Pears And Dried Cherries With Chocolate Sauce Food

CHOCOLATE PEAR AND CHERRY SALAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°. In an 8-in. square baking dish, toss beans with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast until tender, 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven. Toss with balsamic vinegar; refrigerate, covered, 1-1/2 - 2 hours., Meanwhile, in a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. Pulse melted chocolate, red wine vinegar and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a blender until smooth., Divide arugula evenly between 2 salad bowls. Drizzle with chocolate mixture. Top with pears, cherries, cranberries and beans; sprinkle with pecans, apricots and mint leaves.

PEARS AND DRIED CHERRIES WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel pears with a vegetable peeler. Halve lengthwise, leaving the stems intact. Using a melon baller, scoop out seeds. With a paring knife, remove thin fibrous core that runs from stem to bottom.
• In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, place pears (cut side down), cherries, and 1/4 cup water; cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake until pears are tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make chocolate sauce: In a small saucepan, combine corn syrup and chocolate. Stir over low heat until melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in cream until smooth.
• To serve, divide pears and cherries among serving plates; drizzle with warm chocolate sauce.

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 WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Peel the pears, leaving the stalks intact, then take the core out from the bottom of each by using a small sharp knife or a melon baller. Flatten the bottom by slicing off a little bit so that it will sit upright when served. Put the pears into a saucepan with the zests, vanilla pod, sugar, cinnamon, white wine and 600ml water, then bring to the boil. Lower the heat and poach for about 20-25 mins until they are cooked all the way through, but are not so soft that they will fall apart. Leave to cool in the liquid. Can be made and chilled a day ahead.
• When cool, take the pears out, strain out the cinnamon, zest and vanilla pod (keep the pod, allow it to dry, then pop it into a jar of sugar to make vanilla sugar), then pour the syrup back in the pan. Boil until reduced by half to a thin syrup.
• Meanwhile, to make the sauce, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Warm the cream, milk and butter in a heavy based pan. Stir this into the melted chocolate, set aside and keep warm. Can be made and chilled a day ahead. If the sauce cools and thickens too much, warm it again gently over a pan of simmering water or for 30 secs in a microwave. Serve the pears with plenty of syrup, chocolate sauce and good-quality vanilla ice cream.

PEARS IN MERINGUE WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Soak almonds, glace fruit, and 1/4 cup rum together overnight.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Combine water, cinnamon, and jam in a large saucepan. Boil until well incorporated and syrupy. Reduce heat. Add pears and cook gently for 5 minutes. Remove to an ovenproof dish. Fill cavities with crystallized fruit. Reserve pan syrup, discarding cinnamon bark.
• Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold in confectioners' sugar. Pipe this meringue over pears. Dust with confectioners' sugar and bake for 5 minutes.
• Stir chocolate pieces into warm syrup and add rum.
• Serve pears on a heated platter, surrounded with warm chocolate sauce.

VANILLA POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE AND ICE CREAM (A.K.A. "POIRE BELLE HELENE")

Steps:

• Combine the water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, and lemon zest in a medium saucepan. Split vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and add both the seeds and the pod to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes.
• Peel the pears. Reduce the poaching liquid to a simmer and add the pears. Cook until just tender (the tip of a paring knife will go through the flesh of a pear with just a little resistance), about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and cool the pears in the poaching liquid, until completely cooled, about 45 minutes.
• Heat the cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Put the chocolate and butter into a medium-size bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until smooth and glossy.
• Serve the pears with a scoop of ice cream, a little pear-poaching syrup and warm chocolate sauce drizzled over the top. Garnish with a wafer cookie and serve.

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.

CHOCOLATE-DRIED CHERRY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Put the dark chocolate chips in a large heatproof bowl. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar until well combined.
• In a medium saucepan, bring the cream, milk, brandy, orange zest, vanilla seeds, salt, and granulated sugar to a boil; stir until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the hot liquid over the dark chocolate chips and whisk until melted and smooth. While whisking constantly, pour the dark chocolate mixture into the eggs, mixing until combined. Add the bread and toss gently to coat. Transfer the bread mixture to the refrigerator and cool to room temperature. Stir in the chocolate chips and dried cherries. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Put eight 4-ounce ramekins on a baking sheet and lightly coat them with cooking spray.
• Stir the bread pudding mixture to evenly distribute the chocolate chips and cherries. Divide the mixture among the prepared ramekins. Sprinkle a little Turbinado sugar over the top of each pudding and bake until puffed and set, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

PEAR, DRIED CHERRY AND CHOCOLATE CHUNK CRISP

Steps:

• For Topping
• Mix first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until moist clumps form. Mix in nuts and chocolate. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• For Filling
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Combine all ingredients except frozen yogurt in large bowl; mix well.
• Transfer filling to dish. Sprinkle topping over. Baked until pears are tender and topping is golden and crisps, about 55 minutes. Cool at least 20 minutes. Serve with frozen yogurt or ice cream.

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.