Caramel Poached Pears Recipes

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place butter in a baking pan large enough to hold the pears in a single layer: set in the heating oven until it melts.
• Sprinkle sugar over melted butter, then place pears, cut side down, on top. Bake until tender, about 30 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven, turn pears over and baste with pan sauce. Return to oven; bake until golden and glossy, about 10 minutes longer.
• Let cool slightly. Transfer pears to dessert plates or bowls. Top each with dollop of sour cream, drizzle with caramel pan sauce, sprinkle with nuts and serve.

Steps:

• Peel pears, leaving stems intact, and cut a thin slice from bottom of each if necessary to enable pears to stand upright when served. Set aside.
• Put sugar in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and melt over moderate heat until it begins to caramelize. Continue to cook, keeping a close eye and the sugar constantly circulating. Cook until the sugar is a deep golden caramel. Stir in the butter carefully, as the mixture may bubble up. Simmer and stir until caramel sauce has developed, about 5 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean.
• Carefully arrange pears in the poaching liquid. They should be completely covered by the liquid, add water if they are not. Simmer pears, turning them occasionally, until tender, about 20 minutes.
• Test by inserting a knife into the fattest part of the pear, it should come out with no resistance. Finish off with lemon juice to wake up the flavor. Gently remove the pears to a serving dish, cut side down. Pour the wine syrup over the pears. Serve with gorgonzola and candied walnuts.

Steps:

• Poach pears:
• Remove zest of oranges in strips with a vegetable peeler and cut away any white pith from strips. Squeeze juice from oranges and lemon into a 6-quart pot and add lemon halves, water, granulated sugar, and zest. Peel pears, leaving stems attached, and add to pot.
• Simmer pears 15 to 25 minutes, or until just tender, and cool in liquid. (Poached pears will continue to cook a bit as they cool.)
• Make caramel:
• Put granulated sugar in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and crumble brown sugar over. Melt sugars, undisturbed, over moderate heat until granulated sugar is mostly melted. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until a deep golden caramel. Carefully pour in cream (mixture will bubble up and caramel will harden slightly) and stir in clove, cardamom pods, fennel, peppercorns, and cinnamon sticks. Simmer, stirring, until caramel is dissolved and sauce is reduced to about 1‚ cups, about 10 minutes. Pour sauce through a sieve into a 2-cup measure and cool to just warm.
• Assemble dessert:
• Drain pears and pat dry, then transfer to plates. Serve drizzled with sauce and sprinkled with chopped nuts.