Holiday Feast With Farmer John

The Holidays are upon us so this year I teamed up with Farmer John® to bring you some delicious recipe inspo for your holiday feast this year!

When it comes to the Holidays I often tend to go traditional because it’s something I’ve always done, and why wait till the Holidays to break tradition, right? Wrong! I think the holidays are the perfect time to break from the norm and give your traditional holiday feast a new look, and I’ve got two recipes that will do just the trick.

Take the classic holiday ham. I’m sure we are all used to the traditional way of glazing the ham with honey or brown sugar, but this year I wanted to AMP up that flavor by adding… you guessed it SPICE! I took Farmer John® Gold Wrapped Holiday Ham, wrapped in gold just for the holidays, and topped it with my habanero pineapple jerk glaze! The combination of spice from the habanero and jerk seasoning mixed with the sweetness of pineapple juice makes this combo a true winner! It’s good to mix things up after awhile, after all, they do say that variety is the spice of life!

The Farmer John® Gold Wrapped Holiday Ham was really easy to work with it, as it comes pre-cooked. It’s great that it wasn’t a spiral cut and that it was on the bone because the ham stayed really moist during the cooking time! If you’re making this recipe and can only get your hands on a spiral cut, it will work just fine but try to go for the whole ham if you can.

Once you season the ham with the jerk rub and habanero pineapple glaze you will be singing it’s praises! It’s great to break from ritual and give your holiday feast a new look. If you’re worried about the heat level you can always reduce the amount of habanero peppers you use in the glaze, but the pineapple juice really helps to cut the heat so it should be just fine. Just remember you can always adjust to your liking!

Habanero Pineapple Jerk Glazed Ham

Ingredients:

RUB

1 Farmer John Gold Wrapped Whole Ham

1 tablespoon garlic  powder

1 tablespoon cayenne

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon thyme

3 teaspoons smoked paprika

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon all-spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 14 oz can pineapples, chopped

GLAZE

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

5 habanero peppers, finely chopped (seeds removed)

3/4 cup pineapple juice

Directions:

Start with room temperature ham. You want to make sure to remove the ham from the fridge (leave it wrapped) at least 2-3 hours before cooking.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place ham in a large roasting pan.

In a small bowl combine all of they dry spice ingredients to make a rub. Rub the spices all over the ham. You may not need to use all of the spice rub depending on the size of your ham. Cover the ham with foil and bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours!

While the ham is cooking, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Combine the brown sugar, honey, habanero peppers, and pineapple juice. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat, and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes until the mixture has been reduced by half. Remove from heat and set aside.

After 1 1/2 hours remove the ham and increase the temperature on the oven to 400 degrees F.

Brush the baked ham with the glaze, and place the chopped pineapples at the base of the pan. Return the ham to the oven and bake uncovered 25-30 minutes. The ham should be heated through and caramelized on the outside. Remove and let rest 5 minutes before serving. Serve with remaining glaze.

Another dish that I decided to give a twist this holiday feast is the ever so classic macaroni and cheese. What’s so great about mac and cheese is that it is so versatile. There are so many different combinations that you can make, so for this one I wanted it to be LOADED with bacon! Farmer John® was also kind enough to send me some of their All-Natural Bacon, and I thought mac and cheese would be the perfect vehicle to load with bacon! Now this isn’t just a boring mac and cheese mixed with bacon…. this is just like a LOADED BAKED POTATO! Think of all the toppings you would put on your baked potato but instead on your mac and cheese!

Besides the bacon the second best thing about this macaroni and cheese is that it is ULTRA CREAMY. If you love creamy mac and cheese then you are in for a treat. Everyone in my family loves this recipe starting all the way with the adults straight down to the kids. Buttery bread crumbs, sour cream, crispy bacon, and chives make this one of the best mac and cheeses I’ve ever had.

All Natural Bacon Loaded Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

3 cup elbow macaroni
4 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
5 cup milk
8 oz  block sharp cheddar cheese, grated
8 oz block monterey jack cheese, grated

Topping
1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. butter melted
1 package Farmer John All Natural Bacon cooked and crumbled
1 Tbsp. minced chives
sour cream
Directions:

Cook macaroni according to package instructions. Rinse and drain completely. Set aside.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat.

Stir in flour and continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture turns golden brown. About 5-7 minutes.

Slowly add milk. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat just until the mixture begins to thicken. Mixture should coat the back of the spoon.

Remove from heat; add the cheese and stir until melted.

Mix cheese mixture with cooked macaroni and pour into greased 9x13 inch casserole dish.

Combine bread crumbs and melted butter and sprinkle over mac & cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees 20-30 minutes, until golden brown and the cheese has melted.

Remove from oven; top with crumbled bacon, chives, and sour cream.