3 posts tagged “ham”
I keep thinking there's too much space in the fridge, but that's because the ham is in the oven and the goose crown is still in the freezer.
I've got the Ginger / Wasabi salmon on Day 2. The ham is lightly wrapped in foil, on a bed of fresh bay leaves, coriander and mustard seed, and allspice berries, in a Gas Mark 4 oven. It should come out around 7:30, which gives me plenty of time to decide what to glaze / crust it with.
We went to Beanies this morning and bought several sackfuls of veg, also to Fresh Asia in Broomhill to get some interesting things for the Japanese Experiment on Christmas Eve.
My thoughts so far are:
Tonight - venison liver, parsnip rosti, redcurrant jelly, cauliflower
Tuesday - main meal out at lunchtime in town, which could be anything. If we're hungry when we come home, individual baked baby camemberts with crusty ground hazelnut topping and bread and pear wedges to dunk.
Wednesday - last minute supermarket shopping, main meal in the evening of cured salmon, braised belly pork, miso-marinated grilled chicken, fresh pickled vegetables, carrot and sesame salad, cold green tea noodles, possibly some hand-rolled sushi, maybe some steamed aubergine with peanut sauce. There are some Sekrit Treats to go with this, and some bizarre pickled substances I bought this morning.
Thursday - roast goose, roast potatoes, parsnips, baby baby sprouts, braised red cabbage and chestnuts, cornbread sage dressing, gravy, ginger sauce, pickled pears - Christmas pudding
Friday - Ham, pork pie, salad, cheese, fruit, Christmas cake
Saturday - something fresh and spicy, maybe a set of veggie curries
Sunday - I have a joint of spiced cured beef, I may do something with that
After that we're into leftovers.
John came home late and tired the other night, wanting comfort food for supper. There were no tins of baked beans in the house, so I made him this.
Put a bit of oil in a heavy frying pan, cut up a small tin of PEK or Spam (or some fresh bacon if you've got it, or leftover ham), and fry it, along with half an onion, chopped quite small.
When it's hot and starting to crisp, add a drained tin of random beans (haricot this time, but borlotti, cannelini, or kidney would be fine), and a sprinkling of dry seasonings (paprika, black pepper, thyme, mixed spice). Stir it all up, and add the wet things. A tin of tomatoes, a big squeeze of tomato paste, garlic puree, a glug of BBQ sauce, some Henderson's Relish or Worcestershire sauce. A cup of chicken stock or some water and stock concentrate, or salt if necessary. A spoonful of brown sugar.
Stir it all together and cook for a bit, squidging the tomatoes so they break up. You should end up with a hot dish of beans and meat chunks coated thickly in a slightly spicy, sweet, red sauce. Taste it as you go, and add the things you like. Indian chutneys, brown sauce, ketchup, treacle, chilli sauce, fresh herbs, chunks of cheese.
The whole thing took about quarter of an hour and was very well received - he's asked for it again so I'm doing proper beans with pork belly for tea tonight. Even though it is the middle of summer.
Well, I'll try most things once. I wanted a small ham to go with Thanksgiving Dinner, and for lunch later on. I baked a small smoked gammon joint as normal (Gas Mark 4, about an hour a kilo and an extra quarter of an hour). Take it out, skin it, score the fat, top it and put it back for another half hour. For the topping today, I dribbled it all over with Tia Maria, slapped some muscavado sugar onto the fat, and sprinkled that with ground cloves.
It smells great.
