Asian Pears With Ginger Maple Syrup Food

ASIAN PEARS WITH GINGER-MAPLE SYRUP

Steps:

• Combine 1/4 cup water and fresh ginger in heavy medium saucepan. Cover; simmer until ginger is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in syrup, whiskey, lemon juice, lemon peel and nutmeg. Simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to simmer before continuing.)
• Slice pears into rounds. Overlap 6 rounds on each plate. Drizzle sauce over. Top with crystallized ginger and mint.

POACHED PEARS IN HONEY, GINGER AND CINNAMON SYRUP

Steps:

• In a saucepan large enough to hold all the pears, combine the wine, Simple Syrup, cinnamon stick halves, honey, and ginger. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and add the bean and seeds to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the honey has melted. Add the pears and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until the pears are tender. Remove the pears from the liquid and allow to cool.
• Continue to simmer the liquid until it thickens and is reduced by half, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Remove the cinnamon stick halves and the vanilla bean and discard.
• Place each pear on a small serving plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle with the honey, ginger and cinnamon syrup. Serve immediately.
• In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool.

PEAR AND MAPLE CRUMBLE

Steps:

• Make topping:
• Combine all ingredients in processor. Process until walnuts are coarsely chopped and small moist clumps form. Transfer topping to medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Make pears:
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Toss all ingredients except sour cream in large bowl to blend. Let stand 15 minutes. Transfer pear mixture to 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Sprinkle topping over pears. Bake until pears are tender, juices bubble thickly and topping is golden and crisp, about 30 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes. Serve warm with sour cream.

PEAR PIE WITH MAPLE AND GINGER

Steps:

• For crust:
• Whisk 6 tablespoons ice water and egg yolk in small bowl to blend. Mix flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle egg mixture over. Using on/off turns, process until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough together and divide into 2 pieces, 1 slightly larger than the other. Flatten into disks; wrap each disk in plastic and chill 1 hour. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• For filling:
• Position 1 rack in center and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 375°F. Toss first 8 ingredients in large bowl to coat.
• Roll out larger dough disk on lightly floured work surface to 12-inch round. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Transfer filling to crust. Roll out smaller dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Drape dough over filling. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang under, pressing to seal and forming high-standing rim. Crimp edge decoratively. Brush crust with milk. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Cut several slits in top to allow steam to escape during baking.
• Place baking sheet on bottom rack to catch any juices that may bubble over. Bake pie on center rack until crust is golden brown and juices bubble thickly, tenting pie with foil if crust browns too quickly, about 1 hour. Transfer pie to rack and cool. Serve pie slightly warm or at room temperature.