Poached Pears With Spiced Caramel Food

POACHED PEARS WITH SPICED CARAMEL

Steps:

• Make the sugar poaching syrup: Put the water and sugar in a large pot. Be sure to use a pot large enough to accommodate the syrup AND the pears. Squeeze in the lemon juice, then toss in the lemon halves. Whack your oranges into quarters. Take your cloves, and push them into the orange rind, just like little thumb tacks. Toss the clove-studded oranges into the pot. Add the star anise, black peppercorns, and fennel seed.
• Give it all a stir to start the sugar dissolving. Set the pot aside while you deal with the pears.
• Peel the pears. Next, whack off the bottom of the pear to give it a nice, flat base. Set him down on the counter to be sure he's level, and shave off a little more if you need to. You want him to stand up nice and straight. Leave the stem on for presentation.
• Once you've peeled and bottomed your little friend, drop him into the pot of sugar syrup. Repeat with the rest of the pears.
• Set the pot on the stove over high heat. Bring it up to a boil. Once your pot reaches a boil, knock the heat down a little so that the liquid holds a good simmer.
• Simmer the pears for about 15-30 minutes, or until the pears are cooked through. Your cooking time will depend on how big and firm your pears are. (The bigger/firmer they are, the longer they'll take.)
• To check for doneness, fish one of the pears out of the pot with a large spoon. Poke him with a thin, sharp knife. You want the knife to go in easily, right to the center, just like if you were boiling a potato. If it's still firm in the middle, drop him back in the pot and simmer him a while longer.
• Be sure your pears are tender to the center. You want them soft enough that they can be scooped away at with a spoon.
• When the pears are cooked through, transfer them, along with all the cooking liquid, into a large bowl.
• Set the bowl on the counter to cool to room temp, then refrigerate until chilled and ready to serve.
• Make the spiced caramel: Put the brown sugar and white sugar in a medium-sized, heavy bottomed pot. Measure out your spices and put them all in a bowl, so you're ready when you need to dump them into the pot. Also measure out the cream. Set both aside.
• Set the pot on the stove over medium heat.
• Let the sugar start to dissolve undisturbed.
• When it's mostly melted, give it a good stir with a fork.
• Keep the pot on medium heat. Pour in the cream. It will bubble up dramatically, then subside.
• Give the pot a quick stir with a whisk, then drop in the spices.
• Whisk to incorporate. If the sugar gloms up on you, don't fret. Keep whisking. The heat will dissolve it in a minute or two and you'll be OK.
• Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until it's reduced by about half. (You want to wind up with about 1 cup of sauce.)
• When it's done, pour it into a small bowl or measuring cup through a seive. Discard the solids. Let the sauce cool until it's warm.
• When you're all set to serve dessert, yank the bowl of pears out of the fridge. Fish out one pear with a spoon. Pat him dry with a paper towel. Set him in the middle of a plate. (You see now why that flat bottom was so important.) Drizzle with caramel sauce.
• Repeat with the rest of the pears. Serve, inhale, enjoy!

POACHED PEARS WITH SPICED CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Poach pears:
• Remove zest of oranges in strips with a vegetable peeler and cut away any white pith from strips. Squeeze juice from oranges and lemon into a 6-quart pot and add lemon halves, water, granulated sugar, and zest. Peel pears, leaving stems attached, and add to pot.
• Simmer pears 15 to 25 minutes, or until just tender, and cool in liquid. (Poached pears will continue to cook a bit as they cool.)
• Make caramel:
• Put granulated sugar in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and crumble brown sugar over. Melt sugars, undisturbed, over moderate heat until granulated sugar is mostly melted. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until a deep golden caramel. Carefully pour in cream (mixture will bubble up and caramel will harden slightly) and stir in clove, cardamom pods, fennel, peppercorns, and cinnamon sticks. Simmer, stirring, until caramel is dissolved and sauce is reduced to about 1‚ cups, about 10 minutes. Pour sauce through a sieve into a 2-cup measure and cool to just warm.
• Assemble dessert:
• Drain pears and pat dry, then transfer to plates. Serve drizzled with sauce and sprinkled with chopped nuts.

BOSC PEARS POACHED IN RED WINE CARAMEL

Steps:

• Peel pears, leaving stems intact, and cut a thin slice from bottom of each if necessary to enable pears to stand upright when served. Set aside.
• Put sugar in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and melt over moderate heat until it begins to caramelize. Continue to cook, keeping a close eye and the sugar constantly circulating. Cook until the sugar is a deep golden caramel. Stir in the butter carefully, as the mixture may bubble up. Simmer and stir until caramel sauce has developed, about 5 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean.
• Carefully arrange pears in the poaching liquid. They should be completely covered by the liquid, add water if they are not. Simmer pears, turning them occasionally, until tender, about 20 minutes.
• Test by inserting a knife into the fattest part of the pear, it should come out with no resistance. Finish off with lemon juice to wake up the flavor. Gently remove the pears to a serving dish, cut side down. Pour the wine syrup over the pears. Serve with gorgonzola and candied walnuts.

BOSC PEARS POACHED IN RED WINE CARAMEL

Steps:

• Peel pears, leaving stems intact, and cut a thin slice from bottom of each if necessary to enable pears to stand upright when served. Set aside.
• Put sugar in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and melt over moderate heat until it begins to caramelize. Continue to cook, keeping a close eye and the sugar constantly circulating. Cook until the sugar is a deep golden caramel. Stir in the butter carefully, as the mixture may bubble up. Simmer and stir until caramel sauce has developed, about 5 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean.
• Carefully arrange pears in the poaching liquid. They should be completely covered by the liquid, add water if they are not. Simmer pears, turning them occasionally, until tender, about 20 minutes.
• Test by inserting a knife into the fattest part of the pear, it should come out with no resistance. Finish off with lemon juice to wake up the flavor. Gently remove the pears to a serving dish, cut side down. Pour the wine syrup over the pears. Serve with Gorgonzola and candied walnuts.

SPICED POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Combine the water, red wine, lemon juice, sugar and spices in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
• Place the pears in an ovenproof dish and pour the syrup over them.
• Poach at 150°C (300°F) for 20 - 25 minutes or until tender.
• Pour a small amount of the syrup in the bottom of dessert dishes and place the pears on top.
• Serve with whipped cream.