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!!
~~

Luck Be a Lady Tonight - Lucky Lady Champagne Cocktail

I am a little behind.... I just realize I never hit the publish button on this post...

Happy New Year!!!!

What better way to celebrate the new year, than with a lighter "spirit" and maybe a little luck.  ;)  

Champagne or Sparkling wine being the most common spirit to ring in the New Year, I thought that since the temperature was a little on the chilly side, those partaking in said "happy" might do well with a little blood-warming fortification.  Thus came about the Lucky Lady.  A delightful pear and apple laced concoction that is absolutely mouthwatering.

Clavados, a brandy that has been distilled from fermented Apple Cider hailing from Normandy in France, is the normal ingredient, but Clavados is kind of hard to find and when you can find it it's outrageously expensive.  That coupled with the fact that fruit juice based brandies (the ones that aren't just "flavored" brandy) are an education in and of themselves made me take pause. 

Seriously, choosing a good Clavados (for there are many) is like trying to decide on a Brandy.  It is aged for at least 2 years but can be aged a lot longer.  The flavor mellows a little with age.  Then there is the combination of apples that were used for the cider.  There are some 200 recognized varieties of apple that can be use for Clavados and some producers use up to 100 different ones in their cider mixture.  Craziness and a lot of research.

So I threw caution to the wind and decided to go with a local version by Clear Creek Distilleries here in Oregon.  It was also a bonus that it came in a pint sized bottle instead of an entire 5th, so I was not making a major investment only to potentially suffer complete disappointment.

It is pot distilled from all Apple Cider and aged in Limousine oak, as opposed to Apple Jack which is only 35% apple cider and 65% grain based alcohol.  Thus the label on the bottle Eau de Vie de Pomme or Water of Life of Apple.  A much more refined flavor than fruit flavored brandy.  It smells heavenly, like Cream and Apples and, believe it or not, there are pear notes to the fragrance.

Lucky Lady

1 pony of Clavados (or other Apple Brandy, but not Apple Jack)
1 pony Pear Juice
Slice of Pear for Garnish
Champagne, Prosecco, or Cava to fill the glass

Grab a Champagne Flute and pour in a pony of Apple Brandy.

Add a Pony of Pear Juice (although you can add Pear brandy instead for a real kick in the rubber parts)  ;)

Add a slice of pear. (I chose d'Anjou)

Then simply top it off with the Sparkling wine of your choice. (I recommend an Extra Dry Sparkling Wine)

Tip it back and enjoy the luscious apple and pear fragrance.  

Truly mouthwatering....  And warming.   Brandy does wonders when ones blood is running cold.  :)

Cin Cin!!
~~

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!!
~~

Disaccharide Drenched Drupes - Walnut Praline

Today, June 24th, is Praline Day. (The Southern pray-LEEN, not the French prah-lin-AY) So I set out to make walnut pralines with a particular salad in mind. They it occurred to me.... I should write about nuts... For all those who are as Nuts about Nuts as I am.... Or should I say, Daffy about Drupes? Maybe, Looney about Legumes .....?

Botanically speaking, not all nuts are created equal. Most of the "nuts" that we eat from our friendly neighborhood trees are in actually Drupes. A drupe being the single edible "seed" extracted from a "pit" (endocarp) that was surrounded by, possibly edible, flesh (mesocarp) that was protected by a skin (exocarp). Example the Seed of the apricot is edible, once you eat the fruit, crack open the pit and you will find an edible seed, with a taste similar to an almond. This is because Almonds are in the same "Stone Fruit" Family as Peaches, Apricots, Cherries and Prunes. Walnuts, Cashews, Pecans and Coconuts fall into this category as well. Though I do not recommend eating the green fruit of the walnut and you would be pretty hard pressed to gnaw through the fibrous fruit of the coconut. The illustrious Olive, Cacao and Coffee are also drupes as are a lot of "berries" in the bramble family... each Raspberry, Salmon Berry, and Blackberry is a cluster of druplets. <--Seriously, I am not makin this stuff up ;)

Then there are the legumes such as Peanuts which exhibit odd behavior. After pollination, the fruit at the end of the stalk actually bends over and buries the ripening fruit several inches under the ground to ripen. And finally, seeds, like the Brazil Nut, with several "seeds" inside a large Coconut looking fruit, and the Pine nut; both Stone pine and Pinyon.

While true nuts such as Hazelnuts, Macadamia, Chestnuts, Beech Nuts, Acorns and Birch Nuts consist simply of the hard shell with no surrounding fruit or outer skin. Or rather, the shell is the skin.

Be that as it may, for culinary uses they are all simply referred to as "nuts". After all the slogan "Sometimes you feel like a Drupe... Sometimes you don't!" just doesn't have quite the same catchy ring to it, does it?

Praline Walnuts

(Over Mediterranean Salad)

1/4 cup plus 2 TB Granulated Sugar
2 TB Light Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Buttermilk
3/8 tsp Baking Soda
1/8 tsp Cinnamon
Pinch of Mace
1 1/2 TB butter
1 Cup Toasted Walnut Halves or other favorite Drupe, Nut, Legume or Seed

If your walnuts are raw, toast them in a 350 degree oven for about 8 minutes
Line your counter with waxed paper.
In medium heavy saucepan, cook Sugars, Buttermilk, Cinnamon, Mace and Baking Soda over medium heat....

till the syrup reaches Firm Ball stage (243-250 degrees); stirring constantly to prevent scorching of the buttermilk.

When the mix has reached the proper temp, remove from heat, and mix the butter into the syrup. (This is important, the added fat will prevent premature crystallization of the sugar)

Add Walnuts and stir to coat.

Pour Walnuts onto Wax Paper Lined counter and separate the nuts as quickly as possible.

Let cool completely before attempting to eat.... Trust me, they are extremely hot!!

What to do with Praline Walnuts, besides sitting in a corner and eating them all, one by one?

I like to make, what I call, Mediterranean Salad. I delicious combination of peppery Arugula, Crispy Pear, Pungent Blue Cheese, and Crunchy Praline Walnuts all drizzled with a Lemon-Honey Vinaigrette.

Lemon Honey Vinaigrette is surprisingly simple
2 TB Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
2 tsp orange Blossom Honey
1/3 cup Kalamata Olive oil or Walnut oil

You are going to need a jar or bottle that you can shake...
Place the salt in the jar/bottle, then the lemon juice and swirl them around so the salt dissolves before placing the remaining ingredients in the jar/bottle.

Shake the dickens out of it.

Voile!!

Composing the salad

Take a handful of arugula and place it in a bowl.
Top with slices of d'Anjou or Comice pear (ususally about 1/2 pear per person)
Crumble blue cheese over the top, and dot with praline walnuts.
Drizzle with Lemon-Honey Vinaigrette
You can certainly hit it with a little ground pepper too, if you like....

Serve.

Mangia!!
~~