Easy glazed Easter ham roast recipe

A glazed, baked ham is a glorious thing. It is not only a robustly flavorful and visually stunning centerpiece for your holiday meal, it is incredibly simple to prepare, and it is the roast that keeps on giving. For days and days after the holiday, a ham can oh-so-easily become the basis for many meals. Some of my favorite uses include:

Egg and ham hash: Scramble eggs in a skillet; remove and set aside. Heat more oil, add diced russet and/or sweet potatoes, chopped onion and bell peppers, salt, pepper and a pinch of dried thyme and cook until the potatoes are crispy on the outside and soft inside. Stir in diced ham and egg and cook, breaking the egg up into smaller bits, until heated through. Alternatively, make the hash without the egg and serve it as an accompaniment to eggs cooked in your favorite style.

Easy Cubanos: Halve a French baguette lengthwise. Spread the cut surface of the bottom half lightly with yellow mustard and top with thinly sliced dill pickles, ham, and Swiss cheese. Close the sandwich and lightly brush the entire exterior with oil or a little melted butter. Place the sandwich in a hot grill pan, cast iron skillet or on the grill and top with a heavy skillet to press it. Cook until the underside is well browned and crispy, then turn the sandwich over and repeat, again weighting it with a heavy skillet. Cook until the underside is again nicely browned and the cheese is melted.

Dinner mac and cheese: Add diced ham and blanched broccoli florets to your favorite mac and cheese recipe; transfer to a baking dish, top with panko tossed with melted butter and grated Parmesan and bake until the top is golden, about 15 minutes.

Before you have any of these great leftovers, of course, you have a delicious (and very easy to prepare) roast for your Easter dinner.

1 cooked, bone-in half ham (butt or shank), about 7 pounds

1 cup orange or pineapple juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup dark rum

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a large baking pan with cooking spray.

2. Remove the tough outer brown skin from the ham. Use the tip of your knife to score a cross hatch pattern about 1/8-inch deep through the fat and just into the meat. Place the ham, fat side up, in the baking dish, tent loosely with foil and bake 1 1/2 hours. At the point, the internal temperature of the ham should be 100 degrees.

3.Meanwhile, combine the fruit juice, sugar, rum, allspice, nutmeg and cayenne in a bowl. When the ham hits 100 degrees, remove the foil and pour the mixture over the ham, using a brush to spread it evenly.

4. Return the ham to the oven and bake uncovered, basting the glaze over it every 10 to 15 minutes, for 50 minutes or so, until the ham reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees.

5. Remove the ham from the oven, brush it one last time with the glaze in the pan and let it rest 15 minutes before slicing. Spoon additional glaze over the slices if desired. Makes about 10 servings.