It is the most wonderful time of the year!
And you know what that means – an excuse to make tons of delicious food.
Christmas dinners, snacks, sides, lunches, breakfasts, and more! If you haven’t yet decided on what you will make for the day, a few chefs and barmen in the Radisson Hotel Group have shared below some delicious recipes you should make.
Honey glazed gammon by chef G.
Ingredients
2½ kg boneless unsmoked gammon joint, tied
1 sprig thyme 2 bay leaves and 1 rosemary sprig tied together
1 onion, halved
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 celery stick, roughly chopped
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tsp cloves
For the glaze
1½ tbsp English mustard
70g honey
2 tbsp brown sugar
Method
Put the gammon in a large, deep saucepan.
Add the tied herbs, onion, carrots, celery, peppercorns, and cloves.
Pour over enough cold water to cover the meat, then bring to a boil, cover with a lid, and lower to a gentle simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat and leave the ham to sit in the liquid for 30 minutes.
Remove from the liquid (this makes a delicious soup stock) and leave to cool until cold enough to handle.
Peel off the thick layer of skin on the gammon to reveal a layer of fat.
Discard the skin and score the fat in a criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife.
Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Put the ham in a roasting tray lined with foil.
Mix together the mustard, honey, and sugar in a bowl, then generously brush half over the ham.
Roast for 15 mins, then brush with the remaining glaze.
Return to the oven for a further 20-30 minutes or until sticky and brown.
Leave to cool for 15 minutes before carving into thick slices.
Christmas fruit cake by chef Norman
Ingredients
300g raisins
150g dried apricots, diced
75g mixed citrus peel
150g glazed cherries
180g dates
⅓ cup brandy of your choice
⅔ cup apple juice
115g unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups dark brown sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
3tbsp molasses
½tsp salt
½tsp allspice
½tsp cinnamon
½tsp nutmeg
3 eggs
½tsp baking powder
1 ⅔ cups plain flour
¾ cup walnuts, chopped
Method
Mix raisins, apricots, citrus peels, glazed cherries, and dates in a large bowl.
Add the apple juice and brandy to the fruit mix, heat in the microwave for 1 to 1½ minutes on high.
The mixture should be hot. Stir the mixture to ensure all fruit is covered. Cover and leave to stand for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth.
Add in oil and molasses, and beat until combined.
Fold in salt, spices, and baking powder.
Be careful to not over mix.
Add in the eggs, one at a time beating lightly in between.
Fold in flour, be careful to not over beat.
Stir in fruit mix, including all the liquid left in the bowl.
Pour cake mix into a cake pan, cover with foil and bake for 3 hours and 15 minutes.
Remove the foil cover for the last 45minutes of baking time.
The cake will be ready when the skewer comes out clean from the centre.
Allow the cake to cool out of the oven for 20 minutes before transferring the cake to a cooling rack and removing it from the cake pan.
Once the cake has cooled, serve as is or with pouring custard.
Classic hot buttered rum cocktail by Melrick Harrison
Ingredients
Batter
800ml coconut milk
3 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp ground cloves
3 tsp ground nutmeg
250g room-temperature salted butter
250g treacle sugar
Using an electric mixer or a super-strong arm with a whisk, mix all your batter ingredients in a bowl and freeze.
Peppermint whipped cream
1 part peppermint liqueur or peppermint essence
10 parts whipped cream
Whisk together until the cream is firm
Method
Dissolve 1 to 2 tablespoons of batter in 150ml of hot water until dissolved.
Add 50 ml dark rum or 60ml cream liqueur and stir.
Garnish with the peppermint whipped cream and drizzle 15g grated white chocolate over and serve.
Read the latest IOL Food DigiMag here.