Christmas Dinner

Nothin' says Christmas dinner to me like a ham. Yep, a big slab of pig - nicely sliced and glazed, of course. Thanksgiving gets it's turkey. Easter gets it's eggs. Independance day and Labor Day have hamburgers and St. Patrick's day gets corned beef and cabbage....well, not at our house, but it counts anyway.

But Christmas...it gets ham.

Where's the chicken in all of this? They apparently drew the long straw when it came to sacrificing themselves for holiday meals.

And, if you're a vegetarian sorry about this post, it's probably nauseating just reading those last few lines...

However, the recipes I'm posting today are actually vegetarian, so keep reading.

I'm not going to tell you how to cook the ham, that's easy. (You bake it in an oven until it's 160° inside...)

I'm going to tell you what goes really good with ham. And I'm not going to mention green eggs, because that's a St. Patrick's Day post, remember?

Yams (or sweet potatoes, since for all intents and purposes they're interchangeable), and apples and orange juice. Those go really, really good with ham. So, for the next time you decide to bake up a nice, juicy, smoked ham here are a couple of ideas for a side dish - vegetarian style...

Yams and Apples

Boil 3 to 4 large yams. Peel and core 6 apples. Slice in layers and place in greased 9x13 in. casserole dish.

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

3 tbsp. cornstarch

Sift together, then add 2 cups hot water. Heat until slightly thickened. Add 1 tbsp. butter. Pour over yams and apples. Bake at 325° for 1 hour.

Yams with Fresh Orange Sauce

6 medium size yams

1 cup orange juice

1 tbsp. cornstarch

3 tbsp. melted butter

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

rind of 2 oranges, grated

2 tbsp. white corn syrup

Boil yams until tender, then skin and slice. Arrange yam slices in greased baking dish. Combine last 6 ingredients in saucepan and cook until thickened. Pour sauce over yam slices and bake 45 minutes at 350°.