Pears Grilled In Vanilla Wine Syrup Food

GRILLED POUND CAKE WITH GRILLED PEACHES AND CINNAMON-VANILLA SYRUP

Steps:

• Combine the sugar and cinnamon stick with 1 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Simmer until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla and let stand for 10 minutes. The syrup can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept refrigerated; reheat until warm before serving.
• Meanwhile, prepare a grill for medium heat, making sure the grates are very clean. Brush the cut-sides of the peaches and one side of the pound cake slices with the butter.
• Grill the peaches, cut-side down, until well marked, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into wedges. Grill the pound cake slices, buttered-side-down, until lightly marked, about 2 minutes.
• Serve each slice of pound cake with the wedges of half a peach; drizzle with syrup and top with a dollop of whipped cream.

WHITE WINE POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Thinly peel the pears, making sure to keep the stem intact. Slightly slice the bottom of the pears so they will stand up in the pan and when serving.
• In a large and tall saucepan, stir together the white wine , water, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat.
• Once the liquid is simmering, add the prepared pears and place them standing on the pan. The liquid should cover most of the pears' height.
• Poach the pears, uncovered, for 7 to 9 minutes until their meat is slightly tender, but they are still firm enough to hold their shape. Watch this process carefully as you do not want the pears to overcook or they will collapse.
• Remove the pears from the poaching liquor with a slotted spoon and place them on individual serving plates.
• Return the poaching liquid to a simmer. Add the sugar and allow the mixture to reduce in volume by half or about 6 to 8 minutes. The syrup is ready when it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean from the syrup and strain the liquid through a fine sieve.
• Drizzle each pear with the wine syrup and add any other topping that you'd like.

VANILLA POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Place the white wine, water, sugar and vanilla bean and pulp into a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
• Core the pears from the bottom. Decrease the heat to medium low and place the pears into the liquid, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the pears are tender but not falling apart. Maintain a gentle simmer. Remove the pears to a serving dish, standing them upright, and place in the refrigerator.
• Remove the vanilla bean from the saucepan, increase the heat to high and reduce the syrup to approximately 1 cup of liquid, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Do not allow the syrup to turn brown. Place the syrup in a heatproof container and place in the refrigerator until cool, approximately 1 hour.
• Remove the pears from the refrigerator, spoon the sauce over the pears and serve.

VANILLA SYRUP

Steps:

• Using a paring knife, scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean. Place the seeds, pod(s), sugar and water in a small pot. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Boil until the sugar is dissolved, 3 to 5 minute.
• Remove from the heat and pour the syrup and pod(s) into a sanitized heatproof jar. Let cool to room temperature, close the lid and refrigerate for up to 2 months.

VANILLA & WHITE WINE POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Before you start, cut out a circle of baking parchment using a large pan as a template. (This is called a cartouche, and will cover the pears later - it should be the same size as the pan to keep the pears submerged and the liquid from evaporating too quickly). Set aside. Tip the sugar, cinnamon sticks, vanilla seeds and pod, cardamom, wine and 200ml water into the pan. Peel strips of the lemon zest, avoiding the pith. Drop in the strips of zest, then warm over a low heat until the mix is steaming and the sugar has dissolved.
• Peel the pears, leaving the stalks intact. Slice in half lengthways through the core, then use a melon baller or small, sharp knife to remove the hard core and pips. Carefully place the pears in the steaming liquid, then turn up the heat to medium- low and bring to a simmer. Cover the surface with the circle of baking parchment and cook the pears for 20-30 mins, or until they can be pierced with the tip of a knife with little resistance.
• Meanwhile, sterilise two 1-litre jam jars. When the pears are cooked and still hot, transfer to the jars with any aromatics from the pan. Top up with the poaching liquid so the pears are covered. Seal and leave to cool. Will keep for up to six months in a cool place. Serve with ice cream or hot chocolate sauce, if you like.