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Print'Tis A Gift To Be Simple
Jasper reflects on Christmas past ... and present.
In my office late at night, after the restaurant is quiet and the kitchen has closed for the day, I take the time to reflect on the good life. As I write this holiday Locavore column, I’m thinking about my family and the holidays. I reminisce about their humble beginnings and how today, we all gather at Mama’s home on Christmas Eve for the family celebration that hasn’t changed much over the decades, except for the people that have left us and the new ones that have joined us.
We savor a memorable late-night dinner, and by tradition, the menu never changes. Sicilian fennel sausage, Nana’s pizza, pasta and lobster, Anna Nurse’s ham, piles of Sicilian cookies, sfinges and of course, cannoli. The grandchildren open gifts and we linger around the dining room table, enjoying one another’s company, telling stories about our father and grandparents, laughing and talking until well past midnight.
Talking to my Mama recently, I was reminded about the simplicity of Christmas back when she was a child and then when she met my father. She reminded me that they were very poor but didn’t know it. As a little girl, she wrote to Santa Claus and would receive a gift—maybe a new pair of shoes or skates. She later found out that the letter went to City Hall and that Mr. Pendergast would buy the children toys and have them delivered by local fireman.
Holidays for Mama meant attending church on Christmas Eve and enjoying her papa’s homemade Sicilian fennel sausage and dried baccala (salt cod). Christmas dinner included her seven brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles and friends from ‘the old country.’
I remember my grandfather, Papa Leonardo, telling me about his Christmas memories. He would receive a beautiful blood orange or a crispy apple. Of course, his family would go to church and enjoy dinner in his small hometown in Sicily and that was all. When he married my Nana Josephine, they never exchanged gifts. The holiday was marked with a simple dinner and a day off work.
It was an unwritten rule that our family never worked on holidays—you stayed home to spend precious time with your children and family. Mama was the first to introduce Papa Leonardo, her father-in -law, to the idea of giving a gift. Nothing elaborate was exchanged—no diamonds or automobiles or furs—just a simple, small gift.
My father always enjoyed taking my brothers and me shopping on Christmas Eve morning, even when we were grown. We would shop for last-minute gifts for Mama and for our wives. Later years meant shopping with Dad for our own children. Again, nothing elaborate—just gifts like socks or winter coats.
Today, the commercialization of Christmas has removed much of the holiday’s simplicity. There is the notion that many gifts should be under a tree, but for me, it is all about family, enjoying a nice dinner and spending time together.
This Christmas, I am thinking of sharing simplicity with my family. Maybe some fresh fruit, a basket filled with local artisan treats, homemade liqueurs and Sicilian cookies.
For you, my dear readers, my gift is from my mentor and most beloved friend Anna Nurse. A famous New York City cooking teacher, her ham recipe is legendary. Anna gave me the recipe for Christmas when I first met her in NYC more than 20 years ago at The James Beard House.
In the culinary world, Anna is not only a friend to all but also a “Mama” to many chefs. Anna mentored me like her own child, taught me how to teach cooking classes, showcase my restaurant at events and write recipes.
Her simple gift is my simple gift to you. This delicious ham is always on our holiday table and even today, my nephew Jasper III calls it the “Traveling Ham” because it may start out at Nana’s, go to his house for breakfast the next day and end up back at my brother’s home or my home for Sunday dinner. Did I mention the bone makes a great addition to pasta fagioli?
Buona Natale to all, and to all a good night!
Anna Amendolara Nurse’s Famous Baked Ham
Ingredients
• 1 12- to 18-pound Burger’s Ham, bone in
• Whole cloves
• 3 cups pineapple juice
• 1 pound dark brown sugar
• 1 bottle Karo dark corn syrup
Method
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place ham in a large open roasting pan. Score the fat into a 1-inch diamond pattern, and stud completely with cloves. The cloves should be about an inch apart. Pour the pineapple juice over the ham. Put the pan in the oven and bake for 12 minutes a pound.
After the first 1 1/2 hours, remove the pan from the oven and carefully pat brown sugar on to completely cover the top of the ham. Then gently pour the corn syrup over the ham, taking care not to disturb the sugar covering. Return the pan to the oven and continue baking, basting every 15 minutes with the pan juices.
Once the ham has baked for the allotted time, remove it from the oven and continue basting until the ham is cool, about an hour. This gives it a beautiful glaze. The remaining syrup may be used to make candied yams, sweet potatoes or butternut squash. I also like to add pineapple slices and cherries to the top of the ham before cooking.
