Chocolate Covered Poached Pears With Apricot Pecan Stuffing And Chile Sabayon Food

POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Core pears from bottom, leaving stems intact. Peel pears. Cut 1/4 in. from bottom to level if necessary. Place in a large saucepan; add the water, vanilla, cinnamon stick and nutmeg. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes or until pears are almost tender., Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and cinnamon. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Cool. , Drain pears; place on dessert plates. Drizzle with chocolate sauce.

SPICED POACHED PEARS IN CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a pan big enough to hold the pears snugly, tip in all the ingredients except the pears. Half fill the pan with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 mins to infuse, drop in pears, cover and gently poach for about 30 mins until soft. Turn off the heat and set aside. The pears can be poached up to 2 days ahead and kept in the poaching syrup in the fridge.
• To make the chocolate sauce, tip the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream, milk and cinnamon to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted. To serve, drain the pears and, holding them by the stem, dip them in the chocolate sauce to completely cover. Serve each pear with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

PEARS COVERED WITH CHOCOLATE

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Add the pears, and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove pears and set them on a plate.
• In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt chocolate, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from heat. Spoon chocolate over pears to coat. Remove pears to a clean plate, and chill until serving. Serve cold.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED POACHED PEARS WITH APRICOT-PECAN STUFFING AND CHILE SABAYON

Steps:

• Poach pears
• Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit inside mouth of a heavy large pot. Combine wine, sugar, vanilla bean, canela, anise seeds, and lemon zest in pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Add pears and enough water to cover, 3 to 4 cups. Place parchment paper over pears to keep them submerged, and bring liquid to gentle simmer. Simmer until pears are just tender, about 12 minutes. Remove pears, discarding liquid, cool completely, and refrigerate until chilled.
• Make stuffing
• Melt butter or margarine in medium skillet over medium heat. Add pecans and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Add chopped apricots and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Add brown sugar and cook mixture, stirring constantly, until light syrup develops, about 1 more minute. Remove from heat and cool.
• Stuff pecan mixture into hollowed pears, packing tightly. Refrigerate until chilled.
• Make chocolate sauce
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt butter or margarine in small saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate.
• Remove pears from refrigerator and dip into chocolate sauce, tilting and swirling pan to coat bottom half of each pear.
• Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until chocolate is set.
• Make sabayon
• In metal bowl whisk together egg yolks, wine, sugar, and chile powder until well combined. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water and cook mixture, whisking constantly, until foamy and thick enough that strokes leave a clear path, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove bowl from over water.
• To serve
• Ladle sabayon into 6 shallow bowls. Place 1 pear in each bowl. Garnish with fresh mint and berries.

CHOCOLATE APRICOT PECAN TORTE

Steps:

• For cake: Heat cognac in medium saucepan until just hot. Remove from heat and mix in apricots. Let soak 15 minutes. Strain apricots, reserving any soaking liquid for glaze.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8 1/2 inch springform pan with one tablespoon butter. Dust with 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs. Using electric mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time (mixture may look curdled). Add chocolate and vanilla. Mix in 2/3 cup breadcrumbs. Combine pecans and flour and blend into batter. Fold in apricots. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake until tester, inserted into middle, comes out clean - about 50 minutes. Cool in pan on rack.
• Run knife around edge of cake. Invert onto platter. Slide sheets of waxed paper under edges of cake.
• For icing: Stir cocoa powder, sugar, whipping cream and butter in top of double boiler over simmering water until mixture is shiny and smooth, about 5 minutes. Cool icing for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Pour icing over cake , tilting cake to cover evenly. Using thin flat spatula, spread icing over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate until icing is firm.
• For glaze: Add enough cognac to soaking liquid reserved from apricots to measure 2 tablespoons. Combine with jam in heavy saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until melted. Strain through fine sieve into small bowl. Cool until tepid, approximately 5 minutes.
• Pour glaze over top of cake. Using thin metal spatula, spread evenly -- do not let any drip down sides of cake. Arrange pecans around upper edge of cake, ends touching. Discard wax paper. Refrigerate cake until glaze is set. Cake can be prepared up to one day in advance.

POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE-PEAR SAUCE

Steps:

• Stir pear nectar, white wine and sugar in a heavy large saucepan over med.high heat until sugar dissolves and syrup comes to a boil.
• Add pears to syrup in saucepan.Cover pan, reduce heat to med.- low, and simmer until pears are tender, about 8 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon transfer pears to plate.
• Increase heat to med.- high and boil poaching liquid until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
• Add chocolate; whisk until chocolate melts and sauce is smooth.
• Place 1 warm pear half on each plate. Top with warm chocolate sauce. Or, cover pears and chocolate sauce separately and refrigerate up to 2 days; then serve pears cold with sauce, rewarming sauce, if desired.

