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To: carlo3b
Crock Pot Lamb! A work of true elegance and simplicity, for which many thanks. I can only attempt to reciprocate by posting my favorite Martha Stewart Easter Ham recipe, complex, perhaps impossible to prepare, but fun to read. I'm particularly smitten with the part about getting up before dawn to gather grasses with the morning dew still intact. It's a good thing?

Ham Baked in Herbs compliments of Martha Stewart
Serves 16

1 18 lbs fresh ham
18 garlic cloves
1 bunch of chervil with flowers
1 bunch basil.
1bunch thyme.
10 young, tender bay leaves
1/2 pound fresh-cut grass, 6" to 10" long, washing and stored in cold water SEE NOTE BELOW
1 bunch chives.
1 bunch tarragon.
1 bunch parsley.
2 oranges, sliced thick
2 bottle of dry ros'e or dry white wine

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees,
2. With boning knife, trim all but 1/4" of fat from the ham, leaving 4" of rind around the shank. Using a paring knife, make small incision in the meat, about 1/2" deep and 1/4" apart.
3. Peel 10 of the garlic cloves and slice them lenghtwise. Insert the garlic slices with alternating sprigs of chervil flowers, basil, thyme, and bay leaves. Ther herbs and garlic should almost cover the meat. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Crush the remaining 8 garlic cloves, leaving them in their peels, and set aside.
4. Line a large roasting pan 5 3/4" high and 16" in diameter with the fresh-cut grass, about 1" thick on the bottom and around the sides. Reserve some grass and herbs for presentation. Layer the chives, tarragon, and parsley on the bottom and sides of the pan. Place the orange slices on top of the herbs and then cover the orange slices with the basil. Place the ham in the roasting pan with the crushed cloves of garlic and gently pour the entire bottle of wine around the meat. Bake for 30 minutes and then cover loosly with aluminum foil. Continue to braise for another 5 hours, basting if necessary. Remove the foil for the last 30 minutes of cooking to lightly brown the meat.
5. When the ham has finished cooking, remove it from the roastig pan to a carving board and allow it to sit, loosely covered with aluminum foil, for 30 minutes prior to slicing.
6. While the ham is resting, strain the cooking juices from the roasting pany through a sieve into a saucepan, saving the orange slices. Add them to the juices. Over medium heat, allow the juices to gently boil and reduce by half. Skim off the fat and strain the liquid again to remove the orange slices. Serve hot with the ham on a large platter, garnished with the reserved grass and herbs.

NOTE: Locate an area in advance with tender, young, organically grown grass that has not yet been cut.) It is best to cut it very early in the morning while the dew is still evident. This will prevent the grass from drying out while you are cutting it. Wrap cut grass in damp paper towels to keep it fresh until it reaches the kitchen sink. Wash the grass throughly in cold water and keep it in a bowl of cold water until ready to use.

As Martha used to say, "it's a good thing."

22 posted on 03/18/2005 8:14:44 PM PST by Veto! (Opinions Freely Dispensed as Advice)
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To: Veto!
Ham Baked in Herbs compliments of Martha Stewart..

Yummmmmm Thanks for the great recipe.. I wonderful if Martha fixed this for her new friends while she was in the big house?  :)
 

31 posted on 03/18/2005 10:05:40 PM PST by carlo3b (http://www.CookingWithCarlo.com)
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