I think you are right to allow 6 1/2 hours......but I think it'll be done before that. and I wouldn't be cooking it to 170...I would take out when the thermometer registers 155, and let it rest and come up to 160. Boneless ham is one of those lean cuts that can get dry given today's standards for hog raising. And where did you fine a 20 pound boneless fresh ham?? That had to be one enormous hog!! Linda C

How about Chicken Piccata? There is a little parmesan cheese in the recipe, but its not a dominating ingredient. I serve it with noodles or rice. Chicken Piccata Recipe (from www.simplyrecipes.com) Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Yield: Serves 4. Ingredients 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 pound total) 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese 1/3 cup flour Salt and pepper 4 Tbsp olive oil 4 Tbsp butter 1/2 cup chicken stock or dry white wine 3 Tbsp lemon juice 1/4 cup brined capers 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley Method 1 Cut the chicken breast halves horizontally, butterflying them open. If the breast pieces you are working with are large, you may want to cut them each into two pieces. If the pieces are still thick after butterflying, put them between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound them with a meat hammer to 1/4-inch thickness. 2 Mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan. Rinse the chicken pieces in water. Dredge them thoroughly in the flour mixture, until well coated. 3 Heat olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add half of the chicken pieces, do not crowd the pan. Brown well on each side, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve to a plate. Cook the other breasts in the same manner, remove from pan. Cover with aluminum foil and keep warm in the oven while you prepare the sauce. 4 Add the chicken stock (or white wine), lemon juice, and capers to the pan. Use a spatula to scrape up the browned bits. Reduce the sauce by half. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Plate the chicken and serve with the sauce poured over the chicken. Sprinkle with parsley. How about chocolate cupcakes for dessert? Super Easy, Super Moist Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe (from www.simplyrecipes.com) Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Yield: Makes 12 cupcakes. The coffee (and the salt) help intensify the flavor of the chocolate. If you don't have or don't want to use coffee, just skip it and use water instead. If you do use coffee, just use what would be considered regular strength coffee (or slightly weak coffee) in America, not something super concentrated like espresso. If caffeine is an issue, use decaf. If you want to make a cake instead of cupcakes, double the recipe and use two 8-inch round cake pans and cook for 35-40 minutes. Ingredients Cupcakes: 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup brewed coffee (or 1 cup of warm water mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons of espresso powder or instant coffee granules) 1 Tbsp white vinegar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 6 Tbsp (1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp) olive oil Frosting: 4 Tbsp butter 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar 3 tablespoons milk 1 tablespoon vanilla extract Method Cupcakes: 1 Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle position. Prepare a muffin tin with cupcake liners. 2 In a large bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt until there are no visible clumps (cocoa tends to clump up). 3 In a separate bowl, mix together the coffee (or water plus coffee granules), vinegar, vanilla extract, and olive oil. 4 Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until they just come together. The mixture should be thin and rather lumpy. 5 Ladle the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about two-thirds of the way full. Place in oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a bamboo skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. 6 Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool on a rack. Once cool, you can eat plain, sprinkle with powdered sugar, or drizzle or coat with frosting. Frosting: While the cupcakes are cooking, make the frosting. Melt butter in a small saucepan and remove from heat. Stir in the cocoa until smooth. Sprinkle in about a third of the powdered sugar, stir, then sprinkle in about a half of the milk. Keep alternating with the powdered sugar and either milk or vanilla, stirring after each addition, until the frosting is the consistency you want, and smooth. If it's too runny, add more powdered sugar. If too stiff, add a little more milk or vanilla extract.

This thread, which I didn't catch the first time around, made me think. In general, I cook to eat and feed my family. However, I do enjoy baking for special occasions. I think that if I didn't work outside the home I would cook more...and be more adventurous. But, I work and have a long commute so by the time I get home I have to make fast meals with little time for creativity or major prep work. So, we eat a lot of frozen veggies--as is out of the bag, pre-cooked meats warmed up, pasta, soup, occasionally waffles/pancakes/eggs, potatoes, etc. I.e., for the most part things that I can cook fast. One up side to this is that our meals haven't changed that much w/o a kitchen since we do have a MW, Toaster Oven, and hot plate to cook with! One very big downside to this, though, is that my children are not learning to cook like I did from my mom. Back on topic... After finding this site and reading about zones, I realized that one thing that I really wanted was a baking center. So when my kitchen was being designed I had it in the back of my head that whatever we ended up with had to have an area I could designate my "Baking Zone", preferably near the ovens--with room to roll out dough, spread out cookie sheets, and have cookie cutters spread out all at the same time! The other thing I got from this site was our window...having the window down to the counter (OK, not cooking-related, but a very important design element!) Our very first plan that our KD came up with had input from us...but a very naive/ignorant us! (Before GW...BGW!) Then....I found this site.....and the changes began. Actually, I posted that original plan and asked for help (and also asked my KD to start over w/no island) Many, many people here helped me come up with a plan over several weeks (months?). We finally came up with a plan that has changed little since then. Interestingly, when I took away the island "must have", my KD came up with a plan very similar to what we came up with here. The only 3 differences were (1) no mini peninsula, (2) a 36" pantry cabinet rather than a corner pantry, and (3) no separate Message Center cabinets. My KD wasn't completely happy w/our differences, but she, wisely I thought, told me to go home and mock up what I wanted to see how it would work (same advice I got here!) Well, the mock up was great! It proved that I did indeed want the mini peninsula (I liked it so much I left the mock up in place until demo and used it!) When I told her the results, she didn't argue, she accepted it telling me it's my kitchen, so ultimately it's up to me. So in the end, my design was/is based on what I wanted, not what the KD wanted. [If only someone else had measured my kitchen and she was given more authority, I think a lot of subsequent problems would have been avoided.] Our kitchen isn't done yet, but it's close...so I can't yet tell you how it is going to work for us...but we are so...

I googled sausage apple pie stuffing and every recipe was about the same. All call for the 14-1/2 oz. size broth. It doesn't sound like enough for me either, but I couldn't find one that calls for more. Let us know how it turns out. I've never made stuffing with sausage but it sounds good. Can you eat it as a main dish or do you usually have another meat with it?