Orange Liqueur Pears Recipes

ORANGE POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• With an apple corer or sharp knife, carefully remove core from bottom of pears to within 1 in. of stem, leaving pears whole with stem. Peel the pears., In a Dutch oven, combine the orange juice, water, brown sugar, butter and orange zest. Bring to a boil; add pears. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until pears are tender, turning several times. Remove pears and set aside. Simmer cooking juices, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until thickened to a syrup consistency., For chocolate sauce, in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, heat the chocolate, cream and butter until chocolate is melted; stir until smooth. Spoon pear syrup into dessert dishes; place a pear in each dish and drizzle with chocolate sauce. Garnish with orange zest strips if desired.

FRENCH ORANGE POACHED PEARS (POIRE AVEC ORANGE)

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix together the orange juice, brown and white sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Place pears into the syrup, and cover; simmer pears for 1 hour and 15 minutes, spooning sauce over pears every 10 minutes, and turning pears over twice during cooking time.
• Transfer pears to individual serving dishes. Continue cooking the syrup, stirring often, until thickened, about 15 more minutes, then mix in the walnuts. Pour the sauce over the pears to serve.

ORANGE LIQUEUR PEARS

Steps:

• Peel the pears but leave the stem intact.
• Trim the base so they stand upright.
• I take a teaspoon and take out some of the core too, as it allows the syrup to get right up inside.
• In a saucepan combine the juice, water, sugar, rind and wine.
• Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved then add the pears and simmer for 20 minutes or until the pears are tender.
• Baste with the syrup from time to time.
• Remove the pears and increase the heat under the pan.
• Reduce until the syrup has reached a more sticky saucy consistency.
• Pour this syrup over the pears and allow them to cool then add the orange liqueur.
• When cold remove the orange rind and serve with a little of the syrup spooned over.

POACHED PEARS WITH CREME ANGLAISE

Steps:

• To make the creme anglaise, rinse the inside of a non aluminum saucepan with water and shake out the excess.
• Pour in the milk and place over medium-low heat until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine the whole eggs, egg yolk, and sugar; whisk just until blended.
• Gradually whisk in half of the hot milk, then pour the egg mixture back into the pan.
• Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, leaving a clear trail when your finger is drawn through it, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Stir in the vanilla.
• Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and let cool.
• Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or for up to 2 days.
• Julienne the zest from the lemon and set aside (reserve the lemon for the juice).
• With an apple corer or a small, sharp knife, carefully core each pear from the bottom.
• Trim the bottoms so they stand upright.
• Leaving the stems intact, peel the pears.
• In a large non aluminum stockpot, combine the pomegranate juice, brown sugar, lemon zest, juice from the reserved lemon and cinnamon stick.
• Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to simmer.
• Place pears on their sides in the liquid and cook, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes.
• In the meantime, seed the pomegranates by cutting them in half (careful, the juice can stain).
• Fill a large bowl with cool water.
• Holding the cut fruit under the water, peel back the skin and membrane to release the seeds, allowing them to sink to the bottom of the bowl.
• Discard peels and membrane; drain and reserve the seeds.
• Carefully turn the pears over and cook until a small knife can be inserted easily into the bottom of the pear, 10 or 15 minutes longer.
• Once the pears are done, remove them from the cooking liquid and stand upright on individual serving plates.
• Remove and discard the cinnamon stick.
• Pour about 2 cups of the poaching liquid into a small saucepan; simmer over medium-low heat until reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
• Mix orange liqueur and cornstarch together in a small bowl.
• Gradually whisk the orange liqueur mixture into the reduced poaching liquid; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring until the sauce thickens to a glaze, about 10 minutes.
• Pour a little of the glaze over each pear, then spread some of the creme anglaise around the bottoms of each one.
• Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and garnish with a mint sprig.
• Serve the remaining glaze alongside.

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).

PEARS PANOS

Steps:

• Peel the pears. You can halve and core them, or leave them whole: just carefully core the blossom end of each pear and remove the seeds.
• Place the pears into a large saucepan. Fill with enough water to cover the pears by 1 inch. Stir in the sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until the liquid has reduced into a light syrup; this may take up to 1 hour. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Cool until just warm, then stir in the liqueur and serve.

BAKED PEARS

Steps:

• Peel the pears, leaving the stems intact and dropping the pears as they are peeled into a bowl of cold water acidulated with the juice of the lemon. In a saucepan combine the wine, 2 cups water, the sugar, the zest, the cinnamon sticks, and the liqueur, bring the liquid to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and simmer the syrup for 5 minutes. Arrange the pears, drained, on their sides in a baking dish just large enough to hold them in one layer and pour the syrup over them. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake the pears in the middle of a preheated 375°F. oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, turn the pears over gently, and replace the foil. Bake the pears for 20 to 30 minutes more, or until they are tender. Let the pears cool, transfer them carefully to a deep serving dish, and ladle the cooking syrup with the zest over them. Chill the pears, covered, overnight and serve them with some of the syrup.