Glazed Ham with Dijon-Pineapple Sauce, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, & Balsamic-Glazed Green Beans

I absolutely love this time of the year. Crisp, refreshing mornings warmed up by a hot cup of coffee, leaves are changing colors, extra blankets are going on the bed, hints of a fireplace burning waft through the air... there is just something comforting and calming about this time of the year for me.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It is so nice to have family and friends gather together, and I think it goes without saying that I'm a big fan of all of the delicious food that I get to consume. I'm also big on traditions, and I have some from growing up that I really enjoy, like making cinnamon buns on Thanksgiving morning, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and playing games after the big meal. With Thanksgiving right around the corner and the changing of the seasons taking place, I felt like making a dinner tonight filled with foods that I associate with this time of the year.

A baked ham is a comfort food for me that I think of during this time of the year. Since it is only the two of us, I didn't want to get a gigantic ham, so I got one of the little Smithfield 2-pound hams that are already sliced and cooked and you just have to heat it up in the oven. I looked around online for some sort of a glaze recipe to bake the ham with and found this very delicious glaze and sauce on the Kraft website! The brown sugar, maple syrup and Dijon mustard mixture really baked into the ham and gave it a delicious taste. Adding the crushed pineapples to the glaze mixture for the sauce really balanced out the flavors and paired quite deliciously with the ham!

Here is a picture of the ham when it came out of the oven and you can see the glaze shimmering. Mmmmm:

I decided to make some mashed sweet potatoes and green beans to go with the ham. For the mashed sweet potatoes, I used the Pampered Chef recipe that I have posted on here before. I will post the recipe again below. While I was on the Kraft website getting the recipe for the ham glaze, I found a very yummy balsamic-glazed green bean recipe! It incorporated sweet onion and dried cranberries, which I thought added fantastic flavor to the green beans! Here is a picture of them:

Everything turned out so delicious! Here are some pictures of the finished product with the pineapple sauce on the sliced ham:

Since I was making (what I thought to be) a really nice dinner, I wanted the whole dining experience to be nice also! The nice place mats came out, warm candle light lit our table, the musical talents of Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington (among others) filled our apartment, and some goooooood food filled our plates! A very smooth Pinot Noir with hints of fruit and oak was an excellent final touch that paired exceptionally well with the whole meal. A nice way to end the weekend!

Glazed Ham with Dijon-Pineapple Glaze

Yield: 24 servings

1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup maple-flavored or pancake syrup
1/4 cup Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
1 whole fully cooked boneless ham (5 lb.)
Whole cloves
12 maraschino cherries, halved
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix sugar, syrup and mustard until well blended. Use paring knife to make a shallow even diagonal cuts across top of ham in one direction. Repeat, making slits in opposite directions to form diamond shapes.
3. Insert cloves where cuts meet. Place ham on rack in shallow pan. Place cherries, cut-sides down, on surface of ham.
4. Bake 2 hours or until ham is heated through, brushing occasionally with 1/2 cup syrup mixture of 1-1/2 hours. About 10 min. before ham is done, mix remaining syrup mixture with cornstarch and pineapple in saucepan; bring to boil on medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir on medium-low heat 5 min. or until thickened.

(I didn't use the cloves and cherries, and because I bought the precooked ham, I just followed the baking instructions that came with it rather than following the baking instructions in this recipe.)

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Yield: 4 servings

2 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt

1. Pierce potatoes in several places with a fork; place onto microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high 14-16 minutes or until potatoes are very tender. Transfer potatoes to Cutting Board and cool slightly. In Easy Read Measuring Cup, combing milk, butter and salt. Microwave on high 1-2 minutes or until hot. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; scoop out flesh into Small Batter Bowl. Add milk mixture; mash using Mix 'N Masher until smooth. Cover; set aside and keep warm.

Balsamic-Glazed Green Beans

Yield: 6 servings

1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 tsp. butter
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onions
1 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. Kraft Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
1/4 cup slivered almonds

1. Cook beans and cranberries in simmering water in skillet 4-5 min. or until beans are crisp-tender. Drain; rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.
2. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add onions and sugar; cook and stir 5 min. Add bean mixture; cook and stir 3 min. or until heated through.
3. Stir in dressing; cook and stir 1 min. Top with nuts.