easter day coca cola ham and creamy carrot cake

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On Easter Day eve, I had resigned myself to spending the next day noodling around in the garden, and missing my very busy darlings, when I got a call from my sweet friend, asking if she and her son could come visit. Thomas had asked if he could visit his “Tanta Katrina”, as usual, on Easter Day, no doubt with that carrot cake in mind – and that gorgeous Easter ham with the Southern-style Coca Cola glaze.
And let's not forget the egg-hunt!
What a blessed day it turned out to be, with the sun shining and the air soft and mild, lots of good eats, and a fairly polite egg hunt, with three boys aged 4, 7, and 12, all somewhat, sort of, allowing the youngest one first dibs on the eggs. And, as usual, the boys heaved a few eggs at the boulders, just because.
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To make the ham, I baked a 12 pound ham for 3 hours at 325F, then made the glaze:

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1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup pineapple juice

2 T. red currant jelly

1 1/2 cups cranberry juice

1 20 oz. bottle of Coca Cola ( not diet)

8 whole cloves

Simmer all the ingredients until the sauce forms a sheet on a wooden spoon. Serve hot, alongside the Easter Ham, in a pitcher, along with roasted asparagus and smashed potatoes and fluffy green salad. I adapted the recipe from Steamy Kitchen's recipe, which was just too sweet.

I hope you had a wonderful Easter Day!