Roast Ham or Bacon.

Well here it is the Week before Christmas. I am cooking another fruit cake because the first one is all gone. Every year our SIL gets a big ham from his boss and it takes up residence in our refrigerator. Greg then cuts it up and it gets distributed to SIL's family and ours. I was planning to buy a piece of pork for Christmas Day dinner when all the family will be here but I am going to Roast a piece of the ham instead. I often do a whole piece of bacon and I am going to do the ham in a similar way.
1 piece of ham or bacon about two kilos. This is enough for eight generous serves.
Remove the rind but leave the fat you can score the fat into diamonds or squares. The butcher will usually do this for you.
Put it into a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. While it is cooking
For the bacon slice up cabbage, apples, and onions. Put into the bottom of a well buttered baking dish top with whole peeled cloves of garlic and a few more knobs of butter, sprinkle with a little pepper.
For the ham if you want to substitute baby leeks or halved bigger ones for the cabbage and chunks of fresh pineapple for the apple.
Put the ham or bacon on the top.
For the bacon Pour over 1 cup of apple juice.
For the ham mix juice and rind of 1 orange with 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of maple syrup and 1/4 teaspoon of mixed spice and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves and pour over 1/2.
cover with foil and cook for 1 hour. Uncover. Lift out the meat and put a piece of Bake or Silicone paper or a piece of greaseproof and a piece of foil loosley over the vegetables if they are overcooking and then put the meat bake on top.
For the ham pour over the rest of the orange juice mixture.
Cook for about another 45 -60 minutes. Let it rest covered for about 15 minutes.

We have the bacon with mashed potatoes and the ham with roasted vegetables.
Greg is a vegetarian so for him I cook a Nut Loaf

Almond Nut Loaf

1 large onion diced finely
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup finely diced celery
1/2 cup dried apricots chopped small
1 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
1 teaspoon mixed herbs

1/2 cup ground almonds
1 cup almond slivers
4 cups of three or four day old wholegrain breadcrumbs.
3 eggs beaten

Sweat (Fry gently without coloring with a lid on until cooked) the onions, carrot and celery in the butter. Add the herbs and apricots and leave covered to cool for at least 30 minutes or longer.
Beat the eggs and add the rest of the ingredients and the cooked vegetables.
Line a loaf tin with bake paper or grease it well with butter and lay a piece of bake paper along the bottom (Makes it easier to get out of the tin)
Fill the loaf tin with the mixture and press down well. Bake in 180 degree oven for 1 hour and then let it stand for ten minutes.

I also roast a chicken and a small rolled shoulder of lamb.
No Matter how hot it is we always have a real Christmas Dinner even if I have to run the air conditioning all day. so plenty of gravy, lots of roast potatoes, pumpkin, sweet potato and carrots and Peas or beans.
Then we have dessert.