Listen up because I’m about to make your life so much easier this Easter holiday season. Since spending way too much time looking at food is a favorite passtime of mine, I took the liberty of finding the best ham ever along with the perfect make-ahead Easter side dishes to go with it! The highlight of this fantastic holiday meal is a gourmet, small-batch cured ham from CUREMASTER RESERVE®, which pairs perfectly with a fantastic line up of my favorite easy-to-prepare, make-ahead Easter side dishes.

First and foremost you are going start with the main attraction, a glorious Easter ham. The shining star of the meal is not something you’re going to want to cut any corners with. Luckily for you (and me) this just so happens to be the easiest and most fun part of the meal to prepare. The ham-master exordornaires over at CUREMASTER RESERVE® did some masssive legwork for you. They slow cook only the best hams for 14 hours then smoke them for several hours more. Do you have that kind of time? Yeah, me neither. But it doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy an incredible gourmet small-batch ham. In fact, it couldn’t be easier.

1. Hop over to CUREMASTER RESERVE® site and check out all the different flavor combinations. This is probably the hardest part because all the uniquely flavored hams and glazes make for a difficult decision. The Brown Sugar Cured Ham and Apple Cider Bourbon Glaze was calling my name. Honestly, though, I don’t know how you could go wrong with all the unique choices they have.

2. Now that you have decided on a flavor, take advantage of a $20 off COUPON CODE CUREMASTER RESERVE® is offering my readers.

Just put the code TRYCUREMASTER20 into this link when you check out and you’ll save yourself some cash.

Go celebrate by buying a bottle of wine with your extra $20 bucks.

3. Now you just sit back and wait for ham heaven to arrive on your door step. Since the packaging is so posh and cute, this ham would also make a thoughtful hostess gift.  If you’re planning on eating your Easter meal at someone else’s abode, go ahead and send them a great thank you gift ahead of time.

4. Now make your house smell like you have been slaving away in the kitchen all day. Warming the ham takes virtually no effort so you can just sit back and drool over the warm, smoky delectable smell.  Or, now would be a perfect time but to finish off all the Easter side dishes I’ve highlighted below.

When you try this gourmet, spiral sliced ham you understand the craftsmanship CUREMASTER RESERVE® puts into their hams. They only select the choicest meats and prepare them utmost commitment to excellence.  This truly was the best ham I have ever tasted, and something not to be missed.

Don’t forget to put the $20 off coupon code TRYCUREMASTER20 into this link when you check out!

 

My Favorite Easter Make-Ahead Dishes:

Now that The Big Kahuna is taken care of you can concentrate on your supporting cast. When I’m planning a menu, a lot of thought goes into what I’ll serve with my main dish. You don’t want to a frazzled, sweating mess in the kitchen while your guests are trying to relax. It’s much more becoming to be a frazzled sweaty mess the days before the party witnesses are around. All these dishes you can prep ahead of time, are the perfect accompaniments to an Easter ham, and my favorite Easter side dishes ever!

• Deviled Eggs – There really isn’t a more opportune time to enjoy these, not to mention the perfect time to bust out your often-overlooked egg crater platter. Let your kids go crazy decorating Easter eggs a few days before, and then use them all up by whipping up some deviled eggs before the big meal.

• Bread – If you or your guests are gluten free, I suggest making super easy Light and Fluffy Gluten Free biscuits ahead of time, freezing them, and warming them before dinner. You can cover all bases by making Oatmeal Dinner Rolls for the gluten-indulging guests. Yeast dinner rolls are great because you can freeze them in the pan before they rise, and a few hours before your meal set them on your counter to thaw, rise, and throw them in the oven.

• Potatoes – I’ve made this Two-Potato Gratin several times and it is THE BEST. It’s a lot less fussy than other gratin recipes, it uses cornstarch as a thickener so it’s naturally gluten free, and the flavor combinations work perfectly together. You can assemble it several hours ahead of time and just throw it in the oven in time for dinner.

• Vegetables – Easter would be a perfect time to bust out this Spinach and Cheese Galette Tart because of how equally gorgeous and tasty it is. Roasted vegetables, such as Balsamic and BrownSugar Roasted Carrots are super easy to throw together and honestly my favorite way to make veggies.

• Dessert – I don’t like to be pigeon holed into only one kind of sweet treat, so I usually cover several bases here. For cakes that can made ahead and froze, go with Fluffy Banana Cake with Fresh Banana Curd Filling or Carrot Cake Cheesecake Cake. Fresh Strawberry Coeur a la Creme is assembled the day before and would be a fantastic lighter, more refreshing simple dessert. I could really go on and on. It’s a sickness.

Enjoy your Easter and I would love to hear about any favorite make-ahead dishes of yours for holiday meals!