HAM AND PUDDING

 

Christmas Greetings!

Yesterday I baked my glazed ham.  See it fresh from the oven in its mouth-watering deliciousness!

I have tried various recipes over the years,

but the family favourite these days is Faux Fuchsia's fantastic glaze:

 

1 cup marmalade - lime and ginger is our fave

1/2 cup mustard

5 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup ginger ale

cloves.

 

You know what to do next!

 

 

 

Chocolate chip and cherry cookies - Coles Christmas recipes, free at the checkout...

 

 

 

And here is the recipe known in our family as Meca's Plum Pudding,

passed down from Mr Cardinal's grandmother, and as recorded by our dear daughter who interviewed her Grandma:

 

Ingredients:

375g mixed dried fruit

2 tablespoons Bundaberg Rum (a Qld. specialty)

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

3 eggs

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1 cup self-raising flour

1 teaspoon bi-carbonate soda

1 green cooking apple, peeled, cored and grated

1 teaspoon lemon essence

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

plain flour for flouring the cloth.

 

Equipment:

60cm square of unbleached calico

Large cooking pot with handles on either side

Stand to place inside the pot, eg wire cake rack

String

Rubber gloves

 

Put the mixed dried fruit in a bowl and pour the rum over it.  Soak overnight.

Boil water in cooking pot, then boil the cloth in the pot for an hour.  Put on rubber gloves, remove the cloth and wring out excess water.  Set the wet cloth aside while making pudding, but don't let it dry out.  Retain water in pot.

 

In medium saucepan, combine soaked dried fruit, brown sugar and butter.  Stir over medium heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves and it begins to boil.  Transfer mixture to a large bowl, cool to room temperature.

Whisk the 3 eggs with a fork and stir into fruit mixture.  Add breadcrumbs, SR flour, bi-carb soda, grated apple, lemon essence and spices and mix well.

 

Top up water in pot, and bring to the boil.  Meanwhile, spread the pudding cloth on the bench, sprinkle enough plain flour on the cloth to cover an area 40cm in diameter, leaving flour a little thicker in the centre.  The flour will form the skin on the pudding.

 

Place pudding mixture in centre of cloth.  Gather cloth evenly around the mixture, avoiding any deep pleats, then pat into a round shape.  Tie cloth tightly with string, as close to mixture as possible.   Pull ends of cloth tightly to ensure pudding is as round and firm as possible.  Do not despair if pudding looks a little small, as it will get bigger.  Knot two pairs of corners together to make the pudding easier to remove.

 

Place the stand on bottom of pot so pudding does not stick and burn.  Lower pudding into boiling water, typing the free ends of the string to the pot handles to suspend the pudding.  Cover the boiler with a lid a boil for 3 hours, replenishing water as necessary to maintain water level.

 

To remove, untie pudding from the handles, and place a wooden spoon through the knotted calico loops to lift pudding from water.  Place pudding in a large colander, cut the string and carefully peel back the cloth.  Turn pudding onto a plate and carefully peel cloth completely.  Allow to cool.  It is important to remove the cloth while hot, to prevent the skin sticking to the cloth.  It should also be removed before storage, as mould can form.

 

When cool, wrap in plastic wrap and store in fridge.

 

On Christmas day, boil the calico cloth again, tie the pudding in as before and boil for 1 hour.

 

Or do what we do, and reheat in the microwave.

 

Serve hot with brandy sauce, cream, custard, ice-cream, egg nog ......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My daughter tells me there has been 12 inches of snow in Ottawa, with giant snowflakes like feathers falling all day.

What a wonderful White Christmas they will have, with the Petit Garcon and the Little Bebe.

 

Hurrah for Skype!!

 

Happy cooking ..

 

xx