Honey Mustard Glazed Ham

Each year we cater at the most exclusive Christmas Parties so you can rest assured that we knows a thing or two about indulgent winter recipes. Here is one of our most popular recipes, honey mustard glazed ham. It's the perfect dish for your next dinner party.

Give it a go and let us know what you think at @Createfood We'd love to see what you make!

Ingredients

100g honey

100g of wholegrain mustard

20 cloves

2 tbsp of olive oil

6 peppercorns

2 halved onions

2 bay leaves

1 carrot

1 stick of celery

1 bulb of garlic, cut in half

Method

For the honey mustard glazed ham, soak the gammon in a large bucket or pan of cold water overnight, this will help to reduce the salt content. The next day remove the gammon and discard the soaking water

Place the gammon in a large pan and cover with fresh water, then bring to the boil. Once the water is boiling drain and then refill the pan with cold water

Add the peeled and halved onions, whole peeled carrot, celery, halved garlic bulb, peppercorns and the bay leaves to the water. Bring to a slow simmer and leave simmering for 2.5 hours

Top up with boiling water if needed. Skim any scum off the top during the cooking process

Leave to cool for an hour in the liquid

Place the ham in a roasting tray. Remove the skin, ensuring you leave a thin layer of fat, then score in a criss-cross pattern. Stud with cloves in each square. Set the oven to 180ºC

To make the glaze – mix the oil, honey and mustard in a mixing bowl. With a spoon smear some of the glaze over the ham and bake in the oven for 10 minutes

After 10 minutes baste with more of the glaze and juices that have dripped off the ham. Repeat the basting process again every 10 minutes for the next 30 minutes (total cooking time in oven is 40 minutes)

Ensure the ham is golden all over. 

Once golden rest for 10 minutes and then its ready to carve!

Parsley Sauce

425ml milk

20g plain flour

40g butter

4 heaped tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

1 tbsp single cream

1 tsp lemon juice

salt and black pepper

Method

Place the butter into a small pan and melt slowly over a medium heat.

Add the flour and using a wooden spoon stir the two together to form a paste

Turn the heat down and allow the flour to cook out (this is called a ‘Roux’) – the mixture will become lighter in colour

In small measures, add the cold milk to the Roux and using a balloon whisk stir vigorously. Don’t add any further milk until the original amount has been incorporated. Continue to whisk until the mixture is thick and glossy.

Add the chopped parsley and season

Turn the heat down to its lowest setting and let the sauce cook gently for a couple of minutes, stirring from time to time.

Add the cream and lemon juice and serve in a warm jug.

Adam Byatt's Black Fig Tart with Mascarpone

Create's Consultant Chef, Adam Byatt, shares another of his tried and tested dessert recipes with us. This dessert is so delicious and simple to make you may find yourself making it again and again. it Adam has designed a range of seasonal menus for Create, as well as offering his culinary expertise and presence at a selection of tastings and events.

Give it a go and let us know what you think at @createfood. We'd love to see what you make!

Ingredients: Makes 8 

500g puff pastry (preferably made with all butter)
12 slightly firm, black Italian figs
60g butter
30g icing sugar
200g mascarpone, to serve

Preparation: 
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until it is the size of an A4 sheet of paper and about 2mm thick. Place the pastry on a baking sheet and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Slice the figs.
Preheat the oven to 240°C/220°C fan/gas 8.

Method
1 Remove the pastry from the fridge and prick it all over with a fork – the holes should be about 1cm apart (this is called ‘docking’). Now crimp the edges with your thumb and forefinger, and chill the pastry again in the fridge for 20 minutes.

2 Lay the figs over the pastry in lines, overlapping them slightly so that they completely cover the pastry. Leave the tart to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.

3 Melt the butter and brush it generously over the figs, then sift over the icing sugar. Bake the tart for 30 minutes or until the edges are crisp.

4 Remove the tart from the oven and leave to cool for about 10 minutes before cutting into squares and topping each square with a spoonful of mascarpone. Serve warm.

