Doing thanksgiving early

We have friends who are going to be out of town for thanksgiving --- hardly a surprise: they are visiting his parents in the Washington DC area --- so we had them over for dinner tonight instead. Since we had turkey last week, and we are having turkey next week, we did the second choice at this time of year: ham.

Baked ham is something that I don't remember having very often --- if at all --- growing up in the UK: we would often have sliced ham, cold, on sandwiches or with a salad, but I don't remember my mother ever cooking a ham.
It's a shame: it is a glorious dish: and here in the south they put a special touch on it: brining the ham first in a mixture of coca cola and kosher salt: then scored in a diamond pattern, baked first at high heat to caramelize the outside, and then cooked at a low temperature for two to three hours.

Served with mashed potatoes, and assorted vegetables: we did carrots and brussels sprout (boiled until just still crisp, then tossed with toasted walnuts and mandarin orange segments in a warmed vinaigrette): Southern tradition would insist on a side dish of macaroni and cheese too, and probably some sort of sweet potato casserole. But we can't follow tradition toooooo closely, can we?

Yours, hamming it up,
N.