Cured Christmas ham

A while ago I was tucked up on the sofa enjoying watching Hugh Fernley Whittingstall's River cottage program. In the last series he had gathered together a small group of neighbours and got them started on the road to self sufficiency. They cleared a patch of land to grow vegetables, fruit, keep chickens and then pigs and one of the group was then given butchery lessons so they could get the best from their pork.

One of the things they did with the pork was to cure one of the legs. It looked reasonably easy and I was really keen to try it out. I couldn't really afford to get a whole pork leg and for two of us it might have been a little on the gluttonous side so I had part of a boned leg of Gloucester old spot, just over a kg in weight.

Here is the recipe I used. It took seven days to cure mine, then I boiled it and roasted it with a sugar, mustard and clove glaze. It was so delicious it only took 1 day to eat. Next time I will get a bigger joint but I will have to find something big enough to brine it in. 



It really is worth the effort. Graeme said it was possibly the best ham he had ever tasted. Give it a go. 

 

Birmingham German Christmas market

I always get really silly and excited on the run up to Christmas. I am very much a winter person anyway as in the height of sweaty, humid summer I go an unattractive beetroot colour, turn into a grumpy, petulant child and am mainly found on the floor assuming some sort of starfish position in my underwear. Plus I will never look good in a bikini, the more layers the better in my book. 

Winter, to me, conjures up images of cosy nights in front of the fire with hot spicy mulled wine while it's cold and crisp outside, lovely walks on paths covered in golden leaves and then I get too cold and pinch my other half's gloves and hat. Then Christmas comes and I always desperately wish for snow and at home in Northern Ireland we sometimes get it.

My favourite part though, as I'm sure most other people's is, is Christmas dinner. I love all the trimmings that go with the turkey and even though I love them, I never seem to have them at any other time than on Christmas day, so it's a real novelty. Then there is the dozing in front of a cheesy film in a vain attempt to try and digest the mountain of food you've consumed.



Entertainment for the kiddies, and shameless adults!

When the German Christmas markets come to town I make a date to go and sample the warming, delicious gluhwein, the moist and tasty Bavarian ham and the filled pretzels. I love the atmosphere, the buzz of people having fun and getting excited about Christmas, the wonderful smells and of course the tacky Christmas cheer in the form of giant Santas and the large singing Reindeer head that was stationed above one of the bars.





When we got there we rushed past the miscellaneous junk and straight to the food (it was nearly lunch time so it was warranted). We decided that we should share one of everything just to make sure we weren't missing anything. First port of call was the grilled Bavarian ham that we had last time we were there. It was served in a bun with some German coleslaw and some slightly sweet mustardy dressing and it was absolutely delicious. Next stop was some Gluhwein which went down very nicely before going in search of some German sausage. The sausages were suspended on a huge grill over a fire and then stuffed into a bun. There was also optional mustard and ketchup hanging in huge bottles above you with an udder-like projection that you had to squeeze to dispense the condiment of your choice.  After the sausage, I fancied a stuffed pretzel. There were a few choices of filling, from salami to ham and cheese, but I fancied the camembert and cranberry. The soft salty pretzel really complimented the creamy cheese and sweet cranberry and it really tempted me to have a go at making my own. 





After all that savoury I really fancied something sweet, so when I spied the crepes stall with the option of Nutella, chocolate filling I knew it was for me. We shared the hot chocolatey pancake and afterwards sat down beside the fountain, feeling slightly over-stuffed but very satisfied and contemplated coming to the markets again before Christmas. Well I need to do some Christmas shopping so it's as good an excuse as any!

 

Eggs Benedict

 



I have always wanted to perfect poached eggs but never quite got them right, until now. I came across a blog post from Smitten Kitchen on the subject and plucked up my courage to give it a go and hey presto! perfect poached eggs. My new found skill has been featuring a lot now and I really wanted to try making the classic eggs Benedict. The only hard parts about it are making the hollandaise, although you could buy it, and of course poaching the eggs, so most of it really. Here's my take on it, I hope you give it a try. 

Ingredients:

serves 2

1 English muffin (not the sort you have with coffee, they are very different)

2 fresh large eggs and 1 small egg yolk

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 heaped tsp mustard

75g fridge cold unsalted butter cut into cubes (this is supposed to be clarified butter but I couldn't be bothered)

seasoning (don't add salt if you are using salted butter)

2 slices good quality ham 

First make the hollandaise sauce by putting the egg yolk, mustard, lemon juice and seasoning into a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until it begins to froth and then start adding the butter a cube at a time, whisking it in as it melts. Continue to do this until the butter is used up and the sauce has a thick soft whipped cream consistency. Check the seasoning and then set to one side.

Cut the muffin in half and lightly toast then top each half with the ham and keep warm in a low oven.

To make the poached eggs put a large pan of water with splash of vinegar on the hob and bring to simmering point. Break each egg into a dish first (I cook each one separately to avoid disaster), swirl the water and drop the egg into the middle of the water vortex. Let it set a little for a few seconds and very gently tease it off the bottom so that it doesn't stick. Cook for about three or four minutes, remove the egg with a slotted spoon and set the spoon onto some kitchen paper to drain. Then gently slide the egg onto the warm ham and muffin and top with a dollop of hollandaise. Repeat the process for the other egg. Delicious