Recipes for Easter Dinner

I purchased the April 2009 issue of Martha Stewart Living. And while I was waiting in the Chicago airport yesterday made note of two recipes that I want to make for Easter Dinner. First:


Pineapple-Mustard-Glazed Ham (Serves 8-10.)

Ingredients
2 medium pineapples, peeled lengthwise, cored, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/4 cup cup country-style mustard
1 smoked, bone-in ham (10 pounds), trimmed of excess skin and all but a 1/4-inch layer of fat
40 whole cloves
1 cup cup dry white wine
Mustard greens, for garnish (optional)
Directions
1. Bring pineapples, sugar, and water to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat; simmer, skimming foam. Cook until pineapples are translucent and mixture has reduced to 4 cups, 60 to 80 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; let cool. Stir in mustard. (Glaze will keep, covered and refrigerated, for 3 days.)
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in lowest position. Score ham with a sharp knife in a pattern of 1 1/4-inch diamonds. Press a clove into the center of each diamond. Place ham, cut side down, in a roasting pan; drizzle wine over top. Coat ham with half the glaze. Cover with parchment, then foil, and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven.
3. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Uncover ham, and coat with remaining glaze (some will fall to the bottom of the pan). Bake, uncovered, basting occasionally, until browned, 40 to 45 minutes. (Tent bone with foil if it becomes too dark.) Transfer ham to a cutting board; let rest for at least 30 minutes before carving. Serve with pan drippings and pineapple. Garnish with mustard greens if desired.

And this recipe:

Hot Cross Buns with Dried Cherries (Makes 30.)

Ingredients
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 ounce (4 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for bowl and baking sheet
Salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
51/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
4 ounces (3/4 cup) dried cherries, coarsely chopped
4 ounces (3/4 cup) golden raisins, coarsely chopped
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon water
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Heat 1 cup milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it registers 110 degrees on a candy thermometer. Pour milk into a mixer bowl, and fit mixer with a dough hook. With mixer on low speed, add granulated sugar, yeast, butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, the nutmeg, cinnamon, and eggs. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, and knead until mixture comes together in a soft, sticky dough. Continue kneading, scraping down hook as needed, until dough is smooth, about 4 minutes.
2. Add cherries and raisins, and knead to incorporate. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead to distribute dried fruit. Coat a large bowl with butter. Shape dough into a ball, and place in prepared bowl. Cover with a piece of plastic, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Generously butter a rimmed baking sheet. Turn dough onto a surface, knead briefly, then divide into 3 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, divide each third into 10 pieces, and shape each into a tight ball. (Keep dough covered with plastic.) Place on prepared sheet, spacing 1/2 inch apart. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover with plastic, and let rise in a warm spot until buns have doubled in size and are touching, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together egg white and water in a small bowl. Brush tops of buns with egg-white wash. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool on sheet on wire rack for 30 minutes. Whisk together remaining 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons milk, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Spoon icing into a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/4-inch round tip, and pipe icing on buns in the shape of a cross. (Alternatively, spoon glaze on buns.) Serve immediately.