FLAMBEED VANILLA-POACHED PEARS WITH APRICOT SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring 1 1/2 cups water, sugar, and vanilla extract to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Add 3 or 4 pear halves, reduce heat to medium, and simmer gently until the pears have just turned tender, about 5 minutes. Remove cooked pears to a warm chafing dish or metal serving dish, and continue to cook the remaining pears.
• Increase heat to medium-high, and boil the syrup until it has reduced to 1 cup. Stir in apricot preserves and return to a boil. Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of water and stir into the simmering syrup. Cook and stir until thickened and clear, about 30 seconds.
• To serve, pour the hot sauce over the pears, and sprinkle with the rum. Carefully ignite the rum tableside with the lights turned low. Let the alcohol burn out before serving.

CHOCOLATE COVERED APRICOTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, melt chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between.
• Add shortening; stir until blended.
• Dip apricots half-way in the chocolate, shake off excess, cool on waxed paper. Let chocolate set, then refrigerate.

APRICOT POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Put preserves in a 1-cup measure. Cook, uncovered, at 100 percent power in a high-power oven for 1 minute. Remove from oven.
• Stir in 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and the kirsch. Pass mixture through a sieve into a shallow bowl. Set aside.
• Peel the pears and core them through the bottom. As you work, rub the pears inside and out with the remaining lemon juice to prevent discoloration.
• Roll each apricot lengthwise and put one in the cavity of each pear. Coat the pears in the apricot mixture.
• Arrange pears in a circle around the inside rim of a 2 1/4-quart souffle dish. Cover tightly with microwave plastic wrap. Cook 7 minutes. Prick plastic to release steam.
• Remove from oven and uncover. Serve hot or cold. Put each pear on a plate and spoon some of the remaining sauce over.

APRICOT-CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE BITES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
• Place the phyllo cups on the baking sheet. Add about 1/4 teaspoon apricot preserves to each cup, followed by 1/4 teaspoon mini chocolate chips; set aside.
• Combine pecans, brown sugar, half-and-half, honey, and rum extract in a small mixing bowl. Stir well. Distribute the pecan mixture equally among the phyllo cups.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges start to turn golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

POACHED PEAR AND DRIED APRICOTS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan combine the sugar, the rum, and 1/2 cup water and simmer the mixture for 2 minutes. Add the pear, peeled, halved, and cored, and the apricots and poach the fruit, covered, spooning the syrup over the pear occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the pear is tender. In a small heavy saucepan combine the chocolate, 2 tablespoons water, and the vanilla and heat the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until it is smooth. Transfer the pear halves to a work surface, cut them diagonally, into 1/4-inch-thick slices, and fan them onto 2 plates. Sprinkle the apricots over the pear slices and spoon the chocolate sauce around the fruit.

PEAR - PECAN STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees to speed-dry the bread and/or to bake the stuffing separately from the turkey.
• Spread bread slices on baking sheets.
• Place baking sheets in the oven for 20 minutes or until bread is dry.
• Place the 2 tablespoons butter, onion and pear in a large frying pan. Cook over medium heat till tender but not brown, about 4 minutes.
• Set aside.
• Break the dried bread into small pieces, and place in a very large bowl.
• Bring 1/2 water and the 1/4 cup butter to boiling in a small saucepan.
• Add to bread crumbs, and toss just till moistened.
• Stir in pear mixture, pecans, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
• Add the remaining water as needed until mixture reaches desired moistness.
• Stuff turkey and bake according to your liking, or put stuffing into a 2 quart casserole and bake, covered in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until heated through.

WHITE CHOCOLATE APRICOT SQUARES

Steps:

• Melt butter and 1 cup white chocolate chips in small saucepan, stirring until smooth; set aside.
• Beat eggs and sugar on high speed of electric mixer until thick and light, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in melted chocolate mixture, flour and vanilla.
• Mix well.
• Spread half of batter in greased 9" square cake pan.
• Bake at 325°F for 20-25 minutes, or until light golden.
• Cool 5 minutes.
• Spread jam on top.
• Stir 1 cup white chocolate chips into remaining batter.
• Drop by spoonfuls evenly over jam.
• Spread out gently.
• Sprinkle with nuts.
• Bake 30-40 minutes longer, or until set.
• Cool completely then cut into squares.