Rum & Coke Ham

I've been dying to try out this recipe, and I finally got the chance tonight. It was worth the wait. We had a big family supper in lieu of Easter dinner (since we were all busy on the weekend), and here's what I made:

And here are the recipes:

RUM & COKE HAM

1 butt-end ham (bone-in, no slices removed, no water added)

2 L Coke (you won't use all of it)

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. prepared mustard

1 tbsp. dry mustard

2 tbsp. rum

2 limes, juiced

Place ham on a layer of onions, carrots, and/or celery in a roasting pan (use the vegetables instead of a roasting rack.) Pour in 4 c. Coke, and loosely cover the ham with tinfoil. Put in the oven at 325 F for 1 hour. Meanwhile, pour 3 c. Coke into a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil, simmering over medium heat until reduced to 1/2 a cup. (I only reduced mine to about 1 cup because I forgot to do it until the ham had already been in the oven for 30 minutes.) Stir in brown sugar, prepared mustard, dry mustard, rum, and lime juice. Once ham has cooked for 1 hour, start basting it with the rum & coke glaze every 10-15 minutes for the next 45 minutes or so. Transfer ham to a platter and tent it with tinfoil, allowing it to sit for 15 minutes before carving.

SPINACH & FRUIT SALAD WITH POPPYSEED DRESSING
1 head of spinach
1/2 cucumber, sliced
1 apple, chopped
6 strawberries, sliced
1/2 c. blueberries
1/4 c. blackberries
(you could also add mandarins, candied pecans, avocados, etc.)

Dressing:
1/3 c. raspberry vinegar
2/3 c. olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp. Poppyseed Dressing
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. mayonnaise

Toss together salad ingredients. Whisk together dressing ingredients, and spoon over salad.

For the other two side dishes, I made asparagus (snap the ends off, drizzle with olive oil and a little sea salt - I used Tuscan Rub - and then bake in the oven at 350F for 10 minutes. Turn the broiler on for another 5 minutes and then serve) and smashed potatoes.

This meal was soooooo good! The ham was delicious. The glaze was amazing. The salad was delightful, and the asparagus and potatoes were yummy too. I couldn't have asked for things to turn out any better. And to top it all off, we had Carlyle Bakery cinnamon buns for dessert!!! (If you're from Saskatchewan, you should know what I'm talking about. If you're not, well then you're missing out on the best cinnamon buns in the world!) All in all, this meal was undeniably one of the best (and easiest) I've ever made!