\nServes 4<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_1160.jpg\" "\\"IMG_1160\\"")
<\/a>This time the pear was served in a pool of Creme Fraiche with pear syrup drizzled through it.<\/p><\/div>\n
Graceful, garnet-colored and delicious, poached pears are my go-to dinner party dessert. Why? First, like apples, pears ripen in late summer and are then held for months in cold storage with their texture and nutrition intact. That means they are available practically year round. Second, the delicious port based poaching liquid \u00a0freezes perfectly so it can be used over and over again, and it tastes better each time. Third, pears can be served as halves, sliced, or standing up whole, accompanied by sauce or not. And if you are in the mood, they can be cored and filled with surprises like mascarpone and candied ginger or blue cheese, dark chocolate buttercream or other wonderfully flavored fillings.<\/p>\n
The best part of this elegant and easy dessert is that pears get stuffed instead of the diners.<\/p>\n
Hints<\/span><\/p>\n For poaching, pears don't have to be perfect on the outside.<\/p><\/div>\n Fruity Port Poaching Liquid<\/strong><\/p>\n Ingredients<\/span><\/p>\n 1 quart pear juice Poached Pears<\/strong><\/p>\n Ingredients<\/span><\/p>\n 4 ripe pears Procedure<\/span><\/p>\n The poaching pot needs to be wide enough that the pears don't touch while they cook.<\/p><\/div>\n Pear Port Syrup<\/strong><\/p>\n Put 2 \u00bd cups poaching liquid in a small saucepan. Add \u00be cup granulated sugar and cook, stirring regularly over medium heat until it reduces by half. If it is not a thick syrup consistency, mix 1 tsp. cornstarch with water and add to the syrup. Cook at low boil for 2 minutes stirring constantly until it thickens to a syrup consistency. Transfer to a glass container, cover and refrigerate 20 minutes before using.<\/p>\n Mascarpone Ginger Filling<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00be cup mascarpone and 3 tbs. minced candied ginger blended until soft.<\/p>\n Mascarpone Blue Cheese Filling<\/strong><\/p>\n Substitute good crumbled blue cheese to taste for ginger<\/p>\n Dark Chocolate Buttercream Filling<\/strong><\/p>\n Ingredients<\/span><\/p>\n 2 tbs. unsalted butter, room temperature Procedure<\/span><\/p>\n Thoroughly blend butter, sugar and salt. Set aside. Heat cream in a small glass bowl in the microwave until it begins to bubble (25 seconds or less) watching carefully so it won\u2019t scald. Add chocolate bits and stir until the chocolate melts. Cool to room temp. Stir in vanilla and brandy and refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until it just sets but does not harden.<\/p>\n Stuffing Poached Pears<\/span><\/p>\n After cutting a 2 inch circle around the base of the stem, slant the knife point towards the stem. cutting about 3\/4 up the stem<\/p><\/div>\n Don\u2019t attempt to cut through the core with the knife. When the circle is complete, use narrow pointed scissors to cut out about \u00be up the stem from the bottom up.<\/p>\n Using sharp, narrow pointed scissors cut out a cone shaped area around the core.<\/p><\/div>\n Remove and discard (or eat) the cone shaped piece of pear and core.<\/p>\n Leave enough core to support the stem.<\/p><\/div>\n Set it back onto the plate and repeat with remaining pears.<\/li>\n The pear is stuffed with mascarpone and crystallized ginger.<\/p><\/div>\n Transfer each filled pear to a fresh plate, cover with plastic and refrigerate until about 45 minutes before serving. For Chocolate Buttercream, before stuffing each pear, gently dab the inside with paper towel to remove extra liquid. The Buttercream will harden slightly when the pears are refrigerated.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n To Serve<\/strong><\/p>\n With Syrup<\/span> One More Thing<\/span> Pears Poached in Fruity Port Serves 4 Graceful, garnet-colored and delicious, poached pears are my go-to dinner party dessert. Why? First, like apples, pears ripen in late summer and are then held for months in cold storage with their texture … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[435,84,15,35,284,26,189,29],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4983"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4983"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11379,"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4983\/revisions\/11379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
<\/a>
\n1 bottle port
\nzest from 1 orange
\n3-4 drops red food coloring
\nCombine all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook, covered for 5 minutes.<\/p>\n
\n2 quarts poaching liquid<\/p>\n\n
<\/a>
\n\u00bd cup powdered sugar
\n1 tiny pinch salt
\n1 tbs. dark chocolate bits (not chips) or \u00bd oz. bittersweet chocolate broken into bits
\n2 tbs. heavy cream
\n\u00bc tsp. pure vanilla extract
\n\u00bc tsp. brandy<\/p>\n\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\nDivide the poached pears among 4 dessert plates. Spoon Pear Port Syrup over each pear until the syrup coats the peas and covers the indented portion of the plate. If you have or can get unblemished bright green mint leaves with stems, they make a great garnish. For each pear, poke the mint leaf stem into the pear flesh next to its stem.<\/p>\n
\nThis time the pear was served in a pool of Creme Fraiche with pear syrup drizzled through it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"