Pear Soufflés With Chocolate Sauce Food

PEARS IN CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Leave stems on peeled pears. Sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning. Set aside.
• In a saucepan large enough to accommodate 4 pears standing upright, combine water and sugar. Place over medium heat, and boil until sugar is dissolved. Stir in vanilla, then place the pears in. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool in liquid, then drain.
• In the top of a double boiler, combine chocolate, cream and butter. Heat, stirring, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in coffee liqueur.
• Place pears on serving dish, pour chocolate sauce over pears, and garnish with maraschino cherries.

PEAR SOUFFLéS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and let stand until chocolate softens slightly, about 1 minute. Add bourbon and stir until chocolate is melted and sauce is smooth. DO AHEAD: Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
• For soufflés:
• Generously butter six 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups, then coat with sugar, tilting ramekins to coat bottoms and sides evenly. Gently tap out any excess sugar. Place ramekins on rimmed baking sheet.
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of pears and sauté until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and sauté until pears are caramelized and juices are thick, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Scrape pear mixture into bowl. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon butter, remaining pears, and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar. Stir lemon juice into pears. Let cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to processor; add pear juices to chocolate sauce. Puree pears until smooth. Transfer pear puree (about 2 cups) to medium saucepan. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and chill puree.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk egg yolks into pear puree in saucepan to blend. Stir pear mixture constantly over medium-low heat until steam rises and mixture is hot (do not boil). Carefully transfer pear mixture to large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites with pinch of salt in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 5 tablespoons sugar to egg whites and beat until stiff but not dry. Gently fold 1/3 of egg whites into pear mixture to lighten. Gently fold in remaining egg whites in 2 additions. Divide soufflé batter equally among prepared ramekins (ramekins will be full).
• Bake soufflés until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes.
• Rewarm chocolate sauce over low heat. Serve soufflés immediately with warm chocolate sauce alongside.

STEVE'S FALL PEAR SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine pears and water in a pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until pears begin to break down, about 25 minutes. Stir lemon juice and cinnamon into pears. Blend pears with a hand blender or by transferring to a blender until smooth.

PEAR AND GINGER PAN SOUFFLé WITH BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE

Steps:

• Melt the butter in an ovenproof frying pan and cook the pears until golden. Add the ginger and mix in the brown sugar. Heat until the sugar is melted.
• Whisk the egg yolks with caster sugar until thick and foamy. Add the rum and mixed spice. In a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold into the egg-yolk mixture. Pour over the fruit, shaking the pan to settle the mixture over the fruit. Cook over medium heat until just set, then place under a hot grill to brown and puff up.
• Spoon over the sauce and cream to serve.
• Heat the butter and sugar in a saucepan until bubbling.
• Add the cream (careful - it hisses and spits) and vanilla. Cook, stirring, until thickened.

PEAR AND APPLE SOUFFLé

Steps:

• Fill a bowl with water, and add the juice of 1/2 lemon. Place the fruit in the water as you prepare it. When all of the fruit is prepared, drain and transfer to a large, heavy saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the vanilla and ginger, and 2 tablespoons water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir, and then turn the heat down to low, cover and simmer, stirring often, for 20 minutes. Uncover and continue to simmer for another 30 to 40 minutes, stirring often, until the fruit is very soft and beginning to stick to the pan. It may or may not look like applesauce, depending on the texture of the apples and pears that you used (Granny Smith apples, for example, will break down, whereas Galas will not). Remove from the heat, and transfer to a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Puree until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl, and allow to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with the rack adjusted to the lowest position. Butter one 2-quart soufflé dish or six 6-ounce ramekins and dust with sugar (use about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the sugar).
• In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed for one minute or until they foam. Add the cream of tartar, and continue to beat on low speed for one minute. Turn the speed to medium, and slowly stream in the remaining sugar while you continue to beat until there are firm, satiny peaks. Be careful not to overbeat.
• Fold one third of the egg whites into the apple-pear puree to lighten it. Fold in the rest. Gently spoon into the ramekins or the soufflé dish, mounding it up over the top. Put the ramekins on a baking sheet, and place in the oven. Bake individual soufflés for about 10 minutes, until puffed and golden. They should still be runny on the inside. Bake a large soufflé for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve at once.