Forward Motion

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are ready to hop right into Christmas!  I know I am.  As soon as midnight strikes on the day after T-day, now known as the evil Black Friday, I’m ready to smell evergreen and gaze at twinkling lights (not in a mid 90’s acid-y sort of way).  It’s my favorite holiday of the year and it makes me feel like an excited little kid again.  

Though my enjoyment level revolving around Christmas is high, I do have a few rules pertaining to this sacred holiday.  Mainly, I don’t want to hear Christmas music or see any decorations before Thanksgiving, or Halloween for that matter…yes Home Depot I am talking to you.  I like the focused, concentrated, joyful Christmas feeling that begins as soon as the pumpkin or pecan pie is finished and stops with the Champaign hangover from New Years.

Now that that’s off my chest and I can move forward, we come to the task at hand.  This week, my challenge (among many) was to make a steamed pudding.  I had never attempted this, and had been intrigued/nervous about it for some time.  Last year, around the holidays, I discovered a recipe in our family archives for a Steamed Christmas Pudding.  When I hear the name “steamed pudding” I automatically think of A Christmas Carol or any number of holiday songs that sing it’s praises, but I never had tasted or been in the same room with one before.

As I read through the recipe, my jaw sort of fell to the floor because it says “place (pudding) mold on a rock in a covered kettle”.  Having never seen a recipe requiring rocks or kettles, I immediately called my mother to investigate. The recipe comes from one of my uncle’s mother, Mrs. Henson.  Now, with that being said, I’m not really sure how far back this recipe goes.  It could be hers, or possibly her mothers…I would need to ask my Aunt Helen for clarification, but regardless, I’m guessing this recipe is fairly old.  I imagined only being able to achieve such a baking feat if I had a large hearth in my home to create a fire worthy of a kettle, or maybe trying it out back in the fire pit.  You may laugh, but I do have a wild imagination.  Here is a copy of the recipe should you be interested in trying it out for yourself:

Steamed Christmas Pudding (Mrs. Henson)

1/2 C. soft butter

1 1/2 C. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 C. peeled, grated carrots

1 C. peeled, grated apples

1/2 C. raisins

1 C. coarsely chopped pecans

1 C. sifted flour

1 tsp. Baking soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 C. fine dry white bread crumbs

“Combine butter and sugar; beat in eggs and vanilla.

Stir in carrots, fruits and nuts.

Sift flour, baking soda and salt.  Stir this into creamed mixture.

Add breadcrumbs and mix well. 

Spoon into well oiled 1 1/2 qts. mold.

Cover mold securely with foil or wax paper tied with a string.  Place mold on a rock in covered kettle of boiling water, with water half way up on the mold.  Steam for 3 hours.  Unmold on serving plate.”

Being someone so happily smothered in ideas of tradition, I became excited to try (with a modern approach) the recipe…but I won’t make it until closer to Christmas day.  In A Christmas Carol the kids are always so excited about Mrs. Cratchit’s steamed pudding on Christmas morning, and I think I would like to have a similar experience provided I can get my cats to dress in Victorian, tattered clothing and make exclamations other than “meow”.  Instead, I found a recipe in the November Bon Appetit for a Steamed Persimmon Pudding to use as a “trial run” recipe.  I figured if I could make this recipe, calling for somewhat more modern techniques, then I could eventually adapt the process to the Christmas pudding.  http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2009/11/steamed_persimmon_pudding_with_cinnamon_creme_anglaise

What intrigues me so much about this is the fact that it’s steamed in a giant pot of boiling water on the stovetop as opposed to baking it in the oven.  Also, I had never used a persimmon in any dish in my life.  I wasn’t sure what they tasted like, or sure what people usually do with them, so again I called my mother to quiz her.  She said as a kid she remembered having a persimmon tree in their field, and that people sliced them open and looked at the shape of the seed to predict the severity of the upcoming winter.  Of course I had to look into this seemingly Ozarkian bit of history and found many references to it online.  Apparently the seed is supposed to look like a fork, knife, or spoon…the spoon denoting the need for a shovel because of the intense winter coming.  I didn’t find any particular utensil inside of my persimmons, but maybe you need to let them dry a bit or something.  All the pictures I saw with clearly defined silverware seeds were on brown looking persimmons and mine were still a ripe and luscious orange.  http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather/a/persimmon-seeds-widen-the-lead-cold-winter-predicted-to-win

They are a funny fruit, and have a bit of a gummy, chalky taste if eaten raw.  It sort of reminded me of a papaya I suppose, but with a bit more grain.  Mom thought you could switch out persimmons with apricots or plums if you can’t find any at your local store, but they are in season right now and I found them at my regular old Stop and Shop. 

Making the batter was as easy as mixing up any other sort of cake-like recipe, but the trick to this is buttering your mold.  You really need to coat it heavily with butter, then flour, and then add a good amount of vegetable spray just to be safe.  The mold has lots of detail, and the pudding doesn’t like to come out easily.  My attempt was pretty successful, but still stuck a bit even after all of that.  I also think I could have cooked it a bit longer.  This recipe says 2 hours, but my aunt’s recipe said 3. 

I left the pudding in the pot of water for just over 2 hours, steaming away happily, and I did have to add some additional boiling water at one point to keep the level high enough.  The water should remain about halfway up the side of the mold (inside the pot) for best results.  If you get much more than that, the mold begins to float and tips over a bit, which is a nuisance…yes, I did that.  You can also use a regular old vegetable steamer in the bottom of your pot if you don’t have the round rack the recipe calls for (or a rock I suppose).  The pot I used was an 8-quart stockpot with a tight fitting lid.

I really recommend trying this.  It’s a bit intimidating, but really is pretty straight forward.  The taste was spicy (ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon), with a bit of brightness coming from the cooked persimmon.  It cuts like a cake, but is very, very moist…this must be why it’s technically a pudding, and maybe also because it’s steamed.  The cinnamon cream sauce that accompanies it is also quite tasty.

Now that I’m getting geared up for the holiday bake-a-thon, I thought it best to get the house ready too.  The neighbors were all out putting lights and greenery on their homes today.  It was a beautiful, sunny day in the upper 50’s, and it seemed like the right thing to do.  We all decided we should have baked cookies and made eggnog if we knew everyone was going to be out.  I like living on a street like this.  It’s a place where everyone gets into the holiday spirit and enjoys making a magical place for people to come home to during the month of December.  It has the throwback air of an earlier time without as many worries and cares, a time when Ralphie Parker might still get his BB gun for Christmas. 

This evening I will happily eat my persimmon pudding and think of holly and cookie laced days to come.  I will not be afraid of the Christmas pudding recipe any longer, and maybe it’s a tradition I’ll want to add into my ever-evolving catalogue.  It’s just who I am.