#glazed ham

Ingredients 1 celeriac For the honey glaze: 3 tbsp cranberry sauce 2 tbsp marmalade 1 tbsp maple syrup 1 tbsp smoked paprika 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder

For the celeriac stock: 1 stock cube 1 tsp clove powder 1 tsp cinnamon Salt

Thick bread Vegan cheese Pickle

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Roast beef and juicy ham and candied sweet potatoes and cranberries broiled over triple cream brie all combine to assault me with a sweet, savory barrage of dinners of Christmas past. Like that smell alone could cocoon me and transport me to this exact dinner, when I was a kid, when I hadn't seen beyond the magic yet and could still be consumed by it.

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I don't eat beef, so I skipped cooking it, and also there's only so much one person can eat! But I loved making the rest. For the ham, I used my usual honey mustard glaze, added some walnuts to the sweet potatoes because I was out of pecans, and used both fresh and store bought cranberries to add over the brie.

The next recipe is an adorable one, where the charming Hex decorates a special cookie for Coal:

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"Here," he says. "I made this for you."

He holds out a plate. On it is a gingerbread man or what was until recently a gingerbread man, only his leg has been amputated and he's coated in green frosting, with brown chocolate sprinkles formed into eyes and a gaping mouth. There's a glob of red frosting on the missing leg, and I burst out laughing.

"You made me a gingerbread zombie."

"Christmas and Halloween," he grins.

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I happened to have a lot of green cookie frosting at home (for some reason!) and had to use tweezers to place the chocolate sprinkles for the eyes. Now I can't stop eating the gingerbread zombies! I also wanted to make a hot cocoa post, but considering I've made it three times here for the Sandman fandom, I decided to skip it. But I'm drinking hot chocolate now!!

It's been a while since I've made food from fiction as this blog is primarily a Dreamling blog. But I'm so glad I came across this wonderful story and had SO much fun creating the recipes. Absolutely must-read book this holiday season!