By Melissa Pette

Hosting a New Year’s Eve dinner party is a great way to spend quality time with friends. But is it stress-free? Can that even happen?

It really can, if you are organized and you invite friends who are willing to pitch in and contribute.

Stress-free may sound unattainable, but by the time the night is over, I can guarantee our guests will be happy, fed, full of cheer, feel loved, accepted and even have sore cheeks.

Sore cheeks? Yes, because we laugh so much, it hurts.

Baked ham is my kids’ all-time favorite meal! We serve this baked ham for special occasions like New Year's Eve. 

This is not hard, you just need to watch the temperature to make sure it heats through without overcooking.

So, let's go to the kitchen!

Ingredients for 12 servings are:

• 1 spiral-cut ham with the bone in approx 7-9 pounds.
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard ( or standard mustard also works).
• ¼ cup pineapple juice ( or orange juice).

The glaze ingredients you will need:

• ½ cup pineapple juice (or orange juice).
• ½ cup brown sugar.
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard ( or standard mustard).
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger.
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch.

First, preheat the oven to 325°F.

Mix mustard and pineapple juice. Brush over ham.

If your ham has a plastic disk on the bone, this should be removed and discarded. Place the ham, flat side down in a roasting pan, and cover tightly with foil. Roast for 12-15 minutes per pound.

If you purchase smoked ham, it has been cooked. But be sure to check the package to ensure it says "fully cooked". If your ham is fully cooked on the package (as most spiral hams are), it will need to cook to 140°F (basically just to heat it).

The glaze. Combine the ingredients, pineapple juice, brown sugar, dijon mustard, ground ginger and cornstarch. And bring them to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Cool.

In this recipe, I add brown sugar because the glaze is flavorful without being too sweet and adds a delicious sticky coating to the outside of the ham.

Fifteen minutes before the ham is done, remove it from the oven and turn the oven up to 425°F.

Once the brown sugar glaze is thickened and cooled, the ham is removed from the oven and the heat is cranked up high, brush the glaze over the ham and pop it back into the oven until the glaze is caramelized and the ham has reached the safe cooking temperature.

I take the extra step (about 4 minutes of extra time) to thicken the glaze slightly because this makes it adhere to the ham much better.

As with anything high in sugar, the brown sugar glaze can burn if left too long in the oven so it is just added for the last 10 minutes. The high heat will make the most gorgeous golden glaze in just a few minutes!

Before carving your baked ham, let it rest for 10 minutes to help keep it perfectly juicy.

Try the following side dishes to accompany the holiday ham: mashed potatoes, cheesy roasted asparagus, buttery rosemary cornbread, roasted carrots or creamed spinach.

Dinner is ready!

And don't forget the champagne... lots of champagne.

Have a Pura Vida New Year!

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Find more tasty step-by-step Costa Rican food recipes on the AM Costa Rica Food & Good Eating page. You are invited to share your favorite recipes with a horizontal photo of the dish by emailing food@amcostarica.com.