As some of you know, Carrie and I have spent much of this past year learning to become better cooks. It’s been a very fun learning experience and the end result is that we now eat much healthier with much greater enjoyment than ever! Since we got married, we’ve always hosted Christmas Eve dinner for my side of the family, and this year is no different. However, there will be a very significant change to the menu now that we are much more ambitious cooks: no pre-cooked store-bought ham that you just merely heat up like in years past. No way, José – I’m brining my own fresh pork leg and making us a Christmas ham!
I didn’t – and still don’t to some degree – know what to expect as I’ve never done this before. But thanks to this recipe I found in Food & Wine magazine, I think I’m in good hands here. Chili-brined fresh ham, it says. Ok then – I’m going for it!
This will be a multi-part series as we’re still two days before Christmas Eve and making this ham from scratch is a two-day affair. Today’s part was making the brine and putting the giant 22 lb. hunk of pork leg into it! So how did it all go? Well, something like this.
Here are the doings for the brine: water, Kosher salt (for a swine dish, no less), sugar, serrano chilis, cloves, and peppercorns.
Pouring in the salt and sugar…
Chopping up the chilis…
After much boiling of the water/salt/sugar mixture, mixing the chilis, peppercorns, and cloves into the mix! Yes, given the massive size of the pork leg, I had to go out and buy a party drink bucket from Smart&Final to get it all to fit.
Why am I rolling up my sleeves?
So I can deal with this giant pork leg! It’s huge, heavy, and its skin feels really weird… I had to special order this bad boy as it’s not something grocery stores typically have in stock.
And here it is in the brine, where it will remain for the next day and a half!
As you can see, it really is huge – it takes up the entire bottom shelf of the fridge.
Pretty fun stuff! Stay tuned for more – hopefully culminating in a successful Christmas dinner!
This Saturday was a very exciting evening for Ed & I – we ate at 
We did get a nice surprise right off the bat … after getting our drinks, our server came out with an 
We both ended up choosing fish for our main courses. I opted for the Alaskan Halibut & Piquillo Pepper and Ed went for the John Dory (on right). The halibut cannot be explained with words! It was the most tender piece of halibut we’ve ever had, and the roasted red pepper on bottom was sweet and meaty and essential to the brilliance and simplicity of the dish. The John Dory was a nice contrast because the fish was light, flaky and ever so buttery, but it was sprinkled with a few slivers of olive, which gave it an exciting salty kick. The dishes aren’t prissy or fancy at Craft, everything is just so simple and fresh, but that’s truly what makes everything so amazing. Our sides were roasted pee wee fingerling potatoes and brussel sprouts with bacon. Again, the family style service is perfect because it encourages sharing. I have been craving more brussel sprouts ever since!
As if all of the above wasn’t satisfactory enough, we knew we had to order dessert. Come on, how could we not see what they had to offer?!? :) So after checking the menu, we decided on a Hazelnut Waffle with braised apples and cinnamon ice cream. However, we had no idea that there was another treat coming … these tiny panna cotta cups with fresh berries arrived at our table just minutes after we ordered our dessert! Then, even more bite-sized treats appeared at the table! A teeny plate arrived with a tiny fudge brownie, a candied pineapple square and a miniature coconut macaroon. Serious attention to the sweets were being showed, and I have to admit, I wasn’t complaining!
This picture accurately depicts our happiness in discovering that 
