Holiday Table at Domaine de Manion
Thinking of all of you, thankful and grateful for the journey we have had together this year through the musings, recipes, places to know, garden, kitchen, workshops, culinary experiences, events, lifestyle tips, and above it all—the sharing.
Wishing you a joyful holiday season….Bonnie
After a break for the holidays, I will return in January 2024. Merci mille fois!
Side by Side, Bibb Lettuce Salads with Persimmons and Candied Pecans
I wrote about this delicious perfect holiday salad recipe, Bibb Lettuce Salad with Persimmons and Candied Pecans, two years ago. It is such an easy divine salad, so perfect for the holidays, I wanted to mention and highlight it with you all once again.
The cranberry-based dressing is just a natural to complement holiday pork, turkey, and even beef recipes. If you can’t by chance find Fuyu persimmons, substitute pears in this recipe. Yum!
Would you like to know a perfect holiday salad, easy, and elegant for your holiday gatherings? It is “Bibb Lettuce Salad with Persimmons and Candied Pecans.” It is chock full of fresh seasonal ingredients like cranberries, Fuyu persimmons, and pecans.
Visually, a treat for your table. Healthy and good for you. It is what I call a composed salad, which is layered with a drizzled dressing on top, rather than tossed all together. You can make this salad ahead of time on individual salad plates or on large serving platters. It has different textures of crunch and softness, and sweetness from the cranberry dressing and candied pecans that stand up well to the tang of bold crumbled blue cheese. Your family and guests will love this salad!
Bibb Lettuce Salad with Persimmons and Candied Pecans
Lovingly Adapted from Bon Appétit Magazine, December 2005
Ingredients:
3/4 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce (purchased or homemade)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 heads of Bibb lettuce, coarsely torn
4 Fuyu persimmons, peeled, sliced
1 cup (generous) crumbled blue cheese
Candied Pecans
Directions:
-Whisk first 4 ingredients in medium bowl; whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper.
-Mound lettuce in center of 8 plates. Top each with persimmon slices, then drizzle with dressing. Sprinkle with cheese and Candied Pecans.
Recipe Note: I often substitute Bibb Lettuce with a Baby Spinach & Green Lettuce Mix, or when I can find it, a Baby Red Butter Lettuce. Trader Joe’s carries a ready-made Candied Pecans 5 oz. bag, perfect for salads or snacking.
If you make this salad, please share with me your comments. I would love to hear from you!
Another Related Post:
Beet & Goat Cheese Arugula Salad
Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie
Every year I bring out this vintage sleigh to decorate and place by my front door. Year to year the vignette and decorations vary. My holiday decorations and style are generally simple and rustic, and often using greens from my garden.
Making This Vignette:
Find an interesting piece for a base, such as this weather-worn sleigh. Choose a piece that is novel, whimsical, and might bring on a smile.
Use a focal piece or showstopper. I chose a 10” beautiful red poinsettia plant inspired from a recent tour at Weidner’s Gardens, organized by one of my garden clubs, The Village Garden Club of La Jolla.
Wrap the plant in simple burlap.
Cut Blue Juniper greens and Little Gem Magnolia pieces from my garden, arranging them on the sleigh. Look for greens, foliage, berries, pine cones in your garden, or possibly from a neighbor or friend.
Add another smaller interesting piece. In this vignette, an interesting pine cone from another part of California.
Add a colorful bow, if your vignette needs a pop. I didn’t want to take away from the color and beauty of the poinsettia, so I didn’t add a bow.
Make sure everything in your vignette can tolerate being outdoor for a period of time.
Enjoy what you have created. If you make a vignette, I would love to hear about it!
Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie
Bottling And Labeling Our Syrah 2022 Vintage
The good news is, our Syrah 2022 harvest was a record yield for us—over 1,400 pounds. Aged in oak barrels for over a year, it was a perfect sunny autumn morning to bottle 30 cases of our wine, with the help of our enthusiastic friends.
