Ham is a crowd-pleaser, delicious, and a great value, so why save it for holidays? I like to bake one for a midweek dinner and use the leftovers for all kinds of dishes to serve throughout the weekend.

Keep your eyes peeled for ham on sale, buy a few, and freeze them—they’ll keep for up to a year. I prefer bone-in hams with a little bit of fat still on them, but this recipe will work with any kind of large, cooked ham.

Ingredients
1 bone-in ham (7–9 pounds), fully cooked
Canola oil
3⁄4 cup honey
3⁄4 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon fruit juice, such as apple, cranberry, orange, or pomegranate
10–12 whole cloves

Score and bake the ham. Heat the oven to 325°F. Place the ham on a cutting board fat-side up and make 1⁄4″-deep diagonal cuts in 2″ intervals to create a diamond pattern. Grease a roasting rack with a little oil and place the ham on the rack, fat-side up. Set the rack into a roasting pan and bake until the internal temperature of the ham registers 110°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 to 21⁄2 hours.

Glaze the ham. While the ham is baking, whisk together the honey, brown sugar, mustard, and fruit juice in a small bowl. Remove the ham from the oven and increase the temperature to 425°F. Stud the center of each diamond with a clove. Brush the entire ham with the glaze, pour 3⁄4 cup of water into the bottom of the roasting pan, and place the pan back in the oven until its temperature reaches 125°F, about 15 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the oven, and transfer the ham to a cutting board. Tent the ham with foil and let it rest until its temperature reaches 135°F
to 140°F, 20 to 30 minutes.

D2D
The best time to buy whole, cooked hams is either before or after the holidays—you are virtually guaranteed that they’ll be on sale.

My kids always hang out with me in the kitchen, peeling and chopping vegetables and stirring roux. This pasta salad is one of their favorite recipes to make. It’s perfect for young cooks because it’s simple, totally delicious, and can be varied to their hearts’ content just by adding whatever is in the fridge. Toss the pasta salad with the dressing, then give them free rein to raid the fridge and finish off the salad with whatever they think would be tasty additions.

Salad
8 ounces farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
About 1 cup diced ham
1 cup (about 4 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar or Swiss cheese
1 large tomato, diced
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 ounces salad greens
2 hard-cooked eggs, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon light or dark brown sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Boil the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions or until it is al dente. Drain, transfer to a large bowl, and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Prepare the vinaigrette. While the pasta cooks, make the vinaigrette. Whisk the mustard, vinegar, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and set aside.

Toss the salad. Add the vinaigrette to the pasta and toss to coat. Add the ham, cheese, tomato, parsley, and greens and toss to incorporate. Transfer the pasta salad to a serving bowl, sprinkle the egg on top, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

D2D
Sometimes I wonder what people did before the Internet! the Web can be a great source for deals, especially when you’re buying in bulk. If you’re partial to a certain brand, whether it’s tea, good-quality baking chocolate, or dried pasta, try finding it in bulk online. even when you factor in shipping, the savings can be immense.

Between you and me, my ham leftovers rarely make it into soup or a salad because my family just gobbles them up in sandwiches. I slice leftover ham and freeze it in individual portions, so anyone can defrost some for a sandwich anytime. When you consider that sliced deli ham costs upwards of $7 per pound, and your whole ham cost $2.40 per pound, you’ll feel really good about stacking a few slices on bread. This sandwich is a bit more work than your basic ham and Swiss, but it’s so much tastier.

Cranberry Relish
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
1⁄2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3⁄4 cup orange juice
1 cup dried cranberries

Sandwiches
8 bread slices
3⁄4 pound (about 12 slices) sliced deli ham or homemade baked ham
4 slices provolone (or Swiss)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Make the relish. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the onion is golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour in the orange juice and add the cranberries, bring to a simmer, cover, and lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer gently until the cranberries are plump and most of the juice has been absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes. Use an immersion blender or small food processor to pulse the cranberry mixture until it resembles jam, about 10 seconds.

Assemble the sandwiches. Heat the oven to 250°F. Spread each slice of bread with 1 heaping tablespoon of the cranberry relish. Stack the ham on 4 slices, cover each with a piece of cheese, and top with another slice of bread.

Cook the sandwiches. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 2 sandwiches to the pan and cook, covered, until the bread is golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining sandwiches. Slice in half and serve immediately.

D2D
Store meat, poultry, and fish on the lowest shelf in your refrigerator toward the back of the cabinet to keep it at its freshest. that’s where it’s the coolest and where the temperature fluctuates the least.