Life is Great

Aromatic Christmas Ham [Printer Friendly Version]

Ham and chili jam recipes adapted barely from Nigella Lawson's Christmas Kitchen.

Note: The Christmas ham recipe is somehow not included in Nigella's official site. I found the source in Lifestyle Food AU very similar to her video so I referred to that (I don't have her book). Raw gammon is not readily available in all countries and although available in Singapore, I accidentally ordered a fully smoked ham. If you're using raw gammon, do follow the original recipe and boil the meat for at least 3 hours. I doubled the glaze recipe, finding the original portion insufficient to fully cover the ham.
Serves 10.

• 1 (4.5-6.5 kilograms) smoked gammon, with knuckle bone
  
• 250 milliliters red wine
  
• enough water to cover the meat (depending on size of ham and pot)
  
• 1 large onion, halved
  
• 2 cloves garlic (unpeeled)
  
• 1 head fennel, halved
  
• 2 star anise
  
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
  
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
  
• 1 tablespoon mixed peppercorns (I used a mixture of pink and black)

For the glaze:

• 20 whole cloves (depending on size of ham)
  
• 8 heaped tablespoons cranberry or redcurrant jelly
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Put all the ingredients, except those for the glaze, into a large pot, on the stove but off the heat, adding water until the ham is covered. Turn on the heat and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a very slow simmer and partially cover the pan. Cook for about 1 hour. (If using raw gammon, cook for about 3 1/2 hours as per the original recipe.)

Preheat the oven to 200°C (if using convection, turn fan on)/gas mark 6 with a wire rack at the lower third. Lift the ham gently out of the hot liquid, sit it on a board and let it cool slightly but not too much. You should be able to touch it without burning yourself. With a sharp paring knife, strip off the rind and a little of the fat layer if it’s very thick, but make sure to leave a thin layer of fat (you don't want a dry ham). Use the same knife to score a diamond pattern on the remaining fat on the ham, in lines about 2 centimeters apart. Stud the points of each diamond with a clove.

Put the cranberry or redcurrant jelly, cinnamon, paprika and red wine vinegar into a small saucepan and whisk together over a high heat, bringing it to the boil. Let the pan bubble away, for about 5 minutes, so that the glaze reduces to a thick syrupy consistency that will coat the fat on the ham. (Be sure to let the glaze thicken, another it will not stick to the surface of the ham.) Place the ham in a roasting tin lined with foil, as the sugar in the glaze will burn in the oven as it drips off. Pour the glaze over the diamond-studded ham, then put it in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the glazed fat has caught and burnished. Take the ham out of the oven and sit it on a wooden board to cool for about 2–3 hours before carving.


Chili Jam

Note: I couldn't find jam sugar so I used pectin mixed with regular castor sugar. In Singapore, pectin is available from Phoon Huat and I'm sure most other baking supply stores. If using jam sugar, the original recipe calls for 1 kilogram. Be sure to use either that or pectin in this recipe else your jam will not set.
Yield: About 1.5 liters

• 150 grams long fresh red chilies, each deseeded and cut into about 4 pieces
  
• 150g red peppers, cored, deseeded and cut into rough chunks
  
• 1 kilograms castor sugar
  
• 15 grams pectin (this is ideal for me, for a runnier jam use 10 grams and up to 20 grams for a sturdier consistency)
  
• 600 milliliters cider vinegar
  
• sealable canning jars, with vinegar-proof lid, such as Kilner jar or re-usable pickle jar

Sterilize your canning jars and leave to cool. Put the chilies into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the chunks of red pepper and pulse again until you have a vibrantly red-flecked processor bowl.

In a wide medium pot, mix the sugar with the pectin well. Pour over vinegar. Turn on heat to low and dissolve the sugar in the vinegar without stirring. Once the sugar has dissolved, scrape the chili pepper mixture out of the processor bowl and add to the pot. Bring mixture to the boil, then lower heat to leave it at a rollicking boil for 10 minutes or until mixture reaches at least 105°C/220°F on a sugar/candy thermometer. (Be careful not to let the jam boil over.)

Take the pan off the heat and allow it cool. The mixture will become more syrupy, then from syrup to viscous and from viscous to jelly-like as it cools completely. After about 40 minutes, or once the red flecks are more or less have evenly dispersed in the jelly (as the liquid firms up, the hints of chili and pepper start being suspended in it rather than floating on it), ladle the jam into your prepared jars. You can stir it gently at this stage. Seal jars tightly.

Do ahead: Chili jam will keep for up to 1 year at room temperature as long as you have sterilized the jars properly and sealed them firmly.

