Grandma Rosie's Persimmon Pudding with Cinnamon Creme Anglaise

This little persimmon followed us all the way across the country from Oregon. It sat ripening with other fruit for a week and change before finally becoming tender enough to be included in a recipe I've been excited to try ever since I came across it in my mom's collection of recipes. Although my mom's mom - my Grandma Rosie was never much of a cook, my mom had this recipe, written in Grandma Rosie's own hand writing on a faded index card for persimmon pudding. Having not ever tasted persimmons until last November and never having cooked with them myself, I was excited to try working with this strangely overlooked fruit.

The pudding looked simple - the simplest of the other persimmon pudding recipes I had encountered online. But I trusted in the simplicity of the dish - especially cooking with persimmon for the first time. I was not disappointed. Similar texture to a traditional English pudding, slightly crunchy carmelized sweetness on the top with a softer middle with a touch of tartness from the persimmon and the warmth of cinnamon. Positively mouth-watering.

However, that little note in the bottom left hand corner to "serve with sauce" left me a bit stumped. What sauce did you mean, Grandma Rosie? The back of the card provided no insight, so I went back to the Internet for some inspiration and settled on a cinnamon crème anglaise - another treat I had never made before, though I have enjoyed it many times. The simplicity of the recipe seemed a natural pairing with the simplicity of the pudding. The crème also did not disappoint - so much of a non-disappointment that I had no qualms using my fingers to scrape out every last bit of the few remaining dregs of crème from the bowl.

Cinnamon Crème Anglaise

from Bon Appétit

2 cups whole milk
1 3 1/2- to 4-inch-long cinnamon stick, broken in half
6 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of fine sea salt

Combine milk and cinnamon stick halves in medium saucepan. Bring just to simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat; cover and let steep 1 hour. (I confess to shortening this time to about 20 minutes due to time constraints and added ground cinnamon to intensify the cinnamon flavor).

Whisk yolks, sugar, and salt in medium bowl. Return milk mixture to simmer. Gradually whisk milk mixture into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat until sauce thickens and instant-read thermometer inserted into mixture registers 165°F to 170°F, about 3 minutes (do not boil). Remove from heat. Strain through sieve into small bowl; cool. Cover; chill until cold. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead; chill.

Sweet Potato Rolls

Even though I didn't make much in the way of contributions to Thanksgiving dinner this year, I still had a blast playing with some of the recipes I mentioned in my dreaming of thanksgiving post. One of my favorites were these sweet potato rolls from James Beard. As clearly demonstrated in this blog, orange food and I have a very special relationship - and the sweet potato is in the top teir of those treasured autumnal delights. Put together with a delicious parkerhouse-style roll? Heaven. I certainly wouldn't mind making these again...and again...

Sweet Potato Rolls
adapted from Adapted from "Beard on Bread," by James Beard via the washington post

Ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) sweet potato
4 1/2 teaspoons (two 1/4-ounce packets) active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, plus enough to grease the pie plates for baking the rolls
1 teaspoon salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour, plus more for the work surface
Oil, for greasing the proofing bowl

Directions:
Prick the sweet potato all over with a fork, and microwave on HIGH for 5 minutes or until soft. Let cool, then peel and put through a potato ricer or food mill, press through a strainer, or thoroughly mash so it is smooth. You should have 1/2 cup of flesh.

Combine the yeast with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and the warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer; proof for 5 minutes. (If the yeast bubbles and foams, it is active. If it does not, it is dead; buy fresh yeast and start over.) Add 2 eggs and beat on low speed, then add the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, the butter and salt. Beat on low speed for about 2 minutes (no need to scrape down the bowl), then add the sweet potato and beat for about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of the flour at a time, beating to form a slightly stiff dough that has pulled away from the sides of the bowl; add flour as needed.

(Alternatively, mix by hand: Proof the yeast, sugar and water in a small bowl, then whisk 2 of the eggs in a large bowl just to combine, then add the yeast mixture, along with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, the butter and the salt. Stir with a wooden spoon to blend well. Add the sweet potato; stir until thoroughly combined, then stir in 3 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl and is stiff enough to work.)

