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Beyond the egg: Easter recipes

© Lee Ward

Traditionally, lamb is served at Easter. If not lamb, it's ham. It's usually ham in Appalachia, a much more common meat.

Ham glaze

Mix together:

1 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup chili sauce
4 teaspoons dry mustard
4 teaspoons horseradish

Apply to ham a half-hour before end of cooking.

For something different, I make ham loaf. Although I never cared for meatloaf, this combination of ground pork and ham is one of my favorites. I've loved it since I was a child, when I first tried it at a church dinner. It was always made in mass quantities for those dinners by Aggie Blankenship, one of the best cooks ever to run the kitchen at the First Baptist Church in Williamson, W.Va.

Ham Loaf

Small can of crushed pineapple
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1/2 pounds lean ground pork
1 1/4 pounds cured ham, ground
1 small chopped onion
1/2 cup cracker crumbs
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
1/2 cup chili sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup
water

Mix pineapple and dry mustard together. Spread half of the mixture in the bottom of baking dish. Reserve the rest.

Mix together pork, ham, onion, cracker crumbs, eggs, milk, paprika and Worchestershire sauce and shape into loaf.

Place loaf on top of pineapple mixture in baking dish and top with the remainder of the pineapple mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees F, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

Mix together chili sauce, soup and 1 soup can full of water.

After the loaf has baked for 45 minutes, top with soup mixture and bake 5 more minutes. Cover, and bake one hour.

I love scalloped potatoes and steamed asparagus with my ham loaf.

However, with ham, this Sweet Potato Casserole goes nicely.

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 cups cooked sweet potato
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

Beat together potato, sugar, stick of butter, vanilla and eggs for five minutes with mixer. Pour into greased casserole dish.

Mix remaining ingredients with fork or pastry blender and top potato mixture.

Bake covered at 350 degrees F for an hour.

For dessert, try this Cranberry Ribbon Pie instead of cheesecake. It's a lot of work, but worth it once in a while.

1 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons finely chopped almonds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
3 tablespoons milk
16-ounce can whole cranberry sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cranberry liquor
1 1/2 cups white baking pieces
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
large container Cool Whip
toasted slivered almonds

In medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, chopped almonds and salt. Combine oil and milk; stir into flour mixture. Press into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Prick crust with fork. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 12 to 14 minutes; Cool on a wire rack.