Glazed Christmas ham

 My kids, who are 16 and 10, really love this. In the morning we wake up and put the glazed ham in the oven so it's ready to go and ready to eat in time for brunch. The goal for Christmas Day is not to be slaving over a hot oven. So the glazed ham is a great option. I like to use saddleback pigs from Tasmania. Then the bread goes in the oven and we make a big french-press coffee (very important). I have had my own sourdough starter now for 15 years, which I keep in the fridge, so I make sure the starter - also known as a mother or a chef - gets fed in the lead-up to Christmas. It's almost like a beast that must be fed seven days a week. But from about December 21 I start to seriously make the bread and feed the starter for Christmas. The rule is usually if I feed the starter yeast that day I will make bread. Over the Christmas period we eat a lot of it - my children call it "mummy's bread". I like to serve it with champagne for the grown-ups; something dry like a Croser works best.

Dry-roast the mustard seeds and then add all the remaining glazing ingredients. Bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes. Meanwhile, remove the skin from the ham, leaving as much of the fat as possible and crimp the end near the bone in a jagged pattern for presentation. Score the fat into a diamond pattern and centre a clove in each diamond. If glazing a half ham, cover it with alfoil to prevent it from drying out. Place the ham on baking paper, then place this on aluminium foil, shaping the foil to form a catchment for the excess glaze, and then place on a baking tray. Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the ham in the oven for five minutes and then spoon the glaze over the ham at 10-minute intervals for about one hour until it is golden and luscious. Serve with hot sourdough bread and champagne.