Cooking with Coke!

There really is something fun about cooking with ingredients that you really wouldn't think of adding into your dinners.  Now that Easter is getting closer, I know that I start thinking of my sweet and sticky glazed ham.  You know what my secret ingredient is?  It is Coca-Cola Classic.  The sweetness of the coke makes this delicious sticky glaze on the outside of my ham that my entire family finds addictive.  Isn't that what you want your food to be?  Addictive and craveable?  Well that is what my ham is and it is super easy.  I have to admit that I do cheat a little.  I only buy a spiral ham.  Yes they are more expensive but the fact that I do not need to slice it, well that is just worth the extra price.

I start preparing my ham by packing on some brown sugar on the outside of the entire ham.  I then take spiral ham and cover it with pineapple slices.  The easiest way to do this is to grab a can of the sliced pineapples and they secure them to the ham using toothpicks.  I don't use the capers or the maraschino cherries because I just don't care for the taste.  Once I have both my brown sugar and my pineapples on the outside, I take an entire can of coke and pour it all over my ham.  I make sure that the coke gets into the creases and crevices of the different slices of ham.  That way when it cooks, the sweetness is infused through out the entire ham and not just on the outside.  I warm it in the oven according to the regular directions of the ham and when it comes out a few hours later it is a sweet and delicious dinner for my entire family and then left over sandwiches later.  If you have never tried it, you would be shocked at how juicy and wonderful it comes out.  They have all kinds of neat recipes on Coke's new website www.cookingwithcoke.com. I can't wait to pick out my next delicious "go to" recipe.

I love cooking with coke because I love the flavor of coke.  I remember when we were kids how my mom would buy an eight pack of coke bottles.  It was such a treat to have her go and get the bottle opener and let us drink one on a hot day in the summer.  Also if we were really lucky she would take us to the local 7-11 for Slurpee.  My sister always got the cherry one, but to this day mine has always been the Coca-Cola flavored ones.  On occasion if I happen to see the opportunity to get a Coke Slurpee I will get on and I am transported back to those summer days as a kid.   Does drinking an ice cold coke remind you of anything nostalgic?  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Coca-Cola® blogging program. If I am one of the first 100 blogs received by SocialsMoms, I will receive a $25 gift card. For more information on the program, click here.