Lightly flour a work surface.

Transfer the dough to the prepared surface; knead for 2 to 3 minutes, adding flour a tablespoon or so at a time, and adding only enough to prevent the dough from sticking to the countertop. It should still be tacky to the touch but should not stick to your hands. When it is smooth and springy, shape it into a ball.

Use oil to lightly grease the inside of a large bowl, then place the dough in it, turning it to coat evenly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap; let the dough rest for about 1 hour or until it has doubled in size. The dough will be ready when you can push 2 fingers into it and the indentations remain.

Use a little melted butter to lightly grease the inside of 2 glass pie plates or round cake pans (9 or 10 inches).

Punch down the dough and use a bench scraper to divide it into 3 equal pieces. Use the scraper again to divide each piece into 8 golf ball-size pieces (for a total of 24). Roll into balls, then arrange them in the prepared pie plates.

Cover with plastic wrap; let the rolls rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Beat the remaining egg, then brush it on the rolls. Bake them for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are a deep golden brown on the top and bottom. Let cool slightly in the pie plates, then cover loosely with aluminum foil and serve warm, letting diners pull them directly out of the plates; or use a large spatula to transfer them (held together) to a cloth-lined basket or another serving dish.

VARIATION: Instead of the freshly cooked sweet potato, you can use 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin or sweet potato puree. Proceed as directed, but be prepared to add up to 1 cup of extra flour in the initial mixing to account for the extra moisture in the canned puree and to create a stiff enough dough.

Baked Doughnuts

As if taking over a certain Portlander's kitchen to make these once wasn't enough, the Mr. and I repeated the deliciousness.

I dream of Thanksgiving...

My family has a long history of hands-on, potluck/bring it and make it dining events. Whether it was a cornucopia of CSA-fresh goodies on "Farm Night", or the annual neighborhood potluck supper, our kitchen was not only the center of some fabulous cooking but community. Thanksgiving for my family these days is no different with friends from all over bringing their own annual specialties, or exciting new combinations of flavors for traditional ingredients. It's always a blast to get together to share, prep, cook and eat together. Though I may not be cooking for the annual event this year (Mr. Pleasant and I are celebrating with the In-Laws this year) I can't resist pouring through the Thanksgiving-related recipes from cooking magazines, websites and blogs with great relish, mouth-watering as I pick out my favorite-sounding recipes. If I were hosting a Thanksgiving celebration, I dream of whipping up the following:

starters:
fall harvest salad
sweet potato rolls

main event:
cider glazed turkey or Julia and Jacques' deconstructed turkey
Pumpkin stuffed with Vegetable Stew
Beanloaf

stuffing:
chestnut and thyme stuffing or chestnut stuffing or chestnut and apple stuffing
porcini, chestnut and sausage stuffing
sides:
Sweet Potato and Grits spoon bread or sweet potato spoon bread
Brussels sprouts with toasted hazelnut butter
carrot with shallots, sage and thyme
green beans Amandie or green beans with roasted garlic
honey parsnip medley
braised potatoes

sauce:
Red Wine Cranberry Sauce

dessert:
sweet potato tart tartin or sweet potato souffle pie
vegan chocolate cheesecake
pumpkin pecan pudding cake or triple-chocolate pumpkin pie
sweet potato pie or gingered butternut squash pie or acorn squash and honey pies
apple pie
mini cranberry pies

Carrot and Apple Shortbread Cookies

I saw this recipie at 101 Cookbooks and decided that it would be an excellent way to enliven an otherwise hundrum Monday night. Don't let the nutrient-rich ingredients fool you folks, these cookies are little bites of pure, buttery decadence.

1/4 cup / 2 ounces / 50g semolina flour

1 1/2 cups / 6 ounces whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

5 ounces (150g) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup / 3 1/2 ounces (100g) light Muscovado sugar (or brown sugar)

2 ounces (50g) carrot, grated

1 ounce (25g) apple, grated

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees, or 180C. Sift the semolina, flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl, and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir the carrot, apple, and lemon zest into the flour mixture, and mix until well coated and evenly dispersed. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until a dough forms, then knead a couple times to bring everything together. Split the dough in two, flatten each piece into an inch-thick patty, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes.

