Hello, CS followers! It's been a long time! December will be a great month... we have last night's post and then my birthday dinner on the 20th! (The ingredients are EPIC!) So we chose the mystery ingredient of persimmon for tonight's blog. Why persimmon? Why not? None of us have ever tasted one, and they are only in season for a few months in the winter, so it begged to be used.
What is a persimmon? Well... it's a fruit that looks exactly like a tomato. It also has a very light flavor - like a pear - but an extremely chalky aftertaste. Extremely chalky! Unbearably chalky! (In our opinion... and I'm sure there is someone out there who is yelling at their computer right now because obviously, we must have picked out the wrong persimmons.) But let's get started...
Cocktail - Maple Syrup Persimmon Old Fashioned
Okay, so this is how it works. Muddle some chopped persimmon and orange slices. Add bourbon, orange juice, a splash of maple syrup, and bitters. Mix it up and garnish with a cinnamon stick. Surprisingly, it was delicious! A sweeter version of an old fashioned for those that may not be the biggest bourbon fans.
Appetizer - Prosciutto with Persimmon, Pomegranate, and Arugula
Delicious! The mixture of the crunchy pomegranate seeds, the hint of pepper, the mild persimmon, the spicy arugula, and the smooth prosciutto was perfection! A delicious and beautiful salad!
Entree - Chimichurri Marinated Skirt Steak over Persimmon Risotto
Let's break it down. The skirt steak is fantastic! Why haven't we tried chimichurri before??? We marinated the steak from the morning, simply grilled it 2 minutes per side, and it was delicious! The acidity of the chimichurri perfectly matched the sweetness of the risotto. And the risotto - it was good! But can you really mess up risotto? It was a basic risotto recipe, with the addition of pomegranate seeds and diced persimmon. While not our favorite meal ever, it was still very good.
Entree Wine - 2012 Bedell First Crush Red
This is a merlot/cabernet franc mix that is delicious! It is light and has minimal smooth tannins, with a bright berry finish. A perfect combination!
Dessert - Persimmon Cardamom Sorbet
Ummm... yeah... ok... remember how we said that persimmon is chalky? Well... it doesn't get any less chalky when made into ice cream. The saving grace was a quick pomegranate seed caramel sauce we doctored up.
So yeah... there you go... a rather odd meal dedicated to the lowly fruit that most people have probably never eaten. (And let's be honest... we'll probably never eat it again.) But that's what we are here for! To experiment and explore!
Coming Up - Christie's Birthday Dinner
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