Adam Byatt's cappuccino crème brulee

Create's Consultant Chef, Adam Byatt, shares another of his tried and tested dessert recipes with us. Adam has designed a range of seasonal menus for Create, as well as offering his culinary expertise and presence at a selection of tastings and events. This is one of his favourite autumn recipes, so give it a go and tell us what you think at @createfood.

Ingredients: Makes 6

9 egg yolks

50ml cold espresso coffee

75g caster sugar

450ml double cream

Milk Foam

5g leaf gelatine

200ml milk

20g caster sugar

To Serve

icing sugar, for sprinkling

1 bar dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)

Choc Chip Cookies 

Preparation:

Turn the oven on to 130°C/110°C fan/gas ½. Take a shallow roasting tray that is big enough to hold six 150ml coffee cups. Pour cold water into the tray until half full, then place the tray in the oven for the water to heat up.

Method

1 Put the egg yolks, espresso and sugar into a bowl and mix together well with a wooden spoon.

2 Bring the cream to the boil in a saucepan over a high heat. Pour the cream over the espresso mix and stir well. Pass this mix through a fine sieve and pour into a jug.

3 Pour the mix into the coffee cups, filling them three-quarters full. Place the cups in the tray in the oven and cook for 40 minutes. Test them by shaking the tray gently, the cream should be nearly set with a slight wobble. Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least an hour until firm.

4 Meanwhile, make the milk foam. Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water until they are soft, about 10 minutes. Bring the milk and sugar to the boil in a pan. Lift out and squeeze the leaves, then add them to the milk and stir until dissolved. Pour the milk into a siphon canister (the same contraption used to whip cream in high-street coffee shops), screw the lid on and place the canister in the fridge. Leave for an hour to allow the gelatine to set.

5 When you are ready to serve, remove the chilled creams from the fridge and sprinkle the tops with icing sugar. Using a blow touch or a hot grill, burn the sugar evenly until dark brown. Allow to cool for 2 minutes.

6 Now check that the lid of the siphon canister is screwed on tightly, charge it with 2 gas cartridges and shake well. Gently squeeze the trigger to form a small ball of foam over the brûlées. Grate chocolate over the foam and serve straight away, with cookies.  

The Ultimate Dessert from Adam Byatt

Create's Consultant Chef, Adam Byatt, shares his tried and tested chocolate hot pot recipe with us - it's easy to make and the utlimate crowd pleaser, so give it a go and tell us what you think at @createfood.

Adam says, "Over the years, we've had a number of complex desserts on the menu at Trinity Restaurant - soufflés, parfaits and so on - but these posh desserts were not hitting the spot for me. We worked on this recipe tirelessly, eliminating the flour completely in order to produce a warm, decadent chocolate soup that delivers the ultimate chocolate hit, and it's stayed on the menu ever since!"

Ingredients - Makes: 10 
255g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
255g butter 4 eggs
4 egg yolks
125g caster sugar 

Preparation 
Roughly chop the chocolate and butter and place the pieces in a bowl.

Method 
1 Slowly melt the chocolate and butter in the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure they do not get too hot. Remove the bowl from the pan, and stir the chocolate and butter together well with a spatula. Allow to cool slightly, but keep warm.

2 Put the eggs and egg yolks into a separate bowl and whisk slowly with an electric mixer. Add the sugar gradually, a few spoonfuls at a time (this will help aerate the eggs), and continue whisking until the mixture turns pale yellow and holds a ribbon trail when the mixer is lifted.

3 Using the spatula, gently fold the melted chocolate and butter into the egg mixture (taking care not to collapse the aerated eggs). Transfer to a container, cover and leave to relax in the fridge for an hour (or up to 3 days).

4 When you are ready to bake the hot pots, preheat the oven to 210°C/190°C fan/gas 61/2. 5 Spoon the mixture into 10 small ovenproof pots, coffee cups or medium-sized ramekins placed on a baking tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the centres are warm.

