What to Serve With a Spiral Ham Dinner

Dinners featuring a spiral ham are always a hit. They lend themselves equally well to a festive occasion or a family dinner. Serving a spiral ham dinner does not have to mean a tedious day of cooking in the kitchen. This menu will make a wonderful presentation yet require minimum effort in the kitchen. The leftover ham makes great sandwiches and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Serve a salad of fresh greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers dressed with a simple vinaigrette. Try ranch or blue cheese dressing if vinaigrette is not a favorite in the household. Use salad greens that are pre-washed and ready to eat to save time. Another option is a Caesar salad. Dress romaine lettuce with a bottled Caesar dressing and top with croutons.

Offer roasted vegetables for a simple yet appealing side dish to a spiral ham. To roast vegetables place them in a shallow roasting pan. Try a combination of cut white potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, onions and garlic or any combination you prefer. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and toss to coat well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. A fresh herb such as rosemary can also be added. Bake in a 400 degree F oven until fork tender, about an hour.

Steam fresh broccoli, Brussels sprouts or green beans and toss with butter for a green vegetable. These vegetables are also good roasted. They can be added to the other roasted vegetables about 20 minutes before the pan is removed from the oven. Toss them with olive oil before adding them to the pan. Cooking all of the vegetables in one pan is a great way to simplify cooking. Guests can pick and choose which ones they want, so it is as if you had cooked several different dishes.

Finish off the side dishes with fresh rolls from the bakery or a loaf of crusty bread.

Fresh fruit served with a yogurt dip is a simple and quick dessert. Mix together one 8-ounce container of thawed whipped topping with 8 ounces of vanilla yogurt. Stir carefully so that the whipped topping is not deflated. Place in a decorative bowl in the center of a tray and mound fresh sliced fruit around it.

Apple or peach pie always goes well with a spiral ham dinner. Cake is a good option as well. Select a dessert for your dinner that you know your local bakery excels at. To make it even more special be sure to have ice cream on hand.