Pinot Grigio Poached Pears Food

VANILLA POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Make dessert in just 15 minutes: Peel, halve and core 4 pears. Put in a shallow dish with 1 cup white wine, 2/3 cup sugar, 2 strips grapefruit zest and 1 split vanilla bean. Cover with plastic wrap; microwave about 10 minutes. Serve the pears with the vanilla syrup; top with whipped cream, if desired.

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.

CARAMELIZED PEARS

Steps:

• In a saute pan on medium, melt the butter then stir in the sugar. Simmer, stirring occasionally until it begins to turn golden brown and caramelized. Add brandy and lemon juice to the pan and simmer to incorporate. Add pear slices and cook slowly to tenderize and caramelize.

PINOT GRIGIO POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Peel, halve and core the pears, leaving the stem intact. Combine the Pinot Grigio, sugar, anise seed and lemon peel with 1 1/2 cups water in a medium saucepan; place over high heat and cook about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the pears cut-side down, in one layer, making sure that the liquid completely covers the pears. Cover and simmer until the pears are tender but intact, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Remove the pears and set aside. Remove the lemon peel from the liquid and continue simmering uncovered until the liquid is reduced to 1 cup, 15 to 20 minutes. Divide the pears among 4 plates. Drizzle with some of the syrup. Serve with a dollop each of mascarpone cheese and dulce de leche, and an anise torta.

POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine wine, water, vanilla bean and lemon juice. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add pears to poaching liquid and poach for 8 minutes. Remove pears from poaching liquid and continue to reduce sauce by one-half to one-third. Plate pears and pour reduced sauce around each one.

RED WINE POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Juice the lemon and orange, reserving the juiced citrus halves. Put the juice, citrus halves, wine, water, honey, ginger, black peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, star anise and bay leaf in a wide saucepot. Gently place the pears into the liquid. Make a circle of parchment paper that is 1/2-inch larger than the pot and cover surface completely with the parchment paper (see Cook's Note*). Make sure the pears are fully submerged but not touching the bottom of the pot. Bring the poaching liquid and pears to a boil, then reduce the heat to just below a simmer.
• Cook the pears until fork tender. Test for doneness by inserting a sharp knife in the base; there should be little resistance when fully cooked. Gently transfer pears to a glass or ceramic bowl. Pour enough poaching liquid over pears just to cover. Cover and refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight; the longer the pears soak, the darker they will become.
• Strain remaining poaching liquid and return to saucepan. Cook over high heat until a syrupy consistency is achieved or the syrup coats the back of a spoon. Chill until the pears are served.
• Use a parisienne scoop to remove each pear's core, hollowing out a 1-inch wide cavity that starts at the base and extends 3/4 of the way up the pear. Transfer the Creamy Pistachio Nut Filling to a piping bag without a tip. Gently fill the pear cavity until it slightly overflows. (The overflow will help to provide a sticky surface to stand the pear up on.) Place the pear, base side down, in a bowl and surround with 1-ounce of the syrup. Serve.
• In a medium-sized bowl, cream the mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla together. Stir in the pistachio nuts.
• Use immediately or refrigerate and return to room temperature before filling the pears.

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.