The bad news is, we lost our entire grape crop for 2023. We had a cool spring, a tropical mid-summer rain, more summer rain, and not a terribly hot end of summer. The grapes simply didn’t ripen and the powder mildew pressure persisted. Grapes split, bees came, and even coyotes for a nightly nibble. At first, we tried to cull grape clusters amongst the good, but it in the end we let the harvest go. You can’t make good or great wine from poor grapes.
This was an exceptionally trying weather year, but we have had a few here and there. We were not the only ones, many local vintners were also affected. It is humbling, and it is farming. There is always next year, and a fresh start once again.
Full Boxes Finished And Stacked For Storage & Further Aging
More good news. John and I are pouring our Domaine de Manion wines at the upcoming Olivenhain Wine Tasting Event on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, from 6pm to 9pm, along with six other local vintners. Cost is $35.00 per person, and includes hand-crafted appetizers and a complimentary etched wine glass. It is an annual fundraiser to support the maintenance of the historic Olivenhain Town Hall and the surrounding grounds.
For this event, you don’t have to be an Olivenhain member, but what they call a Supporter. So come on out and support this fun and great event. Tickets are now available online along with more details. There is a limited amount of tickets sold, so if you are interested in going, be sure and book your ticket(s) in advance.
I hope to see you at the Olivenhain Wine Tasting. A big thanks to all of you for your continued interest and support!
Santé
Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie
Autumn Tablescape
Thinking of you all, and wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving full of love, blessings, and deliciousness.
Gather your loved ones close. Gather the abundance of the harvest and its many comfort flavors. Gather your gratitude. Gather your thoughts, and take time to reflect on the year that has unfolded.
Be in the moment, but honor the past, and carry forward creative positive thoughts that will manifest how you want your next year and life ahead to unfold.
Bon Appétit et Happy Thanksgiving….Bonnie
Last Days of August at Domaine de Manion
“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy. They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” —Marcel Proust*
That is the way I feel about all of you! I love sharing ideas, recipes, philosophy, tips, travel, styling, in other words, a “Taste of French Country Living” to live by, no matter where you are. A few pillars of this life is simplicity, awareness of living in the present, and embracing everyday simple richness.
I hope you all had a marvelous summer, full of excitement and everything you like to do with family and friends!
Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie
*Marcel Proust was a French author, literary critic, and essayist who is considered by critics and writers to be one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. He was born July 10, 1871, and died on November 18, 1922.
A Gold Medal for Our “Domaine de Manion” Syrah 2021
My husband John, and I hadn’t entered our Syrah wine in the San Diego County Wine Competition for a few years. We knew it was drinking well, but we were pleasantly surprised when we we saw it received a “Gold Medal” in this year’s 2023 competition.
Our vineyard was originally planted in April 2006 with the help of our fellow Mira Costa College “Vineyard Management & Production” classmates. Last year’s 2022 harvest was a record yield of 1,400 pounds. The grapevines seem happy, and are flourishing especially with our 20+ inches of winter rain.
Happy Domaine de Manion Vineyard in Spring 2023
Thank you to all of our friends and family who help us with the vineyard tasks throughout the year. Thank you to all of you who we have shared our wine with, and consistently give us a “two thumbs up.”
We are very grateful and blessed with this vineyard. It has given us many years of joy! Merci beaucoup!
Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie
Intrigue Rose Brightens My Kitchen
“Less is more” is the message here. In my kitchen I have in a corner a marble lazy-susan on my kitchen counter. I keep different olive oils, salts, pepper, garlic, and more at handy reach. In a very simple antique vase I try and keep a favorite blooming cut rose in it.
It makes me happy. It is cheery. It is beautiful. It is often very fragrant. It speaks to me in many ways. it is a companion while cooking. It reminds me of my garden when i can’t be there. It gives me joy.
Try a simple cut rose in your kitchen, it will make you smile, and it smile back with so much more.
Simplicity is elegance. Never underestimate a single cut rose.
Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie
