No Smoke Alarms Were Damaged

MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 

The real reason for the season ... He is born.

Good morning ... yes I'm up at the normal hour.  The fireworks that were set off last night woke me from a nice sleep.  Why oh WHY do you think it's necessary to set off fireworks and scare the heck out of all the critters in the neighborhood.  Sadly, no one will give up the culprit, and so it continues.  

Luckily, I fell back to sleep.  That's when I heard it.  VOICES!!  YAY!!!  It MUST be none other than SANTA CLAUS flying over my rooftop.  Wait ..... I don't think Santa Claus uses that kind of language.  The fight went on for an hour before it was completely silent.  I should probably have gone outside to see if anyone was dead, but my bed was too nice and warm.  No other peeps were heard.

And so I'm out on the dark patio with my morning cup of Joe, sucking in the fog that is blanketing the countryside. It's nice and quiet .... cold, but quiet.

I donned my running gear (not that I had any plans of actually RUNNING) and grabbed Cooper's leash.  He loves nothing more than a cruise through the neighborhood.  Looky here!  Santa has come to visit and brought all his friends with him.  How cute is that!

And then there's this ... Santa and his reindeer taking off into the sky.  Well, not quite.  That first reindeer is chained to the tree!!!  Cute idea and I'm sure it keeps the thieves from stealing him!!  

When Cooper was completely empty, we headed back to the house.  It's time to cook my Christmas dinner ... one day early.

I know, it's not Christmas yet ... but my plan was to at least have something to do Christmas Eve.  I knew it would take me all day to prepare and I couldn't wait any longer.  This is what I got from Walmart.  A twelve pounder for $29.00. Not so cheap, but it was Christmas Eve and I was splurging.  Actually, I had no idea whether this was good or bad, I just clicked on the picture because it was medium priced.

I followed the instructions to the letter.  Wrap it in foil and place in a pan.  Bake at 325 degrees.  Therein lies the problem.  I have no clue just how hot my oven is.  In spite of the little thing on the shelf, I'm completely guessing because it never reads above 250 degrees.  

Once done, take it OUT of the foil.  Ummmm with what?  I got it unwrapped but couldn't get it out of the pan.  It's hard to balance that much weight on two spoons.  Lucky for me all that juice did not runneth over the pan and all over the oven.

No smoke alarms were damaged during this process.  Pour drippings over the ham and sprinkle on the honey sugar glaze.  Broil for 8 minutes.  Broil means FIRE in my kitchen. 

As you can tell, I probably overcooked it a tad, in spite of that red letter warning in the instructions, but boy oh boy did it smell good!!!!!  

Here we go ... honey glazed ham with mashed red potatoes and asparagus smothered in butter.  WOW!!  That's the best meal I've cooked in a LONG time.  Cooper was shocked and dismayed at the tiny pieces I gave him.  He barked for more!!  I think this is the best ham I've ever had!!!  

I now have six packages in the freezer and two in the fridge.  Gosh ... that was a LOT of ham.  I better start gathering up some "ham" recipes.  A nice food coma ensued.  I didn't even eat dinner ... not one bite.  I did partake of some chocolate mousse ... one of the easier recipes ever.  I'll tell you about that one tomorrow, because right now ... we need to check our stockings.

I don't know how Santa arrived at YOUR house last night, but this is how he got to MINE!!!  On thundering hooves!!  I think there's a little surprise for Cooper, so off we go!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

Well not quite yet .... we are having HAM AND EGGS for breakfast ... and ham for lunch ... and ham for dinner!!!  It's going to be a HAMFUL good day!!