Ham Day.

To some it's traditionally called Thanksgiving or even Turkey Day. In my house Thanksgiving is all about the pork. I had heard that a local gourmet market was carrying naturally raised Kurobuta bone-in hams in stock so I had to have one. Kurobuta ham is the Japanese version of English Berkshire pork. Some call it the Kobe beef of ham because it has a ton of marbling and we all know that the more marbling (the good kind of fat) the juicier the meat. This was probably the most tender and juiciest ham I have ever had. I roasted it for about 3 hours and basted it with a honey bourbon glaze. Makers Mark, local orange blossom honey, and melted butter. The sweet dark crackling' (crispy skin) almost made me go into a delicious coma.

In addition to the ham I made the usual suspects with a few twists here and there. I always have to have my grandmother's Cuban stuffing (I haven't decided if it's a recipe that is particularly Cuban or if due to that fact that my grandmother is Cuban that the stuffing is as well). People seem to find this meaty stuffing recipe pretty unusual. It's a blend of onions, ground beef, ground pork, Pepperidge farms herbed stuffing mix (yes, it has to be that brand or it doesn't come out right), allspice, and other seasonings. I've had it all my life and I can't imagine a T-Day without it. I also made sour cream garlic mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts in a dijon mustard and white wine sauce and kale sauteed with pancetta.

It seems as though every holiday I get a little over ambitious so it was nice to make a simple meal (perhaps way too much food for the two of us though). We had so many leftovers I thought we might be eating ham for the rest of the year. Not that I would have minded. Want some ham? Let me know and I'll mail you some. Actually, maybe that's not such a good idea.