Saturday, January 29, 2011

Red Wine Poached Pears (Drunken Pears)

It's a new year and time to get this off the ground. It's a nice Sunday afternoon here in Pacific Grove and a great day to try something new. It's my first attempt at red wine poached pears. This is one of those "WOW" desserts. I pulled the recipe from the San Francisco Chronicle's Sunday food section. (Nov. 21, 2010) I really liked the fact that it was super easy and I had the option of making 90% of it ahead of time.

Bartlett pears are in season and other then hunting down creme fraiche, (found it at Safeway in Del Ray Oaks) it all seems pretty easy. I suggest getting pears that still are a bit hard to the touch. They soften up quite a bit once poached and hold together better. I am making them for dessert tonight, so once they are done I will let them cool and pop them in the fridge. Even if it all goes to crap, the house smells incredible. I went to Trader Joes and got some Chianti. I didn't want a real strong wine, since I will use the reserve and make some mulled wine for an after dinner drink. All the other ingredients I had in the pantry or can be had pretty easily.

Here's the recipe:

6 Bartlett pears, peeled
2 cups sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest and juice of 1 orange
2 tablespoons of black peppercorns
2 star anise
4 cloves
2 bottles of red wine

For the finish: (Don't put in the wine!)
1 cup creme fraiche
1/4 cup of maple syrup (use 100% pure)
2 teaspoons brandy

Take all the first ingredients and throw them into a pot so that all the pears are submerged. I had to use a plate to keep them from popping up. Bring to a boil and them let simmer for about 20-30 minutes. You will know they are done when you can stick a knife in them easily. At this point I put them aside and let them cool, since I wasn't serving them till later. Otherwise, throw a bowl over them and keep them warm.

Next take about 3 cups of the wine stock and transfer to a smaller pot. Just the wine, no aromatics. Again, bring to a boil and then simmer till thick. Takes about 15 minutes. Again, I let cool and stuck in fridge.

The remaining wine I just let cool. Tastes and smells just like "Glögg".(pronounced glug) A Swedish mulled wine drink.

So, to serve, just warm it all up again. You can put the pears back in the wine and slowly heat it up. Same with the syrup in a separate pan of course. Once that is going, take the creme fraiche, brandy and maple syrup and whisk it all together till fluffy. May be easier at this point to use a hand mixer, but mine was broken.

Here is how I served it. I placed a nice puddle of the syrup on the plate, drizzled a little of the creme fraiche and made some designs with a toothpick. You know, like they do at Starbucks with the cafe lattes. Plopped the pears on top with a dab of the creme on top. Drizzle a little more syrup and there you go.

The reserve wine you ask? Serve hot. Makes an excellent after dinner drink. Just strain and serve.

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