Home At Last! with Patty Gironda

This is a favorite Gironda family recipe for the holidays. A Coca-Cola and apple juice brine penetrate a whole raw picnic ham-studded with juicy gloves of garlic for three days, before a gentle smoking in a new "gently-used" gas smoker! 8 hours at 190 degrees, and, finally, two hours in a slow oven with a baste of honey water. Look out buttermilk biscuits, here we come!

I keep promising myself that I will learn a new biscuit recipe! One that imitates a favorite Louisiana chicken fast food restaurant's famous buttery recipe. The truth, I haven't! Instead, I fall back on this "no-fail" recipe shared with me by my Aunt Eva. Why I ever think I need to find a better recipe is beyond me. I bake this tasty version in a black iron skillet to create a crunchy, buttery crust with a tender delicate inside. Sturdy enough to hold up to thick preserves!