Fruit Cake [Printer Friendly Version]

Cake recipe from my mother, possibly from the back of a Big Sister's Fruit Mix box. Royal icing recipe adapted from Yossi Arefi-Afshar's Apt. 2B - Baking Co.
Yield: 1 8-inch round cake

Notes: For this cake I didn't use a boxed fruit mix but instead mixed up some dried blueberries, cranberries and sultanas. Though I've chosen to make an alcoholic version of this cake, my mother's recipe is booze free and equally good. You can steep the fruit mix in a warm concoction of orange juice, star anise, vinegar and palm sugar to give it an extra kick. Fruit cakes are best made ahead and allowed to mature in flavor for at least 2 days.

• 375 grams fruit mix
  
• 500 milliliters rum
  
• 9 ounces all-purpose flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1 teaspoon all spice (five spice powder is also good)
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
• 6 ounces light brown sugar
  
• 7 ounces salted butter, at room temperature
  
• 4 large eggs
  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a sterilized canning jar, soak the fruit mix of your combination in the rum, ensuring that the fruits are submerged completely in the liquid. Cover tightly and let it sit anywhere between 2 weeks to a month. When ready to make the cake, strain the fruits the night before and let stand to dry. Preheat oven to 190°C with a rack at the lower third. Grease and line an 8-inch round cake tin, set aside.

Sift flour and baking powder into a medium bowl, fold in the prepared fruit mix, making sure all of them are well coated with flour. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar till smooth and light. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl well. Add in the spices and vanilla extract. Remove bowl from mixer. With a spatula, fold in the flour and fruit mixture gently. Pour batter into prepared tin.

Bake for 45 minutes or until cake is done. Cool on a wire rack completely before storage. Cake keeps up to a year in the freezer and 3 months in the refrigerator, wrapped well.

Royal Icing

• 1 egg white
  
• 1 3/4 cups icing sugar
  
• 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a mixer with a whisk. Beat with hand or stand mixer until stiff peaks form. Use immediately to decorate, covering bowl with a damp dish towel to avoid icing from drying up.

David Leite's Consummate Chocolate Chip Cookie [Printer Friendly Version]

Adapted barely from Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen, original recipe from David Leite via The New York Times.
Yield: 3 1/2 dozen 4-inch cookies.

Notes: If you're wondering about the seemingly huge yield, let me tell assure you my cookie dough did not mutate or multiply in the space of 24 hours. As per the comments of many who tried the recipe, the yield stated in the NYT article was inaccurate - even if you bake 5-inch cookies. Like Deb, I find the size of 4-inch cookies the best - they weigh about 2 ounces each (yes, I weighed each ball, hello OCD baker!). Stand the dough for about 10-15 minutes out of the fridge before rolling. Alternatively you can use Orangette's approach to roll out the balls prior to resting the dough.

There's no need to force coarse salt through a sieve, just mix them in with the rest of the sieved ingredients. I used a mixture of Valrhona's Araguani 72% and Abinao 85% chocolate fèves. If these are not available to you, look for other couverture chocolate discs which melt when baked, not the standard chocolate chips that keep their shape. The results would be different, as the traditional chips will not provide you Torres's 'layers of chocolate and cookie in every bite'.

• 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons/8 1/2 ounces cake flour
  
• 1 2/3 cups/8 1/2 ounces bread flour
  
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
  
• 2 1/2 sticks/1 1/4 cups/10 ounces unsalted butter
  
• 1 1/4 cups/10 ounces light brown sugar
  
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons/8 ounces castor sugar
  
• 2 large eggs
  
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  
• 1 1/4 pounds/20 ounces bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60% cacao content
  
• Sea salt flakes

Sift flours, baking soda and baking powder into a bowl. Add the course salt to the mixture and set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Fold chocolate pieces in and try to incorporate without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. [Dough may be baked in batches and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.]

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F with the wire rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

Scoop 6 2-ounce balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt flakes and bake until golden brown but still soft, about 18 to 20 minutes (mine took exactly 18 minutes). Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack and let stand for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with as much of the remaining dough you wish, refrigerate the rest if not using all. Eat warm, with a paper napkin (as you can see, it will get pleasingly messy).

Blueberry Pecan Oatmeal Cookies [Printer Friendly Version]

Recipe adapted barely from Sneh Roy's Big Fat Pecan And Sultana Cookies at Cook Republic.
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 10 giant 10-cm round cookies or 20 smaller 6-cm round cookies

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
  
• 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
  
• 1 cup dried blueberries
  
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
  
• 140 grams salted butter
  
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  
• 2 tablespoons boiling water
  
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Preheat oven to 160°C/140°C fan with a wire rack placed in the middle. Grease or line two large baking trays with parchment.

