Whitsun Ham with Cherry Sauce

(AKA the moistest ham you'll ever taste and the perfect recipe to grace your Easter dinner table.) I just love making ham because it is extremely easy, looks beautiful, and the leftovers can be made into so many different things (ham salad, omelets, soup, sandwiches, etc). If you have been asked to host Easter this year and are intimidated by making a ham, please let me ease your mind.  It really is one of the simplest meats you can prepare!  The Whitsun makes the meat so tender and moist, and lends just a hint of citrus flavor that complements the cherry sauce perfectly.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as Seth and...

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Why I Don't Rate Beer

I don’t prefer a traditional review style of craft beers for a few reasons. There is too much inconsistency in the market, for one: one bottling of Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza will taste slightly different than a later bottling, for example, and one of the very best conversations one can have with a stranger over a pint of craft beer is the discussion about how the beer has evolved or changed from year to year. Not that this is a bad thing; this is what makes craft beer more similar to the fine wine market than to the macrobrewery experience. I know for a fact that the sun will rise tomorrow, that my dogs hate snow, and that the next can of PBR will taste just like the last can of PBR, which  will taste just like the last can of PBR I drink before I die. Consistency is the mainstay...

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Tres Blueberry Stout Ice Cream

Ice cream is a forbidden item on my grocery shopping list.  If I buy it, chances are it will be gone within a couple days.  Häagen-Dazs, Ben and Jerry’s, even the cheap stuff from Meijer – it doesn’t matter.  It’s one of those few, special dessert items where I lack any semblance of self control.  So when my family came over for dinner a week ago, it was the perfect opportunity to try out this recipe and have someone else to help me polish off the leftovers. The blueberry stout gives the ice cream a frothy texture, and the milk chocolate is smooth and sweet, but not so strong that you miss the slightly yeasty taste.  The...

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