Jack is Cooking Christmas Dinner

Well Hello Internet!

So the last 10 posts have all been about Christmas Dinner, and i made so many things, that they’ve been pushed off the main page here.  so i decided to make one conglomerate posting with everything i made!

Heres what Rosie and I made (if you click on the links you will be taken to the individual post):

Gluten Free Croissants
Gluten Free Chipolata Sausages
Gluten Free Pancetta Chestnut Stuffing
Ginger-Garlic Brussel Sprouts with Leeks
Mashed Carrots and Swedes
Roast Potatoes
Roast Turkey
Glazed Ham
Turkey Gravy
Gluten Free Mini Key Lime Meringue Pies
and
the Leftover Sandwich

Enjoy, and Happy Christmas to Everybody!

Jack

Jack is Cooking Christmas Leftovers Sandwiches! (on GF Bread!)

Well Hello internet!

So obviously we made a whole load of food, and so there was many many leftovers!

almost better than the meal, is the sandwiches you can make afterwards!

Heres how i make mine:

first the bread (gluten free here):

then i put some gravy on one side (if you put it in the fridge overnight, it will turn into a kind of gravy jelly!  its perfect for spreading on sandwiches, and if you want it to turn back to gravy just heat it up)

Then some stuffing
Then on the other side i put some of the Carrots, and also some of the Brussel Sprouts
Then some Turkey, and some Ham
And then a little more Gravy!
Then put the two halves together for one hell of a sandwich!
mmm mmm delicious!

Jack is Cooking Gravy

Well Hello Internet!

So GRAVY!  that’s pretty important in the whole meal…

what you’ll need:
turkey stock (you can make this from the giblets of the turkey while the turkey is roasting)
drippings from pan
kuzu root (2 tablespoons)
water (4-5 tablespoons
s+P
a little lemon juice
a little champagne

after you take the Turkey out of the oven, save the drippings and the pan.
in a bowl mix the kuzu root and the water together, until you have a paste.  it will be kind of like when you put corn starch and water together.

then over low heat, put the turkey pan with the drippings, and mix in the kuzu paste to make a kind of roux.  cook for about 4 minutes

then slowly pour in the stock, a cup at a time mixing constantly to prevent any lumping from happening.
season with salt and pepper and cook for a further 10-15 minutes over low heat.

i decided that a little lemon juice was necessary and also a little champagne!

mmmm mmmm delicious.

p.s. somehow no pictures were ever taken of the gravy.  sorry!

Rosie is Baking Mini (Gluten Free) Key Lime Meringue Pies

Hi Internet.
This is Rosie, Jack’s (gluten free) sister. I don’t do a lot of cooking. I prefer to bake. So we can call today’s blog “Rosie is baking”.
When we lived in Bermuda we would always have a lemon meringue pie for dessert on Christmas day. This year we decided to reinstate the tradition but twist it around a little. I’ve always liked key lime pie better than lemon because it is slightly tarter and less sweet. But you can throw meringue on anything. So I started with a graham cracker crust. I managed to find gluten free graham crackers but I have only seen these at one store. (If you can’t find these you can make a delicious tart crust out of brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, butter and a little sugar.)
Here are all the ingredients you’ll need:
1 package gluten free graham crackers
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup key lime juice
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
1/4 cup powdered sugar

For the crust:
Smash all the graham crackers into a fine crumble.
Add three tablespoons of softened butter  and a quarter cup of sugar and mix it all up into a crumbly sticky mixture. It won’t be solid at all, you have to press it into the bottom of the pie pan (or muffin and mini-muffin pans if you’re making minis).
Refrigerate crust for at least an hour. (If you make the crust without graham crackers you will need to bake them off for about 5-7 minutes or until they are slightly golden).

For the delicious key lime filling:
You need half  a cup of key lime juice. I’ve used fresh key limes and juice from a bottle and honestly it doesn’t make that much of a difference. And fresh key limes are tiny and take a long time to squeeze half a cup out of. But, make sure it’s key lime juice and not plain lime, they taste really different.
Mix the key lime juice with the can of sweetened condensed milk and the yolks of the three eggs. Save the whites for the meringue.
Mix it all together until it’s smooth and creamy. I usually taste a tiny bit to make there’s enough lime.
Pour this mixture into the mini crusts.

For the meringues:
Whip the egg whites you have left over until they are starting to get firm, then begin to slowly add in the powdered sugar. Beat until stiff. I didn’t really beat mine long enough and I used granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar so they weren’t really stiff enough. Oh well, next time. They still tasted delicious.

I scooped the meringue into a zip-loc bag and snipped one corner off. Then it sort of acts as a piping bag and you can squeeze little dollops onto the minis and sort of a circular swirl on the bigger ones.

Put them in the oven for about ten minutes until the meringues get golden on the top and the filling is slightly firmer. The meringue is the most important part because the filling does most of it’s hardening in the fridge so take it out as soon as the meringues have the right look.

I also made a few in regular muffin tins with red and green foil muffin cups for a little extra Christmas spirit.

Jack is Cooking Glazed Ham

Well Hello Internet!

Ok so the Other main event of Christmas Dinner is a Ham.  this year i decided to make a Glazed Ham, and of course since we’re on the Farm it came from Herondale Farm.  It is the BEST ham ever, end of story.

So this is almost easier than the Turkey
Heres what you’ll need:
1 Ham (with the Bone in)
a whole bunch of cloves
1/2 cup Maple Flavored Rice Syrup
1 Tablespoon Mustard
1/2 cup orange juice

Take the Ham and with a sharp knife, cut a grid pattern into the fat on top.  the grid should leave a whole bunch of 1 inch squares through the fat.  Then take a whole bunch of cloves, and poke one clove into each of these squares.

Put in an oven at 325° for 18 minutes per pound.

Meanwhile to make the glaze:
put the rice syrup, the mustard, and the orange juice, in a small pot and mix together.  then bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring, and careful not to let it boil over.

when the ham is 30 minutes away from being done, pour half of the glaze over the ham.  at this time you will have noticed that a fair amount of fat has pooled up around the ham.  take this and spoon it all over the ham too.  this will give it some extra deliciousness in the final moments of cooking.
when there is 15 minutes, pour the remaining glaze over the ham and baste again

Remove from the oven and let rest for 30 minutes, under tin foil.

mmmm mmmm delicious (more than delicious)