Recipe: Posset | Food and Wine Pairing

Adventures in Eating: Posset 
Rosemarie | September 1983

If it’s September, Thanksgiving can’t be far away. What a glorious summer we have all experienced. A bit warm, but that’s what vaca­tion time is all about. The fruit harvest, melons in par­ticular, was extraordinary. I discovered a watermelon shaped melon with yellow and green stripes called a Christmas melon. Also a honeydew melon that had orange colored flesh. Both were sweet and delicious.

Let’s go to thinking about Thanksgiving. I’ll go easy on you, and propose you make an authentic Nova Scotia cold dessert souffle. It’s light and can be made the day before. You can even think about this in hot weather.

 

POSSET

4 eggs separated (cold)

¼ cup + 2T sugar

¼ t salt

2 T dry sherry

1/3 cup white port

½ cup whipping cream, whipped

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

3 T grated lemon peel

¼ t nutmeg

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

3 T dry sherry

 

Mix egg yolks, lemon juice, sugar, lemon peel, nutmeg, and salt in top of 2-quart double boiler. Cook over hot water, stirring con­stantly until thickened. Remove from heat; cool to lukewarm, stirring occasion­ally. Stir 2 tablespoons sherry and the gelatin in small saucepan over low heat until gelatin is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Stir into lemon mix­ture; stir in port and 3 Tbl. of sherry. Fold whipped cream into lemon mixture. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into lemon mix­ture. Pour into 2-quart glass bowl. Refrigerate 2 hrs. Sprinkle chopped pecans all around the edge of the souf­fle. Now wasn’t that quick and easy?

Bon appétit!

P.S. make sure your egg whites are at room tempera­ture and your bowl and beater are dry. Do not overbeat.

P.S.S. Consider serving it with this month’s dessert wine selection.