Okay so now you have bought at least twice as much ham as you think you need, let's talk about how to prepare it. I like a sweet ham. I have a dear friend that does a garlic ham and they seem to like it but I have to say I prefer it baked with sweet accents. I really don't care for the spicy flavor of cloves that are so often used on ham either. So I always do a ham with pineapple, brown sugar and maraschino cherries served with a sweet raisin sauce made from the ham juices. YUMMY!

So for this baked ham you will need:

• The ham!

• a can of pineapple slices, packed in juice

• about 1-2 cups or so of brown sugar, depending on the size of the ham

• maraschino cherries 

• wooden toothpicks 

• a roasting pan (either with a lid or some aluminum foil for a tent)

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Put the ham in the roasting pan with the fat side up. Use a sharp knife to score through the fat layer about every inch and then score it again the other direction so it's a cross-hatch type score. This will allow the flavors to bake into the ham. (If it is a spiral-sliced ham this won't be necessary but you will want to tie the ham together with kitchen string.)

Then pour the juice from the pineapple over the ham. This will moisten the ham and help the brown sugar stick to it and the pineapple juice also mixes with the ham juices to make the raisin sauce delicious.

Next pack the brown sugar on the ham. Some will fall off in the juices but don't worry because that will make the raisin sauce great. After you have the brown sugar packed all over the ham cover the ham with the pineapple slices, anchoring each one with a toothpick. 

Then put a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple ring, and between the rings if you like, anchoring each one with another toothpick. Now it's ready to bake.

Add about a cup of water to the pan to avoid scorching and allow for steam. Then put the lid on the roaster or cover the ham with a foil tent. If you're using a foil tent you'll want to break the ends of the toothpicks over to keep them from piercing the foil tent.

Bake the ham approximately 12 minutes per pound. That's about 4 hours for a 20 pound ham.

Remove the ham from the oven and place it on the cutting board or platter to rest for a bit before slicing. Try to use a platter that is large enough to lay the slices of ham in front of the remainder of the ham as this will make a nice presentation. 

Be sure to remove all of the toothpicks...a very important step. Your guests won't appreciate it if they get a toothpick stuck up in their mouth.

Place the pineapple rings around the ham on the serving platter and sprinkle the cherries around on top of the pineapple rings. This makes a beautiful presentation for the ham and the fruit is delicious with the ham. Save the juices in the pan.

When the rest of the meal is ready slice enough of the ham to serve everyone a couple of slices and arrange them in front of the ham on the platter. It will be lovely with the pineapple rings and cherries around it.

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