Prepare a Pair of Poached Pears - Spice Poached Pears in Butterscotch

It has become apparent to me, while trying to come up with a title for this post, that I have seen WAY to many Veggie-Tales episodes that feature Silly Songs with Larry; for I cannot seem to get the Homophone song out of my head......

I know a pear, pear, pear, pear
With a pair of really soft shoes.
He wears them to pare, pare, pare, pare
Bushes that easily bruise.

Homophones!  Homophones!
Where the toads are towed out on the plane
Homophones!  Homophones!
I need my kneaded biscuits plain


Whether, whether, whether whether,
Whether you like it or not.
Weather, weather, weather weather,
Weather is cold, warm and hot...

And something about rows of a bad smelling rose and a nose that knows.  (sigh)

I guess I should be happy that I am not roasting a Cebu for dinner! (it's a bovine cousin, kind of like a water buffalo)

Homophones, talking cucumbers and cebu aside.....  To me, a poached pear is a fundamental fall food.  I'm not completely sure why, but I think it has to do with mom & dad canning pears every autumn when I was growing up.  A lot of things were canned in the fall, for that was harvest time.  If you wanted to eat fruit in the winter, you needed to can it in the fall.  Let's face it, I am old enough to remember a time before refrigerated produce from Peru and Argentina made it's way to grocery store shelves.  Thus, canning Applesauce, Pears, Apricots, Cherries & Peaches, as well as freezing Huckleberries, Raspberries, Marionberries and Gooseberries, ensured a plentiful supply of said fruits through the winter.

After all, there is nothing quite so delicious as a Peach Kuchen in January.

But getting back to pears.  The scent of pears would permeate the kitchen while mom & dad were peeling, packing and finally pouring syrup into the jars before lidding them and throwing them in the water bath so the lids would seal.  Yeah, I am pretty sure this is where my love of poached pears comes from.

But being me, I am not happy with a simple sugar syrup. I should rephrase that.  I would still be happy, but I am happy-er when I get a chance to break out some flavor enhancements.  And I can think of nothing so perfectly suited to enhance the flavor of a pear than Gewurztraminer.  The spice floral aroma is intoxicating and the juicy lychee flavor with hints of grapefruit is heaven in a bottle.  Add a little Lemon and some Ginger, and you have a winner!  OK, I will admit that if you pour Butterscotch over just about anything, it increases it's awesomeness factor by 75%!

Spice Poached Pears in Butterscotch

6 medium Bosc Pears
1 Lemon
1 bottle Gewurztraminer (a spicy floral)
1 cup Water
1 cup Sugar
2 inches Ginger, sliced
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 Meyer Lemon, juiced
1 Mexican Vanilla Bean ("spicy" vanilla flavor as opposed to Tahitian which is more "creamy")
Butterscotch sauce

First you need some beautiful Bosc pears...  These are my favorites for poaching.  It's not just because they have the quintessential "pear" shape, although that is part of it, it's mainly because these pears maintain their shape during poaching and their texture actually improves.  They do not become all mushy and disgusting.  Bartletts, I have been told, do this too, but not as well as the Bosc pears do.

Before peeling the pears, you need to fill a bowl with cold water and squeeze the juice from a lemon into the water.  Heck, throw the lemon halves in as well.  This will keep the pears from browning once they have been peeled.

Gently peel the pears with a vegetable peeler, carefully following the pear's voluptuous curves, flatten the bottom just a little with the peeler, and place it in the Lemon water.

After you are finished peeling all the pears, let them just hang out in the lemon water while you make the Gewurztraminer syrup.

Grab a medium stock pot, that is just big enough to hold the pears, combine Gewurztraminer, Water, Sugar, Ginger, Cinnamon stick, Meyer Lemon Juice and a split Mexican Vanilla Bean.

Bring this to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Remove the pears from the Lemon water and plunge them into the simmering liquid, stem up, then cover the surface of the simmering syrup with a tea towel to keep the pears weighed down to ensure even poaching. (if the pears are not completely covered with liquid, add some of the Lemon water)

Let the pears simmer for about 25-30 minutes, then remove the pot from the flame and let the pears cool in the poaching liquid.

When ready to serve, grab a bowl and spoon a pool of Butterscotch in the bottom.

Remove a pear from the warm liquid,

and place it in the center of the Butterscotch pool.

Drizzle a heafty spoonful of butterscotch over the top near the stem and let it languidly run down the sides of the pear.

Serve to your awestruck guests...  :)

Mangia!!
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Prepare a Pair of Pears - Grilled Pear Salad

I knew it was bound to happen at some point. I love participating in the BakeSpace Challenges every month, but the last half of last month and the first two-thirds of this Month have been EXTREMELY busy. So I missed out on last months challenge, and I am down to the wire on this one…. I suppose it should not bother me too much, I DO enjoy living life on the edge. After all, the earth is round, it’s not like you can fall off or something… (OK, yeah, that was kind of lame)

Be that as it may, this month’s challenge was particularly interesting for me. It was Fruits of the Grill, while avoiding such items as Peaches and Pineapple (cause they have been all over the Food Network for years). Yes, and while Grapes and Blueberries might pose complications, there are many other fruits out there that will more than likely benefit from a quick fly by the BBQ to receive some ultra sexy grill marks. Yeah, that’s right. I said it… Grill marks just make food sexy. I am pretty darn sure that this penchant for ‘Fire Branding’ is related somehow to the ‘Open Flame’ gene on the Y chromosome, but hey, whaddya gonna do?

