Images from making the Niman Ham at Lobster Gram

Good Friday afternoon to all my Foodies out there! It's been a super busy week for me here, but I wanted to share the pictures from our LG lunch this week when we prepared our NEW Niman Ranch Ham. Didn't even need a recipe for this baby...It came with it's own PERFECT brown sugar glaze. The whole process couldn't have been any easier. Just mix 2 tbs water to glaze powder and heat until sugar dissolves, slather the gorgeous ham in this aromatic glaze, wrap in foil and heat 10-12 min per lb on 325. Easy Peasy people...I can't believe I had never tried this before.
The ham was incredible, and everyone who passed through the test kitchen exclaimed "It smells like Christmas in here!". I kept telling them it was because I had a big oven full of Christmas cooking, but no one believed me. I guess that's the drawback of being sarcastic most of the time haha.
Anyway, enough of my pointless Ham rantings (It's making me hungry to even talk about this ham) Here are the images. Hope everyone has a rocking weekend!

In Search of the Perfect Ham Recipe for The Niman Ranch Ham

Yesterday I was given a task for Thursday by the President of our company. The orders: Get someone to organize the office for another office lunch date (taken care of by the ever efficient Dr. Proctor) and cook the 10 lb Niman Ranch Ham in the fridge for the office for lunch.
Yes...that's right.
A 10 lb Niman Ranch Ham. I'm salivating at the very thought of it.
This year is the very first year Lobster Gram is teaming up with legendary Niman Ranch. A small selection of Niman meats will be available in the Lobster Gram 2010 catalog due to be released early this fall. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Niman Ranch and their superior meats, here is a link to their web site.
They raise their animals with NO added hormones, antibiotics or animal by-products, and humane practices. The result renders some of the finest meats ever to grace the tables of such legendary eateries as Gibsons Bar & Steak House right here in sweet home Chicago...and Chicago is a leading authority when it comes to meat.
The next step...trying to find a great simple ham recipe that will appeal to all of my coworkers, and not force me to spend my day dieing in the heat downstairs.
So here is my issue. My family sticks with a great easy recipe for ham. Drench it in 7up and bake it in a oven bag. It's always flavorful and tender beyond all belief, but I'm wondering if this way might be a little too simple for use on a great ham like this.
I realize being what it is, the flavors and tenderness will be there even if I spear the ham and cook it over a 55 gallon drum with a fire burning in it on the corner of Wabash & Michigan...so why mess with perfection?
On the other hand...such a beautiful ham deserves the very best gourmet treatment we can supply for it, and our test kitchen is more than capable of doing just that.
So I pose this question to you my dear readers. What would you do with a 10 lb Niman Ranch Ham?
Leave me a comment and let me know! If you have a great recipe for ham, simple or otherwise, feel free to share it! I only have about 24 hours till cooking time so I need to figure this one out fast!

Lobster Gram BBQ

Good morning Foodies! As I am back in the office again...it's time to share the pictures from our Lobster Gram BBQ we had here in the office last week. Had a lot of cooking to do for it, but it was a lot of fun and great to prepare our new Angus burgers for the first time. Man are those things tasty! We also served some of our giant franks, a bunch of great Lobster Gram desserts, and every employee brought a side dish, chips, fresh fruit or condiments for the food. All in all, it was a great way for all of us to enjoy a fantastic meal together and cut some of the stress out of the week, and we are doing it again this week Thursday with a 10lb spiral cut Niman Ranch ham. Hopefully I can talk my Mom into making a huge batch of German Potato Salad to bring with...nothing goes better with ham than warm German Potato Salad. Tomorrow night is the Beauty Brands and Trends expo at NoMi so it's going to be an exciting week of food and blogging!
And with no further rambling....here are the pictures from the Lobster Gram BBQ!