Sherried Pears Food

SOPAIPILLAS AND SHERRIED FRUIT COMPOTE ON HONEY PASTRY CREAM WITH VINAGRES DE YEMA GRAN RESERVA GLAZE

Steps:

• To prepare pastry cream, place the milk in a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the milk and add the bean as well. Heat the milk over medium heat and bring to a boil.
• While the milk is heating, combine the egg yolks, sugar, and honey in a mixing bowl. Add the cornstarch and mix until smooth. Once the milk is boiling, remove the vanilla bean and add 1/4 of the milk to the egg mixture, whisking continuously making sure the eggs do not scramble. Once the yolks are tempered, return the egg mixture to the milk in the saucepan and continue whisking over medium heat until the mixture bubbles and thickens. This should take 1 to 2 minutes. Once the cream has thickened, place it in a bowl over an ice bath and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the cream to cool thoroughly.
• Sopaipillas: Using a large mixing bowl, blend the flour, salt and baking powder. In another bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water to activate and add to the flour mixture. Incorporate the milk slowly to form a single ball of dough. Knead the dough until smooth, cover and allow to rise until doubled in size.
• In a large pot or fryer, heat the oil to 360 to 375 degrees F.
• On a floured work surface, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a cutter or knife cut the dough into desired serving size portions. Drop the sopaipillas, 2 or 3 at a time, into the oil and fry, turning them often until browned. Remove with a skimmer and place on paper towels to drain. Sprinkle the warm sopaipillas with cinnamon and powdered sugar.
• To make the fruit compote, place the ingredients in a mixing bowl and toss until the fruits are evenly coated. Allow the fruit to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Strain fruit from liquid before serving.
• To make the glaze, place the vinegar in a saucepan and over medium heat reduce by half. Dissolve the honey in the warm vinegar and allow to cool. Set aside.
• To serve, split the sopaipillas open and pipe in a portion of the pastry cream. Fill the remainder of the sopaipillas with fruit compote. Place the sopaipillas on each plate, drizzle the glaze around the sopaipillas and dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Finish with a dash of vinegar on the fruit compote.

SHERRIED PEARS

Steps:

• Peel, core and halve the pears. Toss them with the lemon juice.
• Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. When the sugar has dissolved, add the pears, lower the heat and simmer until the pears are just tender, about 10 minutes.
• Drain the pears, transfer them to a shallow serving dish and pour the sherry over them. Turn them in the sherry once or twice. Serve the pears while they are still warm.

SHERRIED BAKED FRUIT

Steps:

• Combine butter and flour in small saucepan over low heat, blending until smooth.
• Stir in sugar.
• Slowly add sherry, stirring constantly, until thickened.
• Combine the sauce with the drained fruits in a 2-quart casserole.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

ROAST PEAR & SHERRY ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Peel, halve and core the pears, then put them in a gratin dish or roasting tin in which they can sit without too much surface area around them (otherwise the juices that come out of them will just burn off ). Sprinkle with the sugar and drizzle over 4 tbsp sherry and the melted butter. Bake for 30-40 mins; the pears should be completely tender and the juices around them slightly caramelised (check on them after 20 mins - if the pears are small it will take less time). Cut the pears up - still in the dish - and pour over the remaining sherry. Leave to cool completely, then purée (including all the juice) and push through a sieve. Cover and chill.
• To make the ice cream base, put the cream and milk in a heavy-based pan and add half the sugar. Slit the vanilla pod along its length and scrape the seeds out into the pan. Drop in the pod as well. Bring to just under the boil, stirring, then take the pan off the heat and leave to infuse. Remove the vanilla pod.
• Put the egg yolks in a bowl with the rest of the sugar and whisk with electric beaters until the mixture has increased in volume and falls in ribbons (this will take about 2 mins). Gradually stir about half the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar, then add this to the rest of the cream in the pan. Set the pan over a very low heat and cook, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, for 8-10 mins, or until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Be really careful not to let the mixture overheat or it'll curdle.
• Pour the custard into a bowl set in a sink of iced water (this stops it cooking immediately) and leave to cool, stirring a little every so often. Chill for 3 hrs. Stir the pear purée and the 2 tbsp sherry into the custard, then churn in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer's instructions. Spoon into a container, cover and store in the freezer. Alternatively, if you don't have an ice cream maker, put the custard and pear mixture into a freezer-proof bowl, cover and put it in the freezer. Beat the mixture every hour until it's frozen (about 4 hrs) to break down the crystals.

SHERRY BAKED PEARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350F/180°C.
• Combine sherry, water, sugar, lemon juice and butter in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat about 5 minutes.
• While sauce is cooking, halve, pare and core pears. Arrange pears in a baking dish. Pour sherry sauce over pears. Cover dish.
• Bake about 35 to 40 minutes or until pears are tender.
• Serve warm or chilled, plain or with whipped or sour cream, if desired.

SAUSAGES WITH SHERRY CARAMEL GLAZED PEARS

Steps:

• Bring sugar and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a 10-inch heavy skillet, stirring until sugar is dissolved and washing down any sugar crystals on side of skillet with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Boil syrup, without stirring, gently swirling skillet, until mixture is a deep golden caramel.
• Carefully stir in vinegar (mixture will steam vigorously and caramel will harden). Remove from heat and stir until caramel is dissolved, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a heatproof cup and reserve skillet (do not clean skillet).
• Peel pears, quarter lengthwise, and core. Toss with 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
• Add 1/4 cup water, butter, and shallots to reserved skillet, then cook, uncovered, over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until liquid is evaporated and shallots begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add pears and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown but not soft, about 6 minutes.
• Stir in caramel, salt, and pepper, then cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice.
• While pears and shallots are sautéing, cook sausages in oil and remaining 1/4 cup water in a 12-inch heavy skillet, covered, over moderate heat, 5 minutes.
• Remove lid from skillet and cook sausages, turning occasionally, until liquid is evaporated and sausages are browned and cooked through, about 6 to 12 minutes more. Serve sausages with shallots and pears.

ENGLISH TRIFLE WITH ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• The night before, slice the cake into 1/2 inch slices and sprinkle with sherry. Cover lightly so it won't get stale. Let sit overnight to allow alcohol to evaporate.
• To make the pastry cream: Mix sugar, flour and salt together in the top of double boiler. Slowly add milk to form a smooth mixture. Cook over low-medium heat stirring constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. Slowly pour 1/2 the hot milk mixture into a bowl of the beaten egg yolks, stirring constantly. Then pour all the mixture back into the double boiler and sir until thick. Add butter and vanilla. Chill.
• The next day, spread raspberry jam on top of sherried cake layers (or ladyfingers). Layer the bottom of a bowl with 1/3 the cake and pour 1/3 of the pastry cream over the top. Sprinkle with nuts. Layer cake, cream and nuts until all of the ingredients have been used. Top the uppermost layer with whipped cream and garnish with maraschino cherries and slivered almonds. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours before serving.