Poached Pears With Cheddar 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.

POACHED PEARS BELLE HELENE

Steps:

• Place water in a heavy pot. Stir in zest and juice of 1 lemon. Place pears in pot. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and split pods to the poaching liquid. Pour in sugar.
• Bring pot to a simmer over medium-high heat; stir gently to dissolve sugar with minimal jostling of the pears. Reduce heat so pears continue cooking over a steady, gentle simmer. Pears need to stay submerged, so place a small plate over them in the pot to keep them under the liquid. Simmer until pears are just tender, 20 to 25 minutes. (Remove plate to test the pears for doneness.) Remove pot from heat and let pears cool to room temperature in the poaching liquid.
• Transfer pears and vanilla beans to a storage container and cover with some of the poaching liquid. Cover and refrigerate until pears are thoroughly chilled, several hours or overnight. Reserve all of the poaching liquid (see footnote).
• Heat hot fudge sauce in a saucepan over medium heat until warm. Dip base of pear into the chocolate and spoon chocolate along the sides except for the top inch or so of the pear.
• Place dipped pears in individual serving bowls with another generous spoonful of syrup and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

EASY POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine lemon zest, cinnamon stick, allspice, ground pepper, apple cider, and water.
• Add pears. Cover with waxed paper to prevent discoloring. Bring to a simmer. Cook, turning pears occasionally, until easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, but not falling apart, about 20 minutes. Remove pears from liquid; transfer to large bowl.
• Raise heat to high; boil cider mixture until reduced to a syrup, about 15 minutes. Discard cinnamon. Pour syrup over pears; refrigerate. To serve, slice off a sliver from the bottom of each pear (so it stands upright). Serve pears with lemon sorbet, if desired.

WINTER POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Peel pears, leaving stems intact; set aside. Heat water to boiling in 3-quart saucepan; remove from heat. Add tea bags; let steep 10 minutes. Squeeze tea from tea bags; discard bags. Stir juice and candies into tea. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until candies are melted.
• Arrange pears upright and close together in saucepan. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes, spooning sauce over pears occasionally, until pears are tender when pierced with tip of sharp knife.
• Remove pears from syrup. Cook syrup over medium-high heat about 25 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. Serve sauce over pears.

POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Combine the port and sugar in a saucepan with 2 cups water; heat until the sugar dissolves. Add vanilla beans.
• Peel and core pears. Pour on port mixture and simmer 15 to 40 minutes, until tender.
• Let pears cool in the liquid.
• Reduce the liquid to less than a cup. Serve individually with the liquid spooned over.

RED WINE POACHED PEARS WITH VANILLA BEAN CUSTARD

Steps:

• For the pears: Remove a large strip of peel from the lemon and set aside. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a medium bowl filled with water. Peel, halve and core the pears, adding the pears to the lemon water as you work (this will prevent them from browning).
• Combine the wine, sugar, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon stick and reserved lemon peel in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves.
• Remove the pears from the lemon water and add to the wine mixture. Boil the pears until tender, 8 to 10 minutes on each side. Remove the pears from the poaching liquid to a wire rack to cool. If desired, continue to boil the poaching liquid until syrupy, about 10 minutes.
• For the vanilla bean custard sauce: Combine the cream and milk in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add to the cream mixture along with the scraped bean. Place over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges, then remove from the heat and remove the vanilla bean.
• Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until combined. Gradually add a little of the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly until combined. Gradually add the remaining cream, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 6 minutes. Remove the custard from the saucepan and cool slightly.
• To serve, spoon some of the custard sauce onto serving plates and top each with a pear half. Dollop with whipped cream and sprinkle with candied pecans, if desired.

TEA POACHED PEAR AND CHEDDAR GALETTE

Steps:

• To poach the pears, bring 4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the ginger and black tea bags; let steep 10 minutes. Squeeze the bags against the side of the pan, then discard them. Stir in the sugar, honey, peppercorns, ginger and lemon peel and bring to a simmer. Add the pears and additional water to cover the pears, if needed. Simmer, turning the pears occasionally, until just tender all the way through, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool in the liquid. Halve and core the pears and pat dry. Slice the pears into 1/4-inch slices. (You'll get 6 or 7 slices from each pear.)
• Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Unroll the pie crust on a floured work surface and roll to a 14-inch circle. Center on a parchment-lined baking sheet (it's OK if it overhangs at this point). Spread the leeks on the crust in a 9-inch circle. Sprinkle the cheese over the top. Top with the pears in a spiral. Fold over and pleat the edges of the dough, leaving the center of the galette open. Brush the dough with the beaten egg.
• Bake the galette until the juices are bubbling and the pastry is golden brown and crisp, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove to a baking rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with the chives, if using.

CHEDDAR WITH SMOKED HAM, POACHED PEAR, AND MUSTARD

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the sugar, vinegar, 2/3 cup water, star anise, peppercorns, cloves, peperoncino, and cinnamon stick, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the pears, bring back to a simmer, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender. Remove from the heat and cool in the liquid. Unless used right away, transfer the pears and juices to a container. (Keeps in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks.)
• Preheat a sandwich press according to the manufacturer's specifications (see Note, page 96). Place 1 slice of cheese on each of 4 slices of bread. Top with the ham, followed by 4 to 6 slices of pear and the walnuts, if using. Season with pepper and top with the remaining cheese. Spread the mustard on the remaining slices of bread, close the sandwiches, and place in the sandwich press (no need to butter the press or the bread). Close the lid and apply slight pressure. Cook without disturbing for 5 to 8 minutes. Open the press and check for color and temperature: the cheese should be melted and the bread golden. If the bread is sticking to the press, allow it to cook for a bit longer and it will unstick itself. If the press seems to generate more heat on the bottom, flip the sandwich halfway through to ensure even cooking (making sure the ridges in the bread line up). Once cooked, remove, cut into halves, and serve.

POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Core pears from bottom, leaving stems intact. Peel pears. Cut 1/4 in. from bottom to level if necessary. Place in a large saucepan; add the water, vanilla, cinnamon stick and nutmeg. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes or until pears are almost tender., Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and cinnamon. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Cool. , Drain pears; place on dessert plates. Drizzle with chocolate sauce.

POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Peel the pears, and place in medium saucepan. Add wine, sugar, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, orange peel, lemon peel, cloves, star anise, bay leaf, and just enough water to cover pears.
• Set saucepan over high heat, and bring liquid to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook, occasionally stirring gently, over medium-low heat, until a paring knife easily pierces pears, about 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat; let pears cool in liquid.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer pears to a plate. Pour poaching liquid through a sieve set over a bowl. Discard solids, and return liquid to saucepan. Place over medium-high heat, and cook until liquid has been reduced to a syrup that coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 45 minutes. Let cool; store pears in an airtight container until ready to serve.
• When ready to serve, arrange pears on a platter or on individual plates, and drizzle poaching liquid over them.

GINGER-POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Core pears from bottom, leaving stems intact. Peel pears; cut in half vertically. Cut 1/4 in. from bottoms to level if necessary. Place in an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. , Place ginger ale and honey in a small saucepan. Cook and stir until combined; spoon over pears. Bake, uncovered, 25-30 minutes or until tender, basting occasionally., With a slotted spoon, remove pears to individual serving dishes. Transfer pan juices to a small saucepan; stir in ginger. Cook and stir over medium heat 5-8 minutes or until heated through. Spoon over pears; sprinkle with pecans.