Poached Pears With Chocolate Food

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.

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.

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.

RED WINE POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE FILLING

Steps:

• Cut bottom off each pear and core from the bottom to give each pear a flat bottom to stand upright.
• Combine wine, water, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and star anise in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and arrange pears on their sides in the saucepan. Simmer pears for 10 to 12 minutes. Turn pears and continue simmering until tender and easily poked with a fork, 8 to 10 minutes. Work in batches if needed.
• Remove pears from wine mixture and place in a serving dish, standing upright. Continue boiling wine sauce until reduced to about 3/4 cup, 5 to 10 more minutes.
• Fill each pear's core cavity with chocolate sauce. Pour wine sauce over each pear.

POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Pears:Peel and core pears on the underside.Rub pears with lemon to prevent discoloration. Set aside.Combine wine, sugar and nutmeg in a saucepan and bring to a boil.Lower heat and poach pears for 8 minutes. Do not boil.Remove from heat and cool pears in the syrup.Chocolate Sauce:Melt butter and chocolate in a pan over low heat. Remove from heat.Whisk in coffee, icing sugar and milk.Return pan to heat and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook 5 minutes on low, stirring constantly.Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.Serve hot with pears.

POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE-PEAR SAUCE

Steps:

• Stir pear nectar, white wine and sugar in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and syrup comes to boil. Add pears to syrup in saucepan. Cover pan, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until pears are tender, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to plate. Increase heat to medium-high and boil poaching liquid until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until chocolate melts and sauce is smooth.
• Place 1 warm pear half, cut side up, on each plate. Top with vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate sauce. Or cover pears and chocolate sauce separately and refrigerate up to 2 days; then serve pears cold with ice cream and sauce, rewarming sauce, if desired.

POACHED PEARS IN RED CURRANT SAUCE WITH CHOCOLATE DECADENCE CAKE

Steps:

• Sift together flour, baking soda, sugar, and cocoa powder. Place into mixing bowl.
• Put butter, oil, and water into a pot and melt over medium heat.
• When butter has melted, pour into dry ingredients and mix on low speed until incorporated.
• Then mix on medium speed while adding eggs, 1 at a time, and then sour cream. Continue to mix only until incorporated. Pour batter into greased and papered sheet pan (8 inch by 12 inch). Bake in a preheated 375-degree F oven until firm to touch and releases from sides of the pan. Cool. Then invert onto back of another pan or onto a pastry or cutting board.
• Take a round cutter, 1/2-inch-in-diameter larger than the base of the pear. Cut out cake circles. (Save rest of cake as snacks, cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.)
• Place cream in pan, place over medium high heat. Bring just to a boil. Remove immediately from stove. Pour in chopped chocolate. Stir until all chocolate pieces are melted. Cool slightly. Place cake circles on cooling rack placed on top of a pan (to catch drippings). Pour glaze over cakes, being careful to fully cover top and sides.
• Place in refrigerator to harden. Once set, take spatula and carefully remove circles. Place on papered sheet pan. Roll out marzipan and cut it into a 3/4-inch wide strip. Cut a decorative design on 1 side (like waves or triangles). Wrap the strip, straight side on the bottom around the base of each glazed cake circle.
• Place cake circle in center of dessert plate. Pour reduced cool sauce around cake enough to coat plate nicely. Place Dipped Poached Pear in center on top of cake. If desired, take edible gold leaf and place in increments around cake on sauce.
• Mix together puree, liqueur, and sugar. Pour into saucepan. Set aside.
• Peel pears, core out from bottom of pear using melon baller. Careful not to break or split the sides of the pear. Slice bottom of pear, to enable pear to stand straight up. Place pears standing up in puree mixture. Bring to boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Cover with aluminum foil, poach until tender, approximately 8 to 10 minutes, depending on ripeness of pears.
• Remove pears from liquid and place on cooling rack. Remove poaching liquid from stove and cool.
• Once liquid is cold, place pears back into liquid and store, covered in refrigerator over night.
• Remove pears from liquid (reserve liquid for later use). Place on cooling rack to drain.
• Melt chocolate in bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once pears have drained, pat dry, and dip into the melted chocolate, approximately 1-inch up base of pear. Place on waxed paper to set chocolate.
• Place cooking liquid back into a saucepan, and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Continue to simmer, reducing liquid to sauce consistency. Remove from stove and cool.

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.

POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE-PEAR SAUCE

Steps:

• Stir pear nectar, white wine and sugar in a heavy large saucepan over med.high heat until sugar dissolves and syrup comes to a boil.
• Add pears to syrup in saucepan.Cover pan, reduce heat to med.- low, and simmer until pears are tender, about 8 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon transfer pears to plate.
• Increase heat to med.- high and boil poaching liquid until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
• Add chocolate; whisk until chocolate melts and sauce is smooth.
• Place 1 warm pear half on each plate. Top with warm chocolate sauce. Or, cover pears and chocolate sauce separately and refrigerate up to 2 days; then serve pears cold with sauce, rewarming sauce, if desired.

POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE-CRANBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring juice and water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat; place pears in pan, cover and simmer on low heat until pears are tender when pieced with a fork, about 15 minutes (turn pears several times during cooking). Remove saucepan from heat, let cool to room temperature and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Combine cranberry sauce and chocolate chips in a medium saucepan; melt over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until smooth.
• Remove pears from liquid; drain. To serve, spoon about 2 1/2 tablespoons chocolate-cranberry sauce onto each of 4 dessert plates. Top each with 2 pear halves and decorate with 2 tablespoons of raspberries. Serve immediately.