Glaceed Orange Slices Food

GLACEED ORANGE SLICES

Steps:

• Leaving peel on, cut oranges into 1/4-inch rounds, then cut each round into a half-moon.
• Bring sugar and 2 cups water to a boil in a large pot, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Wash down sides of pot with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Add orange slices to boiling syrup; reduce heat. Cover with parchment, and gently simmer until orange slices are soft and glazed, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer peel to a wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet. Let dry until just slightly tacky, about 5 hours. Store in an airtight container for 2 days.

CANDIED CITRUS SLICES

Steps:

• Cut a round of parchment paper to fit just inside a medium pot; set aside. Bring sugar and 3 cups water to a simmer in pot, stirring until sugar has dissolved. When liquid is clear and bubbling, reduce heat to medium-low. Add citrus slices, arranging them in a slightly overlapping layer. Cover with the parchment paper round. Place a cake pan on top of parchment to keep slices submerged. Simmer (do not boil) until rinds are almost translucent, about 40 minutes. Let cool completely in syrup. Candied citrus slices can be stored in syrup up to 1 week.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set a wire rack over sheet. Transfer candied citrus to rack. Let stand until dry and slightly firm, about 8 hours.

GLAZED ORANGES

Steps:

• Using a vegetable peeler, peel strips thinly from 2 oranges; remove any white pith from strips with the point of a sharp knife; cut strips into thin julienne strips.
• With sharp knife, peel oranges removing all white pith; cut oranges horizontally into 4 slices for easy serving; reshape oranges and hold together with small wooden skewers.
• Place orange strips in small pan, cover with water, bring to boil, boil uncovered 10 minutes, drain; combine sugar and water in pan, stir over medium heat until sugar has dissolved; add orange strips to this mixture.
• Boil the syrup gently, uncovered, approximately 10 minutes or until orange strips are transparent and glazed; remove strips immediately from pan, place on lightly oiled plate.
• Return pan to heat, boil syrup uncovered further 5 minutes or until syrup turns pale golden brown; remove from heat immediately, quickly add extra water, stir for a few minutes to dissolve toffee.
• Return to heat and stir for a few minutes extra to dissolve any remaining toffee in bottom of pan; remove from heat, allow to cool a few minutes then stir in Grand Marnier and lemon juice; allow syrup to cool 5 minutes.
• Pour cooled syrup over oranges, add glazed orange strips, cover with plastic food wrap, refrigerate several hours or overnight; remove wooden skewers from oranges just before serving; serve orange topped with the orange strips and with some of liqueur syrup.
• Serve with whipped cream separately.

COLD CANDIED ORANGES

Steps:

• Bring a stainless-steel pot of water to a boil. (It should be large enough to hold the oranges submerged.)
• Wash and dry the oranges, and channel from stem to navel at 1/2-inch intervals, removing strips of peel while leaving the pith intact, until the oranges resemble those onion domes on Russian churches. (You need a good, sharp channeler, not a tiny-toothed zester for this one.)
• Place the oranges and their long, fat threads of channeled peel into the boiling water, and reduce to a simmer. Cover the oranges with a lid one size too small for the pot, to keep them submerged. Let them blanch for about 25 minutes to remove the harshest edge of their bitter nature. They should swell and soften but not collapse or split.
• Remove the oranges and zest from the simmering water with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Dump out the blanching water, and return the dry pot to the stove.
• In that same pot, combine the sugar with 6 cups water; bring the sugar water to a boil over medium-high, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then allow to gently boil, and reduce for 10 minutes, uncovered. You want some water to evaporate and for the syrup to take on a little body.
• Carefully place blanched oranges and zest into the sugar syrup, and reduce heat to a very slow, lethargic simmer. Cover oranges with a parchment circle cut slightly larger than the circumference of the pot (by 1 inch is enough), then place the too-small lid on top of the parchment on top of the oranges, to keep them fully submerged (and sealed under the parchment) in the sluggishly simmering syrup.
• Cook the oranges in the syrup for about 45 minutes, checking on them frequently to keep the temperature quite slow and stable, until they take on a high gloss and appear vaguely translucent and jewel-like. (We have several induction burners that come with features that can hold a temperature, and I leave the oranges at around 170 degrees for most of the candying, sometimes with a little bump up to 180. But without a thermometer or an induction burner, just a visual slow, slow, slow bubble is a good cue.)
• Cool oranges and peels in their syrup for a full 24 hours before serving. This kind of "cures" them. They get even better after 48 hours. First, you'll want to let them cool at room temperature until no longer warm to the touch, at least 4 hours, then refrigerate them until thoroughly chilled. The oranges last refrigerated for 1 month as long as they are submerged in that syrup.
• Serve very cold. Eat the whole thing, skin and all, with a knife and fork. It's like a half glacéed fruit and half fresh fruit - refreshing, tonic, digestive and so great after dinner.

CHOCOLATE FONDUE WITH CLEMENTINES, CANDIED GRAPEFRUIT PEEL, AND GLACEED ORANGE SLICES

Steps:

• Bring cream and butter to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour over chocolate in a bowl.
• Let chocolate mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in liqueur. Serve immediately with clementines and candied citrus.