“There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally.” – Don Miguel Ruiz
NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It’s my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian ‘Quote Cup’ passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, along with an update and photos of what has been going on in our lives. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!
This year marks 10 years since our son started hosting Easter and I couldn’t resist also including photos from then. It was much warmer that year and the grass was green, this year it was snowing when we were ready to roast Peeps over the fire in the back yard! Kids were busy doing what teenagers do, playing video games… and we all played our Hensrud get-together staple, ‘pencil charades’.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Our son started making Guy Fieri’s Jimbo’s Hambo with Mango Pineapple Salsa for Easter 10 years ago and we never tire of it. Only it has come to be all about the salsa. It has been 10 years since I published it so figured it was time to do so again, only this time headlining the salsa!
MANGO PINEAPPLE SALSA with Jimbo’s Hambo
- 8-10 pound smoked ham
- Whole cloves
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice ham diagonally approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep, from left to right and then right to left making diamonds on top of the ham. In each point of a diamond press a clove. Place ham in roasting pan, on cooking rack. Add small amount of water to base of pan to keep drippings from burning.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, prepare glaze and salsa.
GLAZE
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup minced yellow onion
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons cognac
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice
- 1/3 cup apple juice
- 1 1 2/ tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Once heated, add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions become translucent. Remove pan from heat and carefully add cognac (the alcohol can flame up). Return the pan to the heat and let reduce for 2 minutes. Add mustards, pineapple juice, apple juice, brown sugar and honey. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn down heat to low and allow to reduce by 1/3, about 15-20 minutes. Set aside.
SALSA
- 1 red jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
- 1 pineapple peeled cored and quartered
- 2 mangos, peeled and cored
- 1 red onion, minced
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- Salt
- Pepper
Preheat an oiled grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill the pineapple and mango slices until grill marked and caramelized, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove and let cool, then slice fruit into 1/2 by 1/2 inch. Toss in a large bowl with remaining ingredients to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
After ham has baked 1 1/2 hours, liberally apply mustard glaze to ham. Bake another 30 minutes or until the glaze begins to turn brown and caramelize. Remove, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve with salsa.