Riesling Poached Pears Food

RIESLING POACHED PEARS WITH CARDAMOM CREAM

Steps:

• Pour the Riesling into a medium saucepan and whisk in the sugar until it dissolves.
• Peel the pears, leaving stem intact, if present. Remove bottom stem end with a small melon baller, and continue to scoop up into the pear to remove the core. Place the pears right in the Riesling mixture (poaching liquid) after they are peeled and cored to prevent them from discoloring. (The acidity of the wine keeps them from browning). Add just enough water to cover the pears.
• To keep the pears submerged in the poaching liquid, cut a circle of parchment paper the size of the pan and lay on the surface of the liquid. Place a small plate on top of the paper to make sure the pears are completely submerged. Cook the pears over medium-high heat, just until the liquid comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and poach the pears until they are just soft. The pears should be tender enough to pierce with a knife. This takes about 20 to 25 minutes for ripe medium pears, but this can vary depending on the size, variety and ripeness of the pear.
• Remove the pan from the heat and cool the fruit completely in the poaching liquid. Refrigerate the fruit in the liquid in a sealed container until ready to serve. (The fruit will hold for 4 to 5 days, the longer the fruit is stored in the poaching liquid, the fuller the flavor).
• Pour about half of the poaching liquid into a skillet and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to cook and reduce until the liquid gets syrupy and about the consistency of honey.
• Meanwhile, whip the cream together with the sugar and cardamom until cream just holds soft peaks. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• To serve, place a pear in a bowl or on a plate. Drizzle with reduced Riesling syrup and garnish with a dollop of whipped cream.

POACHED PEARS WITH RIESLING

Steps:

• Core pears from the bottom, using a small melon baller to scoop out the seeds. Cut a round of parchment to fit inside a large pot (it should be wide enough to hold the pears in one layer). Place pears in pot along with wine, brown sugar, and enough water to just cover pears (2 to 3 cups). Scrape vanilla bean seeds into pot, then drop in pod. Cover with parchment round.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat; simmer, turning pears occasionally to coat with liquid, until very tender but not falling apart, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on ripeness and size of pears. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pears to a large bowl. Remove and discard vanilla bean pod. Cover bowl with parchment round (or cut a new one to fit).
• Bring poaching liquid to a boil and cook until reduced to consistency of thin syrup, about 10 minutes. Pour syrup over pears and refrigerate, covered with parchment, until cool. Serve pears in shallow bowls or cups; tuck a chocolate-mint leaf into stem end of each one, if desired.

RIESLING POACHED PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Make Laurie's My No Roll Pie Crust Recipe #51537 51537 according to directions.
• While pie shell is baking add lemon juice to water in a large bowl. Peal, halve and core pear; placing in bowl of lemon water as you go. Leave pears to sit in lemon water.
• Combine wine, 1 1/2 cups sugar and sliced lemon in large heavy saucepan and bring to boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Once the syrup boils, teduce heat and keep at a simmer.
• Drain pears and discard lemon water. Add pears to the simmering syrup. Poach for 5 minutes turn over and poach 5 more minutes. Remove pears from syrup and place on paper towels to drain.
• Let syrup continue to simmer for about 20 minutes till reduced to 1 cup, set aside to cool.
• While syrup simmers make frangipane by combining almonds with 1/4 cup of sugar in a food processor and process until very finely ground. Add flour and pulse until well combind. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a large bowl, use an electric mixter on medium high to beat butter and 1/4 cup sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Beat in vanilla and almond extract and cooled poaching syrup. Reduce mixer speed to low, add ground almond mixture and mix just until combined.
• Spread the frangipane into the pie crust.
• Fan the pears by making 1/4 inch wide slices without cuting through top of pear and then gently pressing to creat the fan.
• Very carefuly place 7 (other 5 halves are for serving) of the pear halvs on top of the frangipane (a spatula helps to gently slide them on) with the top of the pears to the center of the pie.
• Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until frangipane is puffed, golden and solid to the touch. **If crust edges start to get too brown cover them with foil.** Cool on a wire rack.
• To serve place place a slice of pie and a 1/2 of a pear fan (1/4 of a pear) on each plate and drizzel with syrup.

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.

RIESLING BAKED PEARS

Steps:

• Tip: For the orange zest, scrub the orange first and then use a vegetable peeler to remove the strips of zest. Make sure to leave behind the bitter, white pith.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice a thin piece off the bottom of each pear so that it will sit flat, standing up straight.
• Arrange the pears in a pie pan or oven-proof small casserole dish.
• Whisk wine and honey in a medium bowl until blended. (I usually have to microwave mine to make the honey melt a bit so that they will combine.).
• Pour honey-wine mixture over pears and add cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and orange zest to the liquid.
• Roast the pears, basting every 15 minutes, until they are tender and a bit wrinkled (about 45 minutes to 1 hour).
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pears to serving dishes. Put the honey-wine mixture into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil until slightly thickened, about 6 minutes. Drizzle over pears and garnish with cinnamon sticks and orange zest.
• Serve warm, at room temp, or chilled.
• Note: We sometimes put a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on this. Very rich and yummy. Another option: try cheese, such as ricotta or mascarpone -- sweeten cheese and stir it first.