November 12, 2003
More Holiday Feasting IdeasSweets for the sweet! More wine and food matching for Thanksgiving. This is the third installment in my series on what to fix and what to drink this Thanksgiving. I will also suggest wine pairing ideas. Wine, after all, is food to be consumed with food.
As much as I love traditional pumpkin pie or especially mince pie, I wanted to search out something out of the ordinary (or at least, to me, out of the ordinary) for a dessert.
I have gotten two persimmon recipes-old family recipes from James Ontiveros to pass along. James Ontiveros is a ninth generation native. James works for Bien Nacido Vineyards and owns a small vineyard called
Rancho Ontiveros, east of Santa Maria. This is the time of year when persimmons are ripe. James told me to look for a soft or very ripe persimmon rather than one that is hard to the touch.Giving credit where credit's due, the pudding come from James's aunt, Leanore Penny. The cookie recipe comes from James's mother, Louise Ontiveros.
Persimmon Pudding
1 c. sugar
1 c. flour
1 c. persimmon pulp
1 tbsp. butter
½ tsp. salt
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 level tsp. of baking soda into ¼ cup milk
Sauce (below)Mix together the sugar, vanilla and butter. To the mixture, add the egg, milk with baking soda and pulp. Sift into the mixture the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix everything well.
Pour into an 8x8 glass dish and bake for one hour at 350 degrees. (Place this dish in a larger pan containing about one inch of water.) When done, top with hot sauce.
Serves 8
Sauce
¾ c. sugar
½ c. butter
1 egg
½ tsp. nutmeg
juice of a half lemon
½ c. boiling waterIn a saucepan bring water, sugar and butter to a boil. Remove from heat. Add lemon juice, nutmeg and well-beaten egg. Add a dash of sherry or brandy to taste (2 tbsp recommended).
Serve the sauce hot, on top of pudding.
Persimmon Cookies
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. cloves
½ tsp. salt
1 c. raisins
1 c. chopped nuts (Suggestion: Fresh walnuts are in season and they are local.)
½ c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 c. persimmon pulpSift flour, baking soda, spices and salt together. Stir in raisins and nuts. Cream the butter and sugar together until well blended. Add the beaten egg and cream again. Beat in the persimmon pulp, then gradually stir in flour mixture. Drop batter on greased cookie sheet with a teaspoon. Bake 15-20 minutes at 370 degrees.
Makes 4 dozen cookies.
Wine Matches!
I would especially recommend Santa Barbara Winery's 2000 vintage Zinfandel Essence, estate grown from the winery's vineyard in Santa Rita Hills. Harvest sugar was 43 percent by weight. Residual sugar in the wine is 27.2 percent by weight and alcohol is 10 percent. Suggested retail price is $30.
This is consistently one of the greatest dessert wines produced in the United States. A treat by itself, it's also the perfect marriage with chocolate!
If you are a riesling freak like I am, you might want the Lafond 2001 riesling, also from the winery's vineyard in Santa Rita Hills. Less sweet by along-shot, this elegant riesling has a residual sugar of 2.3 percent with a 13.3 alcohol by volume. Suggested retail is $14.
I think Santa Barbara Winery consistently produces some of the best dessert wines in this part of the world. Visit their tasting room at 202 Anacapa Street in Santa Barbara, or have the wines shipped. (805) 963-3633.
Bon appetit!
Wine and food lover and Santa Maria Times Wine columnist, Bob Senn, lives in the Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
