Sweet Mustard Sauce

One of my family’s favorite ways to eat ham is with this sweet mustard sauce. During grilling season, it can be brushed onto a ham steak on the grill. In the colder months, I make it a little thicker, slather it over the ham steak and bake it in the oven. Here’s how it goes:

Sweet Mustard Sauce

1/4 cup butter

2 tsp flour

1/2 cup milk

3 TBSP yellow prepared mustard

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp vinegar

Over low heat, melt butter and blend in flour to make a paste. Gradually add milk to make a cream sauce. Add mustard, sugars and vinegar. Stir constantly to medium consistency. If I am baking the ham steak, I add 3 tsp flour to make a little thicker. If you want thinner sauce, add a little milk until it looks like you want it to. Once the sauce is the consistency you desire, put the ham steak on a shallow baking pan, such as a jelly roll pan, and slather the sauce over the top. I bake it, usually at about 350º or 375º until the ham is heated and the sauce is bubbly. This will depend on the size of your ham and whether it is frozen or thawed – allow about 30 minutes when planning. Most of the time, I have potatoes in the oven with it so I adjust accordingly.

About the potatoes ….. this time I made potatoes and red onions with a cheese sauce. Here’s how that goes:

Potatoes and Red Onions with Cheese Sauce

About 6 cups cubed potatoes

1 red onion, diced into large pieces

4 TBSP butter

4 oz cream cheese

1 cup half and half

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Spray a 9×13 pan lightly with non-stick spray. Toss your potatoes and onions together. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and cream cheese. Whisk in half and half and cheddar and stir aggressively until melted. Pour sauce over potatoes and onions. Cover with foil and bake at 375º. Allow about an hour if you are starting with raw potatoes. If you need to speed things up, microwave the potatoes and onions for 5 minutes before the cheese sauce. You can cut about 15-20 minutes off the baking time.