OMG - don't forget Sol's Caramel chicken!!!!!!! If you look through, I think just the previous WFD thread, she posted a pic. Of course, her pic will sell you quicker than mine will - lol. This stuff is to die for. YUMMMMMMM Chicken in Caramel Sauce - Sol This recipe is from the Washington Post, which adapted it from a recipe from the Slanted Door restaurant that appeared in a cookbook called The Secrets of Success: Signature Recipes and Insider Tips from San Frans Best Restaurants by Michael Bauer 1/2 C packed dark brown sugar 1/4 C water 1/4 C Asian fish sauce 3 T rice vinegar 1 tsp minced garlic 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp thinly sliced fresh ginger 1/2 to 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (1/2 usually enough for me) 2 small chili peppers, fresh or dried, halved (I always use fresh) 1 T canola oil 1 shallot thinly sliced 1 1/2 - 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh meat, cut into bite-size pieces (can use a combo of light and dark meat, if you prefer) In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, water, fish sauce, vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, pepper, and chilis, and mix well. Set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat (can also use a wok, but Ive had better luck w/a skillet). Add shallot and cook, stirring, until brown, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned on each side but not cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir the reserved sauce mixture and add to skillet. Bring mixture to boil, reduce heat to med-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by about half and the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove and discard the chili peppers. Remove pan from heat, set aside until sauce has thickened and cooled slightly, about 3 minutes. Serve with rice. Note: This is traditionally a Vietnamese dish. If you havent cooked w/fish sauce before, youll notice that its pretty stinky before its cooked (!), but when the sauce is all together it gives it a really distinctive flavor that would be difficult to duplicate without it. Im able to get it in my local grocery store, but if you cant, then Asian markets will be sure to have it. The dish can be more spicy or less, depending what you do w/the pepper and chilis. If I want it less spicy, I remove all the seeds from the chilis before adding them to the sauce. This time, I left most of the seeds in, and it was very spicy. Probably theres a happy medium and it would be spicy enough w/about half the seeds. If you prefer it to be more sweet than spicy, remove all the seeds and use a bit less black pepper (even tho I like it spicy, I never need more than 1/2 tsp of pepper). ((One problem I have is that the chicken is usually done faster than the sauce is reduced. It doesnt particularly suffer as a result, but it would probably help if I used a larger skillet so the chicken could brown faster while cooking for a shorter time. )) I'm not sure whose note this is! Enjoy!

Just a follow up to say thanks for the input and to share with you what I finally ended up doing. I pre-heated the oven to 250, I put the ham (cut side down) in a cooking bag and added 2 tablespoons of orange juice. I also made a small amount of glaze consisting of brown sugar that was mixed with yellow mustard and a little orange juice. I drizzled this over the ham and closed the bag. This was an 8 1/2# ham and I baked it for 1 hour and 20 minutes. I then let it rest for 15 and served. It turned out great and I had very little mess.

We went to the TJ's in Louisville yesterday. They still have a full display case of the uncured hams. Since I now know they don't always stock them, we bought two to freeze. You might want to call your local TJ to see if they still have them. They really are delicious. Sandra

I have a tiny vintage tv in the kitchen pantry run and often have the two cooking/food networks on for background noise....zip back and forth between the two as some are 'nails on chalkboard'. CooksIllustrated tasted hams yesterday and I think Cook's won by a landslide. Barely paying attention because I thought testing only three was not a good and fair test. They did test without heating and glazing. (I think it was Cook's brand. It was a clear package) I just checked and they have tested a few times but I don't have access to their site.. Then looked for other 'best' reviews. Many winners. Then found my method posted above and it is a JuliaChild recipe I'm sure where I first came upon it....simmering in aromatics. I used Kirkland because it jumped in my cart passing by.