Honey Poached Pears With Crème Fraîche Recipes

POACHED PEARS IN HONEY, GINGER AND CINNAMON SYRUP

Steps:

• In a saucepan large enough to hold all the pears, combine the wine, Simple Syrup, cinnamon stick halves, honey, and ginger. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and add the bean and seeds to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the honey has melted. Add the pears and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until the pears are tender. Remove the pears from the liquid and allow to cool.
• Continue to simmer the liquid until it thickens and is reduced by half, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Remove the cinnamon stick halves and the vanilla bean and discard.
• Place each pear on a small serving plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle with the honey, ginger and cinnamon syrup. Serve immediately.
• In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool.

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.

POACHED PEARS WITH HONEY, LEMON BALM AND RAISINS

Steps:

• To prepare pears, place 6 cups of the cold water in a bowl. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 lemon into the bowl and add the lemon too. Core the pears from the bottom and peel, leaving the stems intact. As you peel each pear, place it in the bowl to prevent it from discoloring. Also place the cores and small pieces in the bowl. After the pears are peeled, wrap the cores and small pieces in the cheesecloth, folded double, and tie tightly with string. Place the remaining 7 cups of cold water and the honey in a pot and stir to dissolve the honey. Add the tangerine peel, raisins, lemon balm and cheesecloth bundle, together with the pears. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and poach the pears at a low boil for 1 1/2 hours, leaving the lid ajar. Touch the pears with the tip of a chopstick. A properly poached pear should give a little; the pears should be soft and have taken on a light beige color. Turn off the heat. Remove the lemon balm, tangerine peel, and cheesecloth bundle from the pot and discard. Transfer each pear to an individual soup plate, sitting it upright, stem up. Divide the sweet soup equally among the plates. There should be about 4 1/2 cups of soup. Divide the raisins equally as well. Garnish each pear by inserting a sprig of mint into it at the stem and serve.

HONEY POACHED PEARS WITH CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• Combine 2 1/2 cups water, honey, star anise, lemon juice, and sea salt in large saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add pears; reduce heat and simmer until tender, turning occasionally, 4 to 6 minutes, depending on ripeness. Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to medium bowl. Boil liquid and star anise until reduced to 1 cup syrup, about 22 minutes. Pour syrup with star anise over pears. Cover and chill until cold, about 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
• Remove star anise from syrup. Divide pears and syrup among 6 bowls. Top each with dollop of crème fraîche and serve.

PEARS POACHED IN BEAUMES-DE-VENISE AND HONEY

Steps:

• Combine the Muscat, water and honey in a large noncorroding saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, peel the pears neatly with a vegetable peeler, keeping the stem but removing the blossom end. Drop each pear into the simmering liquid as you peel it. Lay a piece of parchment paper directly on the pears to keep them moist.
• Lower heat so that the liquid is just under a simmer. Cook until the pears are barely tender when tested with a knife in the blossom-end side, about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the pears.
• Remove the pears and cool in a container in a single layer. Increase heat and simmer the cooking liquid until reduced to about three quarters of its original volume, about 20 minutes. Cool separately from the pears. When pears and syrup are both cool, combine and refrigerate until cold, preferably overnight. Serve with creme fraiche and crisp cookies.

HONEY-POACHED PEARS WITH BROWN SUGAR CREAM (#7)

Steps:

• In a lrg bowl, toss pear halves w/lemon juice & set aside.
• In a med saucepan, combine water, wine & honey. Add vanilla seeds & pod & cinnamon stick. Stir over med heat til honey dissolves & add pears.
• Cover mixture & reduce heat to med-low. Simmer til pears are just tender when pierced, turning when halfway through cooking (about 15 min). Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to lrg bowl.
• Boil poaching liquid til reduced to slightly syrup consistency (about 2 min) & set aside to cool.
• Pour syrup over pears. Cover & refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
• Whisk sour cream, sugar & brandy (if using) in lrg bowl till smooth. Whisk in 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp chilled poaching syrup.
• To Serve; Place ea pear half on a dessert plate. Thinly slice ea half lengthwise, leaving slices attached at stem end. Gently press on pears to fan slightly. Spoon some syrup over ea pear half, spoon sour cream mixture beside them & serve.