I like to do the same thing for Christmas every
year and I told you about it last year so there's not much to say. This year we were only four around the table for Christmas dinner which brought its own challenges. Somehow a turkey dinner and a glazed ham are easier to manage for a crowd. Provides a greater challenge for the issue of leftovers.
year and I told you about it last year so there's not much to say. This year we were only four around the table for Christmas dinner which brought its own challenges. Somehow a turkey dinner and a glazed ham are easier to manage for a crowd. Provides a greater challenge for the issue of leftovers.We did the usual - turkey with sage & onion stuffing, roasted potatoes with capsicum, shallots & baby carrots in two colours, peas with feta and asparagus dressed with lemon olive oil, nut roast. Followed, of course, by summer pudding and cream.
Later, if anyone is hungry, there is sliced ham with boil
ed potatoes & salad greens. Don't underestimate the value of doing a ham for Christmas. It might seem like an effort if you haven't done it before but it's worth it. You will have something to serve at any meal for the next few days and you will be amazed at what you can do and unexpected visitors will be impressed.
ed potatoes & salad greens. Don't underestimate the value of doing a ham for Christmas. It might seem like an effort if you haven't done it before but it's worth it. You will have something to serve at any meal for the next few days and you will be amazed at what you can do and unexpected visitors will be impressed.This year Peter was inspired to bake the ham in an old-fashioned huff paste. This is an inedible pastry case wrapped around the ham. It keeps the ham beautifully moist & helps retain the flavour. I have no idea why it was called a huff paste - can anyone enlighten us?
S
oak your ham in cold water overnight. The next day drain & dry. Heat oven to 180 and make a flour & water paste using about 1.5 kg flour & 750ml water for a 5kg ham. Roll out the paste on a floured board & wrap around the ham. Put it in a large roasting tin and bake roughly 20 mins per 500g. Err on the side of under rather than over because you are still going to glaze it. 
When it is done, break off the pastry case & give the juice-soaked pieces of paste to the servants for their Christmas feast. Remove the skin & any excess fat from the ham and score the remaining fat into diamond shapes with a knife. Insert a clove into each diamond & spread your glaze over the surface of the ham. Then return to the oven & bake at 190 for 20-30 mins until the glaze is golden. This year we glazed ours with marmalade made earlier.
Now we have left overs to look forward to!
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