Orange Flavored Ham

My littlest fussbudget loves ham. It's actually one of the very few foods he will admit to actually liking. It's his fault that we celebrate George Washington's birthday every year with George Washington's dinner (starting with ham). So when I was making ham the other night, I changed it up just a little bit.

ORANGE FLAVORED HAM

Ham (I used a 3 pound piece)
peel of one orange
water
maple syrup

Cut the orange peel into very narrow strips - about 1/8", and arrange half of them in the bottom of a roasting pan. Place the ham on top of them, and pour water in to about 1/2" deep (this pulls some of the salt out of the ham). Lightly score the top of the ham, arrange the orange peel atop the ham, and put it in the oven. I used the convection oven at 325F, and it took about 45 minutes total (but read your ham package for their cooking time). About 10 minutes before the ham is done, pull it out and drizzle a little maple syrup over the top of it. Return to the oven for 10 minutes, then slice and stand back from the stampede.

To make gravy to go with this ham, I used 1-1/2 cups water with one each beef bouillon cube and chicken bouillon cube, heated until the cubes dissolved. Add 1 tsp orange powder (available from Spice Barn) to mimic the orange which is infused into the ham. Whisk 2 tbsp cornstarch into 1/2 cup cold water, then whisk this mixture into the hot bouillon. Cook until thickened, adding a little more water if needed to thin the gravy to your preferred consistency. Add about 1 tbsp maple syrup to complement the maple glaze on the ham, if desired.

This dinner, with ham, broccoli and applesauce, was on the table in an hour. That is what I call "Fast Food," and everyone loved it!