Ahhhhhhhhhh, the joys of Christmas! This year I could say I am truly blessed. I wasn't in need of anything, but somehow managed to get everything I wanted...and well, let's face it, a few things I didn't. Yup! I could have done just fine without the few pounds of food I packed on. But hey, what the hell. It's Christmas after all and what would Christmas be like if you couldn't feast on your favorites with family. So, marmalade glazed ham, baked turkey wings, braised collard greens, macaroni and cheese, yams, plus chocolate pudding with whipped cream for dessert, certainly got the festivities started.
With several items to prepare in making this Christmas captivating, dishes were designated. Since Arron did such a wonderful job at preparing the macaroni and cheese for Thanksgiving, he took on that task. This holiday, Arron also tried his hand at sauteed spinach, but it wasn't well received. It was too salty for Nana's taste and too lemony for mines. Nana had the turkey wings pinned down, and I took care of the ham, yams, collard greens and of course, the chocolate pudding for dessert I took to my neighbors.
Seeing how the yams were the easiest dish to prepare, I got started on those the day before. Like always, I peeled, washed and cut the yams before I tossed them into my sugary, buttery, syrupy, cinnamon sprinkled layered baking dish. Baked until tender, I let them sit before placing them in the fridge. Yams are all ready to be heated for dinner the next day. Christmas afternoon, after a long nap after breakfast, I patted down to the kitchen to find the turkey wings just about ready. They looked and smelled delicious. Once Nana was done, I reduced the heat to 350 degrees, covered my ham with parchment paper and aluminum foil, then placed it in the oven to bake for one hour. I was getting hungry just thinking about the marmalade glaze that would coat it once done.
While the ham was baking away, I got started cleaning and cutting the collard greens while Arron got started on the mac and cheese. He's slicing and dicing cheese and I'm frying bacon, onions and red pepper flakes to give the greens a braised flavor. Smelling good! I'm adding greens and red wine vinegar to my fried mixture and Arron was adding the milk mixture to the pasta and cheese. I'm cooking the greens down and Arron is stirring the pasta up. All is well! uhhhhhhhh, not so much. Truth be told, we were fine until it came down to who was using the oven when. Oh, what I wouldn't give for double ovens! Before I could blink, Arron is stomping off, throwing his hands up in the air, crying holy hell because I stole the oven from him. Wait a minute! I had the oven first. Remember, my ham is cooking away. While he's upstairs sulking, I'm downstairs, heating up the marmalade, sherry, lemon and orange juices, in preparation for glazing the ham. Since I had to take the ham out to glaze and arrange orange slices over top, the nice wife in me tossed his mac and cheese in the oven for thirty five minutes in order to bake. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Now that I have the oven to myself, I put my ham, now glazed, and covered with oranges, back into the oven at 425 degrees to bake uncovered for another twenty minutes. Once that's done, I brush the remaining glaze over the ham and bake AGAIN until it's golden brown, about fifteen minutes more.
By this time I'm hungry and can't wait to eat. Nana and I placed all the prepared dishes back in the oven, heat for twenty minutes, and Arron plated the food once hot. I don't remember having much conversation at the table, but I do remember how fat I felt when the eating was over. Malik didn't eat, but sat at the table just to be with the family during Christmas dinner. He couldn't see pass his new video game to the hunger pains. Nana didn't seem happy with her turkey wings and certainly not with Arron's sauteed spinach. Arron was happy with all except for the collard greens. He didn't even put any on his plate. Every thing else he consumed. And I was content with all except his sauteed spinach, which I took off my plate and heaped onto his, and I thought the turkey could have been much juicier. Overall though, the dinner was delicious.
At the neighbors where we shared the chocolate pudding, it was finger licking good. I never thought I could make it from scratch, but I had all the ingredients in the house and it was relatively simple to make. I topped it off with one of Nana's homemade chocolate chips cookies and whipped cream as an added bonus. The neighbors loved it!
If you'd like to try your hand at this marmalade glaze ham, or make your stomach pleased with the creamy macaroni and cheese, click (or copy and paste) the links below for these and other joys of Christmas. Happy Holidays!
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/marmalade-glazed-ham
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/macaroni-and-cheese
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/braised-collard-greens-mad-hungry
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chocolate-pudding-with-whipped-cream
Mad Hungry
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