Persimmons: What Autumn Tastes Like

Persimmon pudding has long been a fall staple in my family. When the first of the strange little fruits began hitting the ground, someone—my grandmother, my mother, my father, my uncle, me—picked them up, hoarding them in the refrigerator for a few days until there were enough to squeeze out a good supply of pulp.

And inevitably, that pulp became persimmon pudding.

I’m not sure how old I was when I realized that persimmons could be used for baked goods other than persimmon pudding: cookies, cakes, bars … even jelly. In my world, autumn meant persimmons, and persimmons meant persimmon pudding. (Our State magazine's November 2011 issue features an excellent article on persimmons and the Colfax Persimmon Festival, coming up on November 5.)

Only recently did I try my hand at making persimmon pudding. With my great-aunt Mildred’s recipe and a container of frozen pulp from my mother, I managed to create a pretty tasty pan of pudding.

And you might already know that persimmons hold another hidden ability … predicting the weather.

My grandmother always saved a few persimmon seeds, which she washed and dried, then—very carefully—cut in half lengthwise to see what the winter had in store. If the kernel inside was shaped like a spoon, there would be heavy, wet snows; a fork, a mild winter; and a knife, a “cutting” winter with icy winds.

I haven’t yet cut open a seed to see what the winter of 2011-2012 will bring. But as long as I have more persimmon pulp in the freezer, I’ll spend the season trying out new persimmon recipes. I wonder if anyone has ever made persimmon-filled fried pies … 

Hello, Sweetie Pie!

When I think about pie, I think about home. There's just something about a freshly baked pie that warms my heart and makes me feel better about the world.

So naturally, I immediately warmed up to the pecan pie from WildFlour Pastry on the cover of the October/November issue of Garden & Gun. It's one of the featured desserts in the magazine's list of 50 Best Southern Foods: Sweets. I found myself salivating over the pie line-up in particular.

Garden & Gun gives kudos to key lime pie from Bob Roth's New River Groves in Davie, Fla., chocolate peanut butter pie from Hunka Pie in Little Rock, Ark., and strawberry pie from Jim's Steak & Spaghetti House in my hometown of Huntington, W.Va.

A Healthy Dose of (Cast) Iron

I came across this article last night, about one of my favorite things: cast iron cookware. As I said when I wrote about cast iron earlier this year, it's nice to know something so versatile in the kitchen is also good for you!

Southern Grilling Season

It's starting to get chilly here in Piedmont North Carolina. To me, that means I need to get in as much outdoor cooking as possible before grilling season ends. Of course there's no official grilling season, but to me it corresponds with the yard mowing months ... which, throughout most of the South, is mid-March through mid-October. So, yeah, even though I'm kind of making up this whole grilling season thing, I think most people would instinctively follow the same sort of guidelines.

Granted, you don't have to limit yourself to mild weather if you really want some fire-cooked beef, poultry, veggies or fish. I once interviewed chef Daniel Orr about his cooking philosophies, and he told me he would often bundle up and go light up the grill even though his patio was covered in snow. That's a man who loves grilled food!

While you won't find me cooking outside in a winter wonderland, I do love grilling on cool fall evenings. And my current favorite is cedar plank-grilled salmon.

The cedar really does enhance the flavor of the fish. I definitely recommend it. Just follow the instructions on the plank packaging and soak them before using.  

While the salmon tastes wonderful on its own, my recommendation is to create a salmon-spinach Cobb salad:

Salmon-Spinach Cobb Salad

4 cups fresh spinach greens

1 medium salmon fillet

1 hard-boiled egg

1 Roma tomato

2 slices of low-fat bacon

cracked black pepper, to taste

handful of croutons

2 Tbsp. of Marie's Creamy Italian Garlic dressing

Wash and dry the greens. Flake the salmon in with the greens. Slice the egg and tomato and add to salad.  Crumble the bacon over the salad. Add pepper, if desired, and a handful of croutons. Top off with dressing and toss.

This salad is yum. It's very savory. I love it; I hope you will, too!