So back to Fruit Flamage... I finally decided that I was going to do a spin on a fruit salad that my mom would make when I was a kid. We always made a trip to Hood River, in the early fall, to pick up crates of both Elberta peaches and Red Bartlett pears.

I am going to digress for a second about the peaches before returning to the pears… Elberta peaches have GOT to be the best peach on the planet… I swear… It was the original “Georgia Peach” until the 60s when industrial hybrids started taking over. The sad part is that in the early 80’s, in Hood River, a really late frost decimated the trees, now the orchards have all been replanted with something called ‘Western Pride’ They just aren’t as good. Seriously, they aren’t… There was a subtle spiciness to the Elberta that is completely lost in the Western Pride.

My parents would ‘pressure can’ all the peaches and pears for the winter months, well, after a few nights of fresh fruit. I was not able to get my hands on a fresh red Bartlett; it’s still a little early… But since I am grilling it, I really think a d’Anjou will hold up better as it's a little firmer than the Bartlett. Red d’Anjous originated as naturally occurring bud sports found on Green d’Anjou trees. "Bud sports" are spontaneous, naturally occurring genetic mutations occurring on trees and plants; they are fairly rare and often go unnoticed. Red Anjous, however, did not go unnoticed; in fact this rarity occurred twice. The first red sport of Anjou was discovered in the 50's near Medford, OR, and a second red sport was discovered in the late 70's in Parkdale, OR (Parkdale is just south of Hood River).

OK, I promise -- that is the end of my fruit filled musings. The original fruit salad hails from those chill evening in the middle of January; mom would break out a jar of pears and make this fruit salad. Very simple and very delicious… OH HO!!!! I think I just experienced an epiphany while I am typing this up… I think this particular dish is responsible for my Sweet & Salty fascination. My mothers original version was simply a Pear half sprinkled with shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese with a small dollop of homemade Mayonnaise and a colorful sprinkle of Paprika. Deliciously sweet yet salty from the cheddar and a slight tang from the Mayonnaise. It was one of my favorite things growing up, and even when I didn't really know how to cook, I could still assemble a pretty good facsimile... Yeah, the store bought mayo is a little lacking...

Tonight, however, I am going to put a spin on this, since my "potential ingredient" knowledge has been expanded over the years. With that being said, the Pears are to be grilled, the Sharp Cheddar has become Pecorino Romano, the Mayonnaise has transformed into Crème Fraîche and the Paprika has morphed into Cinnamon. And T-H-E-N, I'm going to drizzle the whole thing with a Balsamic Reduction AND an Orange Muscat-Cinnamon Reduction.

OK, I'll admit I am kind of going over the top a little. But hey, that is the purpose of the BakeSpace Challenge... Exercising your Creative Muscle. This would not be my first flop... and I am sure that it will still be somewhat edible when I am done... LOL

Grilled Pear Salad

2 d’Anjou or Bosc pears (If you are simply going to serve this un-grilled, I would suggest a Comice pear)
1/2 of a Lemon
Shredded Pecorino Romano
Crème Fraîche
Cinnamon
Orange Muscat Reduction
Balsamic Reduction
Walnut, Macadamia Nut Oil or even a cooking spray (for brushing the fruit)

The reductions are fairly simple....
For the Orange Muscat Reduction, place 1 1/4 cups Orange Muscat wine in a sauce pan over low heat, add a cinnamon stick and bring to a simmer... (Try not to actually boil it)

Reduce to about 1/3 cup and set aside to cool before pouring into a little squeeze bottle.

For the Balsamic Reduction, place 3/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar in a sauce pan, bring to a gentle simmer until reduced to about 1/2 cup (it will be pretty thick at this point)

Remove from heat and cool before pouring into another little squeeze bottle.

OK, Grilled Pear Time....

Begin heating the BBQ Grill or your Grill pan.
Peel and slice the pears and half, lengthwise; remove the core.

Rub each half of the pear with the Lemon to prevent browning.

Lightly coat the grill with oil or cooking spray.
Place the pears, cut side down, on the hot grill for 2 minutes.

Turn and grill the backside for another minute or 2. (Common, tell me those grill marks aren't just sexy)

Place in a dish and sprinkle with Shredded Pecorino Romano; place a small dollop of Crème Fraîche in the spot where the core was removed then sprinkle with a pinch of Cinnamon (this is more fore décor purposes than anything else, Mace will work too)

Drizzle with Balsamic Reduction
Drizzle with Orange Muscat Reduction

Serve with more Chilled Orange Muscat…

I guess the premise was OK, but it needs work... Especially with the plating... What a Mess!!!
It didn't turn out the way I had it pictured in my head. The flavor was still really good, but I think it needed more cheese, and I think I will drop the Orange Muscat Reduction... Just a little too much sweet that didn't need to be there. I would have been better off just brushing the pear face with Grand Marnier.

Mangia!!
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