and mix
2. Rub over the entire tenderloin and let sit all day in the fridge
3. Brown both sides of the tenderloin in an iron skillet (about 3 minutes per side)
4. Stick skillet into a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes