Deprived

In my family, Easter dinner meant ham. Yes, I know, Easter was a while ago. But this year, we went to SP's parents' place for Easter dinner and dinner was lamb, not ham. Lamb is good, and I do consider it an acceptable Easter meal, but since I grew up with ham every single Easter, if I don't get ham, I feel deprived.

I know. That might sound a little crazy. But aside from sometimes buying ham from the deli for lunch meat as a treat from the usual turkey, we do not eat ham except at Christmas or Easter. I like ham. I look forward to holiday ham. And when I don't get it, I am sad. I mentioned this to SP and he agreed that ham-less Easter was disappointing.

So we decided to fix that by making ham and this: Farfalle with Forest Mushrooms, Peas, and Parsley from Bon Appetit, April 2002. The recipe suggests serving this pasta dish with ham. Also, when I was a kid, my mom made a casserole of shells, ham, peas, cheese, mushroom soup, and bread crumbs that was a favorite of mine. That combination of flavors is really good.

The pasta is easy and delicious. White wine, chicken broth, cream, shallots, peas, mushrooms, and pasta. Lots of mushrooms - yum!

The ham was delicious, too. We glazed it with a glaze recipe we saw in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette right before Easter, a mixture of bourbon, brown sugar, dry mustard, cloves, and orange zest. We scaled it down for our little ham. It was a delicious glaze. Sticky, a hint of bourbon taste, lots of clove flavor, a little sweet - our favorite ham glaze so far.

Glazed Easter Ham: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/life/food/pittsburgh-food-family-puts-its-eggs-other-holiday-fare-in-one-basket-for-church-681163/#ixzz2QpaxY2ZI

Farfalle with Forest Mushrooms, Peas and Parsley: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2002/04/farfalle_with_forest_mushrooms_peas_and_parsley