Saucy Spiced Pears Food

SPICED PEARS

Steps:

• Drain pears, reserving syrup; set the pears aside. In a small saucepan, combine the syrup, brown sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add pears and simmer for about 5 minutes more or until heated through.

SAUCY SPICED PEARS

Steps:

• In a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet, combine the first nine ingredients and, if desired, cayenne. Cook over medium-high heat until butter is melted, 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally., Add pears; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook, uncovered, until sauce is slightly thickened and pears are crisp-tender, 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly. If desired, top with mint.

SPICED APPLE-PEAR SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the apples, pears, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the apples and pears are very soft but still a bit chunky, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste the mixture and add the remaining tablespoon of sugar if desired.
• Remove the sauce from the heat and stir a few times until the sauce is well combined with small chunks. Cool to room temperature. Remove the cinnamon sticks and serve. (For a smoother sauce, remove from heat, remove the cinnamon sticks and then whisk the mixture until smooth before cooling.)

SPICED PEARS WITH ORANGES AND CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Using melon baller and starting from bottom, core each pear. Cut thin slice off bottom of each pear to make level.
• Stir sugar and 1/4 cup water in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until syrup is deep amber color, brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat; whisk in butter, then 2 tablespoons water.
• Stand pears in caramel sauce in saucepan. Sprinkle cinnamon over. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with ras-el-hanout. Cover and continue to cook until pears are tender, occasionally spooning caramel sauce over pears and shaking pan so pears don't stick, about 15 minutes. Arrange orange slices around pears; spoon caramel sauce over. Cover and simmer until orange slices soften, about 5 minutes.
• Place orange slices on plates. Stand pears atop orange slices. Spoon caramel sauce over and sprinkle with almonds. Serve warm or at room temperature.
• *A Moroccan spice blend available at some specialty foods stores and Middle Eastern markets, and by mail from The Spice House (312-274-0378; thespicehouse.com).

SPICED HAZELNUT-PEAR CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Poach the pears:
• Peel pears. Using a 1/2 tsp. measuring spoon or small melon baller, scoop upward from bottom of pears 1 1/2-2" to remove core and seeds; discard. Combine pears, wine, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, and 3 cups water in a large, heavy pot. Cut a round of parchment to fit just inside pot and cover pears.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, turning pears occasionally to coat with liquid, until pears are very tender but not falling apart, 20-25 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pears to a large bowl and cover with parchment round.
• Bring poaching liquid to a boil, then cook over medium heat until reduced to the consistency of thick syrup, 12-15 minutes (you should have 1/2 cup). Transfer 5 pears to a medium bowl, reserving remaining pears for cake, and pour syrup over. Cover with parchment and let cool, or chill overnight.
• Bake the cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease cake pan with butter and line bottom with parchment paper.
• Toast hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 6-8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl.
• Pulse 1/2 cup dry ingredients and 3/4 cup hazelnuts in a food processor until hazelnuts are chopped into a fine flour; reserve remaining hazelnuts. Transfer chopped hazelnuts to bowl with dry ingredients.
• Wipe out food processor bowl and add 5 poached pears. Pulse until smooth. Transfer 2 cups to a small bowl; discard leftover purée.
• Beat brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, and 3/4 cup butter on medium-high speed in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Scrape down bowl and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add half of pear purée and beat on low speed. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low to incorporate. Beat in remaining pear purée and flour mixture until combined. Pour into prepared pan; smooth top. Set pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake cake, rotating sheet halfway through, until center is set and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool.
• Assemble the cake:
• Turn chilled pears in liquid to coat, then transfer liquid (about 1/2 cup) to a small saucepan. Add chocolate and 3/4 cup cream and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, just until chocolate is melted. Whisk to combine, then transfer to a medium bowl. Chill, stirring occasionally so chocolate doesn't set, until room temperature, about 10 minutes.
• Remove cake from pan, trim top with a serrated knife if domed, and invert onto a 12" platter. Remove parchment. Using a toothpick, poke holes all over top of cake. Using a pastry brush, brush top with 1/4 cup chocolate sauce.
• Meanwhile, coarsely chop remaining 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts. Whip remaining 3/4 cup cream to medium-soft peaks in stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
• Top cake with whipped cream, pears, and hazelnuts. Drizzle chocolate sauce over pears. Serve remaining chocolate sauce alongside.
• Do Ahead
• Cake and pears can be made 2 days ahead; cover in separate containers and chill.

SPICY PEAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In large bowl, beat margarine and sugar untill smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger; mix into batter. Stir in chopped pears, chopped nuts and raisins.
• Drop about two inches apart by rounded tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets and bake 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown and center springs back when lightly touched. Remove to wire racks to cool.
• Combine confectioners' sugar and lemon juice and mix until smooth. Spoon icing over coookies.

SPICED BAKED PEARS

Steps:

• Core the pears and set inside a baking dish. An old fashioned peeler with the pointy tip works well for this.
• Combine the craisins, walnuts and orange peel. Set aside.
• In a saucepan, combine the rest of the ingredients over medium-low heat for 2-5 minutes or until combined and bubbly.
• Take a pinch of your craisin mix and stuff into bottom of each pear. Stir in the rest of the craisin mix into your bubbly sauce.
• Ladle the hot sauce into each pear.
• Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven till the pears are soft. (Usually 30-40 minutes) Check on the pears halfway through. If they look like they are going to burn, cover with foil till the last 5 minutes.
• Let stand at least 5 minutes. Put each pear on a plate then ladle some of the escaped sauce over the pear and drizzle around the plate for presentation.
• Tip: If you don't have any orange peel handy, substitute orange juice for the water.
• Tip: The sauce will escape through the bottom. Don't sweat it. Just ladle it back in after baking. The nut/craisin mix in the bottom helps with this.
• Tip: I know the baking time is a little ambiguous, be we move around a lot and I've made this in several different ovens. It's hard to "kill" these. Just test the pears with a fork. When the tops get that pretty caramel color and they're soft, they're ready.
• Tip: This works with any pear, just adjust the baking time depending on the firmness of the pear. Firmer=longer. I like Bartlett pears because they're fat and stand up on their own better.

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.

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.

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.