Serve with good quality vanilla ice cream - the combination of hot and cold takes this dessert to another level.

An Easter Themed Menu on The Cutty Sark

create food & party design recently hosted 150 guests on board the Cutty Sark in Greenwich for a four course dinner with a particularly Easter theme.

The menu consisted of a starter of saffron, beetroot and parsley-infused quail's eggs with accompanying dipping sauces, served in an egg box. The dish also included quail served three ways, with a saffron-stuffed quail's leg, quail ballotine and a quail and parsley kiev, served alongside soft boiled scotch quail's egg.

 

The main course featured milk-fed leg of lamb followed with wild garlic gnocchi, broad beans and beetroot purée. Dessert was inspired by the Cutty Sark's tea clipper history, and consisted of a vanilla custard and rhubarb panna cotta, as well as hibiscus tea served in glass teapots.

 

For further photos of the event please click here.

The Create Venue Dinner 2014

Tonight is one of our favourite nights of the year where we welcome over 140 of our venue clients to an exclusive dinner at a London venue. This year, the dinner is being held in none other than Cutty Sark, the beautiful Clipper ship on the Greenwich shore line.

Guests have arrived, and below the bronze hull of the ship are being served a selection of our Spring Summer 2014 canapés...

WARM 

 warm oxford blue doughnuts (v) 

topped with cherry curd and baby watercress 

COLD

 “cheese and pineapple” (v) 

Golden Cross goats cheese panacotta topped with pineapple jelly, pineapple crisp and honey cress.

 cucumber pickle cured scallop 

with dill cream, dill oil and cucumber caviar 

charred sirloin of british beef on anya potato fondant 

topped with samphire pesto, sour cream and baby rocket

Eat the Seasons

Create's delicious homemade marmalade recipe

January and February is the season for the fabulous bitter Seville orange, the finest marmalade fruit of all - so we thought we would share with you our secrets to make your own batch of the delicious stuff.

What you need

1kg Seville oranges

1 lemon

2kg granulated sugar

1 piece of large muslin

2 litres of water
 Makes 3 x 700g Jars

Method

STEP 1.

 Using a potato peeler, thinly peel oranges and remove as much white pith fromt the peel as possible.

Cut peel to desired thickness.

 

STEP 2.

 Line a sieve with a large piece of muslin and place over a 3 litre pan.

STEP 3.

Cut your peeled oranges and the lemon in half and squeeze their juice into the muslin.
 

STEP 4.  

Add the remainder of the orange flesh, including pith and pips into the muslin and tie with string. Place in pan with juice.

TIP 1. 

We only use half the pith as it tends to make the marmalade very bitter, but do use all the pips as this will help the marmalade to set!

STEP 5.

Add the peel and water to the pan and bring to a soft rolling boil for 1.5 hours until the peel is soft.

TIP 2. 

At this stage you can add some star anise and cinnamon in a small muslin bag (to save them from breaking up in your marmalade) - this will add a spicy depth to your preserve.

STEP 6. 

Remove the muslin bag with your oranges, pith and pips in from the pan and squeeze off any excess liquid using tongs. Reduce heat and ad the sugar. Stir gently until dissolved.

STEP 7.

Bring to the boil for 20 minutes and do a setting test.

SETTING TEST:

If you have a sugar thermometer your marmalade should have reached 116 degrees centigrade. If not, pre-place a saucer in the freezer for 15 minutes and drop a small spoonful of the marmalade on the cold saucer. If it wrinkles (when you run your finger through it) then the marmalade is ready and will set, if not, continue to boil and keep trying the setting test.

TIP 3.

You can buy preserve sugar which is a fail-safe to ensure it sets! Make sure to follow the specific jam sugar timings.

STEP 8.

Sterilise jars by washing thoroughly and placing in a low heat oven dry.

STEP 9.

Using your funnel, decant the marmalade while hot into jars, top with parchement paper and seal.