An organic Thanksgiving with South African flavor (recipes)

Suellen in the kitchen.

I know Thanksgiving is not politically correct in everyone’s view.

But in the view of the only non-American-born woman I know whose mind I can read, it gets a vote for top U.S. holiday. Probably it’s not so good for turkeys that do not have a death wish. (I wonder, though, if the 45-pounder called Courage, whose life was spared by President Obama, wouldn’t have been better off, at that weight, put out of his misery …)

Given that I’m no turkey (some might argue this point), Thanksgiving has a lot going for it.

Organic, Jenn, not orgasmic: the persimmon salad

Getting people into the kitchen and cooking, for example; getting friends around tables; getting conversation and wine flowing; and the old gratitude tonic of thinking of things to give thanks for. If you do it, you’ll know what I mean. If you don’t know what I mean, ask me and I’ll send you a belated Thanksgiving dessert of coaching notes. (I promise you won’t get indigestion.)

Another thing I think Thanksgiving has going for it is persimmons.

I like persimmons. The firm ones that can range in color from yellow-orange to deep cherry orange and still be sweet. Not so much the squishy ones.

I never had a persimmon before I came to the United States. I was introduced to them by my Japanese-American friend, Meg. She gets them by the bushel at this time of year from a cousin who must have an orchard of persimmon trees.

My friend, Jenn, who I sometimes hike with, winced excruciatingly when I told her I would make a persimmon salad as my contribution to Thanksgiving lunch. “They smell like spunk,” she said, at least three times, at which point I suggested she stop putting her nose wherever it was she was putting it.

Note: Some easy persimmon salad recipes will come in future post.

Cornel's organic turkey ready to eat.

My Thanksgiving invite was for dinner with Cornel and Suellen in their apartment with sweeping views of San Francisco Bay. He’s South African. She’s American. He’s a minister. She’s a therapist. They met in Durban, my home town, where he surfed and worked on newspapers, and she came a’traveling, and worked, and ran a T-group (among other things) in the education department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. I was in that T-group.

With us for Thanksgiving we’d have Mr. D from Oakland (origins Kansas) and his sister, Debi, from Concord (origins Kansas). And my Zen friend Mark, just back from an eating binge in Paris, Rome, Frankfurt and Madrid. And David, Cornel and Suellen’s son, who gave me a T-shirt with a slug on it from UC Santa Cruz when he was a student there. And Tony, who is from South Africa, and a minister, like Cornel.

To quote Cornel, the day after the big Thanksgiving cook-out and eat-out, on his turkey and its preparation:

Debi, Cornel and Mr. D carve.

“The delicious bird was a ‘Heidi’s Hens: Certified Organic, Range Grown Turkey. Go to the Diestel site for the family story of the farm and their philosophy. Our turkey was 12 lbs. It cooked for three hours. I basted it every half hour or so from the juice at the base of the turkey. The recipe was on the wrapper along with other useful and healthful information.”

To quote Cornel quoting Suellen on her stuffing: “… it was made from a recipe in Irma Rombauer’s latest edition of The Joy of Cooking, p. 482 ‘Basic Bread Stuffing.’ Irma’s first edition came out in 1931. The latest (was compiled) with the help of her daughter Marion and grandson Ethan Becker … who is an enthusiastic organic gardener. We purchased the cookbook at Rombauer Winery in the Napa Valley. I omitted the 1 or 2 well-beaten eggs and added a cup of chopped walnuts.”

And: “At the front of The Joy of Cooking is a line from Shakespeare:

‘Joy’s soul lies in the doing.’”

Cornel, Suellen and David in the kitchen.

Cornel made the pecan pie: “… with an ‘organic traditional 9″ pie shell’ from Whole Foods. The organic pecans were scooped from one of their bulk bins. The remaining ingredients for my pie were 3 slightly beaten organic eggs; 1 cup dark corn syrup; combination of white sugar, brown sugar and honey (the recipe calls for ¾ cup sugar); ⅓ cup melted butter; 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1¼ cup pecan halves (I added a touch more).

“Mix the ingredients then add the pecans. Pour the mix in the pie shell and place in a preheated oven at 350º. Bake for 25 minutes (cover the edges with foil). After 25 minutes remove the foil and bake for another 25 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack. The baking releases an unbelievable roasty, toasty taste to the pecans. Serve with organic cream and vanilla ice cream. The recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.”

Cornel's pecan and pumpkin pies.

And Cornel made the pumpkin pie: “Start with a can of ‘Organic Pumpkin Pie Mix’ made by Farmer’s Market. I follow their recipe: to the pumpkin mix add ¾ cup evaporated milk and 2 organic eggs, slightly beaten. The company includes evaporated cane juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and all-spice in their mix. I add extra. Place ingredients into a 9″ deep-dish organic pie shell. Bake at 425º for 15 minutes and then reduce temperature to 350º for an additional 35-40 minutes. Cover edges with foil about ¾ of the way through the baking. Remove when baked and cool on a wire rack. Serve with organic cream and ice cream.”

We also had a ham, cooked by Suellen. And her delicious buttery mashed potato. And a chili mashed potato that David made and we tried to dispose of politely. And we drank well.

But a South African Sauvignon Blanc with the name Sauvignon Republic that I bought at Trader Joe’s, in no small part because of the strutting bird on the label and the fact I’d never seen it there before and add to the South African flavor of the day, was embarrassingly awful.

But then so was a certain bottle of California Chardonnay. So in the spirit of abundance and giving thanks, we let one flavor mishap cancel the other one out. A happy Thanksgiving.

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Tagged as: food and wine, Thanksgiving 2009