by Blair Worthington

Created on: October 25, 2009

Thanksgiving Day is a little more than a month away. This means that very soon, thousands of shoppers will be pouring into grocery stores to load up on the trimmings for the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Chances are, most shopping baskets will contain many of the same items: turkey, stuffing, potatoes, yams, rolls and cranberry sauce. Let's not forget the pumpkin pie. While these foods are delicious, they are predictable. If predictable translates into boring for you this season, why not spice up your Thanksgiving menu this year and try something a bit out of the ordinary?

The following menu items are foods representative to several states which were part of the original 13 colonies. As a plus, many of the suggested dishes can be prepared in advance. Without a doubt, this Thanksgiving meal will deliver a cornucopia of flavor which will have your guests asking for more.

Instead of stuffed turkey for your main course, try stuffed ham. Stuffed ham is a unique dish, traditional to Southern Maryland, though the appeal of the stuffed ham has reached far across the nation. Essentially, a corned ham (boneless) injected or soaked in brine, is stuffed with a mixture of cabbage, kale, peppers and spices. Some varieties of stuffed ham also include spinach, though cabbage is the predominant stuffing ingredient. Though preparing a stuffed ham is somewhat time intensive, the results will be delicious. The beauty of this recipe is that the main course should be prepared a day in advance. Alas, you won't have to fuss with preparing the main course on Thanksgiving Day. Not only will this main course will draw lots of attention and praise, there won't be a scrap leftover.

12 to 18lb corned ham (deboned)

3lb kale

3lb cabbage

1lb watercress

1 bunch celery

small onion (optional)

Chop all ingredients in less than 1" pieces. Blanch together, remove, drain. Add the following spices:

2 teaspoon hot sauce

2 tablespoon crushed red pepper

4 tablespoons salt

3 tablespoons black pepper

2 tablespoons mustard seed

2 tablespoons celery seed

1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper

Thoroughly mix spices in stuffing. Stuff the bone cavity, fold and tie ham with butchers twine. Cut X's in ham and push stuffing into these. Get a sack, pillow case, or cheese cloth and place the ham inside. Bring water to a boil, and simmer ham 15 min per pound. When finished, allow to cool while still in broth. When cool, remove and drain. Serve warm or cold the next day.

Now that you have prepared

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