In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, coconut, flour, pecans and blueberries. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, sugar and corn syrup, stirring constantly until smooth and combined, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. In a small bowl, whisk boiling water and bicarbonate of soda. Stir this into the butter mixture with a whisk. Pour butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well together with a spatula until combined.

At this point, you may freeze the cookie dough, wrapped in baking/wax paper and layers of cling wrap, should you wish to bake it later, on Christmas Eve perhaps? If you want to bake straight away, roll the dough into 10 to 20 balls depending on the size of cookie you want. Place on prepared trays and flatten each ball slightly with the heel of your palm. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool on trays until firm, about 2-3 minutes, before storing in air tight containers.

Roasted Mushroom Risotto [Printer Friendly Version]

Recipe adapted barely from Jamie Oliver's Grilled Mushroom Risotto, roasted mushroom adapted from Deb Perelman's Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms.
Serves 4-6

Notes: I would say Jamie's recipe serves 6 quite comfortably so do scale down the recipe according to your needs (risotto rice expands quite substantially). The roasted mushrooms would serve 4 so adjust the recipe should you be making the full risotto amount for 6, to keep a good ratio of roasted mushrooms versus rice. I added the zest of a lemon just before stirring in the cheese, it lifted the risotto beautifully. Never waste the zest of a fresh citrus! For a halal version, simply replace the wine with more stock.

I have combined the methods of preparing the rice and roasted mushrooms in the order I've cooked them, so that both are done at the same time to serve fresh and warm. Alternatively you can put the wild mushrooms to roast first. When it's done, turn the oven off but keep the door slightly ajar. When the rice is done, remove the still warm roasted mushrooms, dress them and serve together.

For the risotto:

• 1 1/2 to 2 liters hot chicken stock (in this case, I used mushroom stock for a vegetarian version)
  
• a handful of dried porcini mushrooms
  
• olive oil
  
• 2 small onions, peeled and finely chopped
  
• 3 sticks of celery, trimmed and finely chopped
  
• 400 grams risotto rice
  
• 150 milliliters vermouth/white wine (I used Muscat)
  
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
• 25 grams butter
  
• 2 nice handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
  
• zest of 1 lemon
  
• extra virgin olive oil
  
• salt and pepper to taste

For the roasted mushrooms:

• 4 large handfuls of wild mushrooms (shiitake/girolle/chestnut/oyster works well, I used chanterelles), cleaned and if necessary, sliced
  
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 30 grams butter, cut into small pieces
  
• juice of 1 lemon (from the zested lemon for the risotto)
  
• a few sprigs of fresh chervil, tarragon or parsley, leaves picked and chopped

Preheat oven to 450°F with a wire rack placed in the middle. Bring stock to a boil in a saucepan. Meanwhile, toss the wild mushrooms with garlic, oil, salt and several grinds of pepper in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart shallow baking dish. Top with butter and set aside. Once stock comes to a boil, place the porcini mushrooms in a heatproof bowl and pour in just enough hot stock to cover.
Leave for a couple of minutes until they’ve softened. Remove and set aside, reserving the soaking liquid. (I find it unnecessary to chop the porcini as I like bigger bites of mushrooms to make the rice a party.) Keep the rest of the stock on a very low simmer.

In a large pan, heat a glug of olive oil and add the onion and celery. Slowly fry without browning them, on low heat, for at least 10 minutes. Turn the heat up and add the rice. Give it a stir with a wooden spoon. Add in the vermouth/wine of your choice and keep stirring until the liquid has cooked into the rice. Pour in the porcini soaking liquid into the pan. Add the porcini, a good pinch of salt and the first ladle of hot stock.

Turn the heat down to a simmer and keep adding ladlefuls of hot stock, stirring and gently massaging the starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next.
About 10 minutes into this (after the 2 rounds of stock), put the prepared wild mushrooms into the oven and roast till tender, golden and bubbly garlic sauce forms below, this will take about 15 to 20 minutes. While the mushrooms are roasting, carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with just a slight bite. This will take about another 20 minutes, just about the time the roasted mushrooms are done.

Take the risotto off the heat and check the seasoning carefully. Stir in the butter and a little bit of cheese. The risotto should be creamy and oozy in texture, so add a bit more stock or cheese depending on its consistency at this point. Put a lid over the pan and leave the rice to relax for about 3 minutes. During this time, remove the roasted mushrooms from the oven and stir in lemon juice and mixture of herbs.

Dish out the rested risotto into serving plates. Crack over some black pepper, top each plate with some of the dressed roasted mushrooms, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and if desired, a bit more freshly grated Parmesan. Serve immediately.