A Feast Fit For a King!

On Thursday we had the first big gathering at our humble abode: an early Christmas dinner! Isn't that a glorious spread? We provided the turkey (my husband would like me to draw attention to his expert carving job), gravy, stuffing, and the famous Ross family ginger yams, and our guests came through with the rest! It was truly a magnificent feast, and the very first time we have ever cooked a turkey.

 

Here's the beast beforehand...

...and here's the beautiful bird after!!! I have to say, I think we did a dang good job, even if we both burned ourselves in the process. It was worth it. 

 

Unfortunately I didn't really take pictures of anything other than food, but let me just say that it was a wonderful evening, and I'm so glad everyone was able to come! We had a blast. 

As evidenced here. 

We had this dinner for a few reasons. One is that we simply enjoy good food and good friends and love to take every opportunity to combine them. Another is that the majority of our friends here are students and out-of-towners and we wanted everyone together for one last shebang before we all fly off to the four corners of the earth. And, as many of you know, Shaun and I will be doing our own adventuring this year...we'll be spending Christmas in Africa. 

We'll be gone for a few weeks, and as such, for the past few days I've been trying frantically to use up all of the food in our house. Last night I made a fantastic dessert that I've been wanting to try for awhile, which also allowed me to use up some very, very mushy persimmons that had been sitting in my refrigerator for over a week. Win win!

Bosc Pears in Brandy with Persimmon Ice Cream

Before this ice cream, I had never tasted a persimmon before and had no idea what to do with one. My husband described them to me as something like a cross between a tomato and a peach...which wasn't particularly appetizing to me, not being partial to either of those unfortunate foods. (I know, I'm a weirdo.)

However, they have proven to be neither peachy nor tomato-y enough to repel me, and in fact are sweet and tasty! 

I used Hachiya persimmons in this recipe. They're large and bulbous, as opposed to the squatter, firmer Fuyu persimmons. Because they contain high levels of tannins, Hachiya persimmons are no good to eat until they are very soft. Fight the urge to use them up! Let them get downright mushy! You'll thank me later.

Persimmon Ice Cream:

from Bon Appétit magazine, Oct 2008

1 1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns

1 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 large ripe Hachiya persimmons, halved and seeded*

1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

*You should end up with about 2 cups of pureed persimmon. I only used 5 and that was enough...it will depend how big the persimmons are.

Heat a heavy small skillet over medium heat. Add the peppercorns and toast until fragrant and starting to smoke. (Mine didn't smoke, but they smelled pretty strong, so I took them off anyway.) Remove from heat, put them in a plastic bag, and whack them with a mallet until they're good and crushed. If you have a fancy mortar and pestle, you can use that instead. 

Put your crushed peppercorns in a saucepan with the water, sugar and salt, and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Boil the mix until it's reduced to 1 cup (4 or 5 minutes). Refrigerate until cold.

Meanwhile, scoop the mushy persimmons out of their skins (or cut the peel off with a knife if they're still a bit hard and you don't want to wait anymore) and purée them until smooth. Cover and chill the puree until cold.

Strain the black pepper syrup into a large bowl. Whisk in the cold persimmon purée and cream. If you have an ice cream maker, process according to the manufacturer's instructions. If not, here's a good guide for how to make it without, which is what I did. Super easy. Serve a scoop (or two or three) with these pears --->

Bosc Pears in Brandy :

adapted from Bon Appétit magazine, Oct 2008

The original recipe calls for rosé wine, but neither I nor my husband drink it, and I thought it would be silly to buy a whole bottle for the 1 cup that I needed. I also switched out the wildflower honey of the original recipe for maple syrup because that's what I had, and I think it worked beautifully.

1 tablespoon butter

3 firm but ripe Bosc pears, halved and cored (the original says to peel them, but I didn't)

fresh thyme sprigs

1--1 1/3 cup brandy

1/4 cup maple syrup

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the pears, cut side down, and tuck some thyme sprigs around them.

Cook until brown, 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. 

Add the brandy and syrup to the skillet (scraping up any browned bits on the bottom) and boil until reduced to 1 cup (more or less).

Reduce the heat to medium low and add the pears to the skillet, cut side up. Spoon some of the mouth wateringly delicious syrup into their little pear hollows. Cover them and cook until nice and tender, about 10 minutes.

Serve warm with a scoop of persimmon ice cream. Magnifique!