When you're ready to bake the shortbread, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface 1/2-inch thick/1cm. Or, to reduce mess, keep it in the plastic wrap and roll flat between two layers of plastic. Use a metal cutters to stamp out cookies, then place them on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to brown just a bit.

Butternut Squash Tartlettes

As I have already mentioned once, twice, or perhaps a few hundred times on this blog, I adore autumn. The flavors, colors, coolness, sense of newness and the beginning of all sorts of possibilities. One of my favorites of the season is the butternut squash. I love it in soup, in ravioli, roasted.... we'll you get the idea. I stumbled across a method of preparing this glorious vegetable described in Deborah Madison's vegetarian cooking for everyone - wrapping up a delicious combination of onion, sage, roasted garlic and butternut squash in a rustic olive oils yeast-raised gallete dough wrapper. It sounded absolutely fabulous, and I was not disappointed.

Butternut Squash Tartlettes

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

1 large butternut squash

1 head of garlic cloves separated but not peeled

1 Tbs olive oil and extra for brushing squash

1 onion, diced

1 tsp dried sage

1/2 c freshly grated pecorino or parmesan

salt and pepper

1 egg, beaten

Make dough (instructions listed below). Preheat oven to 375. Cut squash in half, scrape out seeds, brush the surface with oil. Stuff garlic into cavities and place face down on a baking sheet. Bake until flesh is tender- about 40 minutes. When cooled, scroop out squash and squeeze garlic cloves. Mash together until fairly smooth - leaving some texture.

Warm 1 Tbs oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sage and cook until onion is soft and begining to color -about 12 min. Add it to teh squash along with cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Roll out dough into one large tart or 6 small tartlettes ( I did the latter). Spread filling over it, leaving about 2'' around the edges. Pleat dough over filling, brush edges with egg. Bake until crust is golden about 25 min.

Yeasted Olive Oil Tart Dough

2 tsp active dry yeat

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 c warm water

3 Tbs olive oil

1 egg

3/8 tsp salt

1 3/4 c flour, as needed

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water in a meduim bowl and let stand until bubbly or 10 min. Add oil, egg, salt then stir in the flour. Knead with hands when mixture is too thick for a spoon. Knead until smooth and elastic or about 4 min. Place in oiled bowl and allow to rise, covered, until doubled in size - about 45 min. Turn out and roll out if making one large tart, or break into 6 equal pieces and allow to sit for 15 min.

Honey Cake

This was pure pleasure to bake. Sure, it's always a bit of an adventure to coax out the sticky, syrupy honey and molasses 1. out of their containers and 2. into a measuring cup and 3. back out of said measuring cup. That said, after all the mixing was done, the whole house filled with the deliciously aromatic scents of ginger, clove, nutmeg and molasses. And yes, it does taste even better than it smells. And I haven't even let it sit the overnight you are supposed to to get the 'real' flavor of the honey cake. I can't wait till breakfast...

Honey Cake

Chocolate and Zucchini cookbook

2 tsp olive oil for oiling pan

2/3 c good-quality honey

1/3 c mild-tasting dark molasses

1 c all-purpose flour

1 c whole wheat flour

1 1/2 c milk

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp each of: ground clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger ( I used fresh ginger to delicious results)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease loaf pan with olive oil use parchment paper to line bottom if desired.

Heat milk, honey and molasses in saucepan on med-low heat until dissolved. Set aside to cool. Mix together dry ingredients. Form well in dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into well. Slowly whisk in a circular motion staring from the center until all the flour has been incorporated. The batter will be very thin.

Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 40-50 min. until the surface is brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 20 minutes then loosen with a knife around the edges and invert onto plate. Let cool completely, wrap in foil and let rest at room temp. until the next day (or if you are impatient like me, mouth watering from the delicious smell of the bread filling the apt. for the last 40 minutes, slice yourself a delicious warm slice and wrap up the rest of the bread for breakfast;).