Poached Pears With Spiced Cream Food

SPICED POACHED PEARS WITH CRèME FRAîCHE AND AMARETTO COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large pot, combine sugar with 8 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, star anise, and lemon, stir until the sugar is dissolved.
• Add the pears to the liquid and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer the pears until tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let the pears cool in their liquid at room temperature.
• When ready to serve, use a slotted spoon to transfer pears to serving platter. Top with a dollop of crème fraîche, amaretti cookie crumbs, and a light dusting of cinnamon.

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.

POACHED PEARS WITH SPICED CREAM

Steps:

• Stir juice cocktail into dry gelatin mixes in large saucepan. Bring to boil on medium-high heat, stirring frequently until gelatin is dissolved.
• Add pears; partially cover pan with lid. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 25 min. or just until pears are tender, stirring every 5 min. Remove pears from liquid; discard liquid or reserve for other use. (See Tip.)
• Refrigerate 1 hour. Cut pears in half. Using the tip of a paring knife or a melon baller, carefully remove seeds. Mix cream cheese with remaining ingredients. Spoon 2 Tbsp. cream cheese mixture into center of each pear just before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

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.

POACHED PEARS IN SPICED RED WINE

Steps:

• Halve the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the black seeds and put in a large saucepan with the wine, sugar, cinnamon and thyme. Cut each piece of pod into three long thin strips, add to pan, then lower in the pears.
• Poach the pears, covered, for 20-30 mins, making sure they are covered in the wine. The cooking time will very much depend on the ripeness of your pears - they should be tender all the way through when pierced with a cocktail stick. You can make these up to 2 days ahead and chill.
• Take the pears from the pan, then boil the liquid to reduce it by half so that it's syrupy. Serve each pear with the cooled syrup, a strip of vanilla, a piece of cinnamon and a small thyme sprig.

POACHED PEARS WITH GRAND MARNIER CUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Make Grand Marnier Custard Sauce.
• For pears: Squeeze juice from 1 ½ of the lemons; measure and reserve 3 tblsps of the juice.
• Add remaining juice to large bowl of cold water.
• Using corer or small, thin-bladed knife, core one pear, leaving stem intact, through the blossom end.
• Pare and place in acidulated water.
• Repeat with remaining pears.
• Mix 3 cups water and sugar in saucepan large enough to hold all the pears.
• Heat, stirring frequently, over medium heat until sugar dissolves and liquid begins to boil.
• Stir in reserved lemon juice.
• Drain pears and place in simmering syrup.
• Cook uncovered, turning carefully occasionally, over medium heat until tender, 35-45 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Cut 4 very thin slices from remaining lemon half.
• Add vanilla and lemon slices to poaching liquid.
• Cool to room temperature.
• Refrigerate, covered, until cold.
• Remove pears with slotted spoon to individual dessert plates; spoon custard sauce over pears; garnish with orange zest.

POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Combine all except pears in saucepan. Boil till sugar is dissolved then add pears.
• Cover and cook 8-10 minutes turning occasionally.
• When pears are barely tender remove from syrup and put in individual serving bowls.
• Boil remaining syrup rapidly uncovered until reduced to 1 cup. Pour over pears.
• Let cool before serving or serve chilled.