DudeFood Tuesday: Ham with a Fig and Date glaze
Once again welcome in the Marvellous Man world of Dude Food. Although I do sense that we wont’t be able to cook our menfood unhindered for the next weeks. Why?
Because it’s the first week of December and I see the Misses roaring and stamping her feet in the kitchen entrance… packed with boxes of Christmas decorations. For thos who tuned in on DudeFood Tuesday just recently: The Misses is our universal noun for the female being with which you share your mancave or she who frequents your cave on a regular basis. She is also known as Wife or Girlfriend.
And when she strolls through your mancave, even when she visits you for the first time, you see her looking around, all the while making noises like: “Hmm… hmm.”
This is a universal sound which can mean a lot of things. For example: “Hmm,” as in: “OMG, Pathetic! Star Wars posters on the wall” or, “Hmm, Cacti in the windowsill? That’s the first thing that goes out, when I move in!”
Trust me, redecorating of your good old mancave has started with the first “Hmm” sound you hear from the Misses. The thing is: we dudes notice this late; much too late.
On top of that the Misses has a special gland that makes her think she is a much celebrated interior designer. And it works overhours in December!
In this month the house is dominated in colors like: red, white, green or silver and gold. And every piece of furniture is hung with christmaslights, with lamps of only 1/2 inch.
So they barely light something at all and when you want to read something you still need to put on the regular lamps.
But then, to make it even worse, comes the kicker: the Misses asks for your help in decorating the house.
Sometimes it comes in a somewhat delicate way, like: ” Honey, could you please hang up that garland for me? Please?” Before you know it you spend the afternoon precariously balanced on a step stool that moves throughout the house.
And don’t get me started about things like: “Yeah, I know I just told you to hang it above the window, but I think it will look better on the cupboard; on the other side of the room.”
But most often the request for help comes in a more forward, directive tone: “We need to brighten up the house for Christmas. Fetch the decorations for the attic, because I want to start decorating this afternoon. And while you’re at it. You also can help me with the Christmas tree.”
I don’t like helping with Christmas decorations. Feels like being the guest of honour on your own sacrificial party. Me helping with the decorations? Yeah, when pigs will fly.
So when the Christmas decorations start flying around the house, I react in saying: “Shall I make you a nice and Christmassy ham for diner?”
And when the relocation of furniture and redecoration anger starts, I disappear in the Kitchen for the next few hours.
But the best thing is: I have a great and super simple recipe for a glazed ham that tastes like it’s been cared for for hours!
This is our little secret and when the Misses starts throwing garlands and christmaslights in the air, you head for the Kitchen.
Ham with afig and dade glaze
Ingredients
- 1 Ham with no lard ± 500gr
- 5 tbsp fig-dade vinegar or sweet balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- pepper
- salt
Instructions
- Preheat the over to 180 C.
- Make the glaze by adding and mixing the fig dade (balsamic) vinegar, mustard and honey well together
- Rub the ham with a good amount of salt and pepper and then brush with the glaze
- Cook the ham in a frying pan until the skin is caramelised and brown. Then put the ham in the oven and let it cook for 40 minutes.
- Brush the ham every ten minutes with the glaze or when the glaze in the pan is very moist pour it over the ham
- Coretemperature of the ham should be 68 C. When you are happy with your ham, take it out from the oven and let it rest at least for 15 minutes before slicing.
- Presto! That's all it is, but what a great taste!
- Some nice green vegetables will go fine with this ham, but it tastes also wonderful on a slice of nice bread.
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
Absolutely mouthwatering! That moist ham looks irresistible. Perfect with dried green beans (A Swiss speciality) and Dauphinoise potatoes. 😉
Cheers,
Rosa
You know ho to warm a dude heart with sidedishes only 😉
I fixed all of that very quickly with the misses of 35 years till she passed. First we only purchased trees with root-ball so we could replant in spring which meant purchasing tree at a certain week before Christmas so it would not defrost quickly (empty spare tire was tree stand). I was better at putting lights on tree and finish garland which when finished, my job was done; she did all other holiday decorations in house.
As for kitchen, I had two kitchens built into the house; a his and hers and nary the two shall meet. The two of us in same kitchen was like oil and water with verbiage the same. She had her style of cooking stainless steel and aluminum and I had mine, cast iron and enameled cast iron. I could work with dough and she couldn’t; I specialized in breakfast and large dinners plus wood fired grill, smoking meats and bbq and her mind was set in crock-pot, appetizers, lunch, small dinners, deserts and food sculptures.
Sorry to hear your wife has passed, man…
It’s good to see you have those warm memories. Keep them alive. I will throw the ‘separated kitchen’ subject on the dinnertable soon 😉
Hahaha – no, that *never* happens on our house (wink, wink!) No idea what you are talking about 😉 I do love a good glazed ham – we had one over the weekend boiled in (wait for it) Coca Cola that was divine.
To say that great minds think alike is an understatement in this one.
Definitely check out the Dude Food Tuesday next week…. MUWAHAAHAAAHAAAA… AAAH… HHR..
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