Poached Fruit With Clove Granite And Cookies Recipes

POACHED SECKEL PEARS WITH CLOVE GRANITE

Steps:

• For the granite, combine the water, cloves and light-brown sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Remove the cloves and stir in the vinegar. Pour into a shallow metal pan and place in the freezer. Freeze until firm but not frozen solid, about 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes.
• For the pears, combine the wine, cloves, honey and nutmeg in a nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the lemon and orange slices and the pears. Cover and simmer until the pears are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the pears and fruit slices with a slotted spoon and set them aside. Raise the heat and simmer the poaching liquid until reduced to 1 cup, about 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Coat 4 plates with the poaching liquid and place 3 pears in the center of each plate. Arrange the orange and lemon slices around the pears and place a scoop of the granite beside them. Serve immediately.

POACHED FRUIT

Steps:

• Peel and dice fruit. Place Riesling in saucepan, add sugar, basil and fruit. Simmer slowly until fruit is tender. Cool and serve over ice cream.

POACHED FRUIT WITH CLOVE GRANITE AND COOKIES

Steps:

• To poach the fruit, combine the wine, sugar and cloves in a large wide pot. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and add the pears and figs. Simmer until pears are soft but not falling apart, about 15 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, use a paring knife to remove all peel and pith from the oranges. Cut the sections out from between the membranes. Add the sections and simmer 1 minute. Remove the fruit from the liquid with a slotted spoon, place in a bowl and let cool. Cover and refrigerate.
• Let the syrup stand until cool and strain into a shallow, nonreactive pan. Place in the freezer until firm throughout, stirring from time to time. (The granite can be made a day ahead.)
• To make the cookies, pulse the hazelnuts in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add the flour, salt and sugar and process until nuts are ground and mixture is well mixed. Add the butter and pulse to combine. Add the egg and milk and process just until the dough begins to come together.
• Press the dough together and divide it in half. Shape into cylinders, about 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. If the dough is very cold, let stand at room temperature until firm but not too hard. Cut the dough across into 1/8-inch slices and place on the baking sheets about 1 inch apart. (Cookies must be baked in batches.) Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool.
• Melt the chocolate and dip half of each cookie in the chocolate. Set aside and let dry completely.
• To serve, arrange the pears, figs and oranges in 10 shallow bowls. Use a spoon to scrape the granite into mounds and place a mound in each bowl. Serve immediately, passing the cookies separately.

MOSCATO POACHED FRUIT

Steps:

• Combine the wine, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla bean, cloves, orange zest, and lemon zest in a large (10 to 11-inch diameter) pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. Add 2 cups of water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
• Add the figs, apricots, prunes, and peaches to the simmering liquid and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the fruit is tender and the liquid is reduced. (Not to worry if the figs are less tender; you don't want to overcook the rest of the fruit.) Remove and discard the cloves.
• Off the heat, stir in the cherries and allow the fruit to cool to room temperature in the poaching liquid. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Reheat and serve warm or at room temperature with poaching liquid and a dollop of crème fraiche.

PERFECT POACHED FRUIT

Steps:

• Place the vin santo, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla bean, and zests in a large, shallow saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Peel the pears, leaving the stems intact, and scoop out the seeds from the bottom with an apple corer or melon baller. Lay half the pears on their sides in the poaching liquid and simmer for 20 minutes, carefully turning the pears once with a spoon. Remove with a slotted spoon. Poach the remaining pears in the same liquid. Snip off the hard stems from the figs with scissors. Add the figs, apricots, prunes, and the first batch of poached pears and simmer 5 to 10 more minutes, until the pears and the dried fruit are all tender.
• Chill the pears, dried fruit, zests, and poaching liquid. Remove the cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla bean before serving if you like.

POACHED FRUIT

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine wine, sugar, cinnamon sticks, lemon peel, and 5 cups water. Place over medium heat, and stir until sugar is dissolved. Gently place nectarines in the liquid. Add more water if needed to cover nectarines. Place a square of cheesecloth over the fruit, and top with a small plate to keep fruit submerged.
• Increase heat to high, and bring liquid to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until nectarines are tender but not soft, about 5 minutes. Remove nectarines from liquid, and allow to cool
• Return liquid to a boil, and cook until reduced to a syrup that will coat the back of spoon, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and cool.
• Cut nectarines in half, and remove pit. Place two halves on serving plate. Drizzle with syrup. Top each half with a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprig of mint.

FRUIT, POACHED AND MARINATED

Steps:

• Pour chardonnay into a medium saucepan. Using the tip of a paring knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean halves into wine and add pods. Add honey, cinnamon stick, raisins or currants, and dried apples and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, fill a bowl with water and add lemon juice. Peel bananas; cut them in half lengthwise and then in 2-inch pieces, and immediately place in the acidulated water. (This prevents bananas from discoloring.)
• Drain bananas and add to simmering wine. Add nutmeg. Returnmixture to a simmer, cover and simmer 5 more minutes. Remove from heat. Add almonds. Remove cinnamon stick and if you wish, add a little more nutmeg. Serve warm, topped with whipped cream or plain yogurt if desired.

POACHED FRUIT WITH CORNMEAL COOKIES

Steps:

• To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Mix in the egg. Stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture, mixing just to combine. Mix in the raisins.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a scant 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out as many cookies as possible, using a 2-inch round cookie cutter. Place on the lined baking sheets. Reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. Bake the cookies in batches until lightly browned, about 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool. Sift confectioners' sugar over the tops. Set aside.
• To make the fruit, combine the wine, orange juice, vanilla, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon stick and sugar in a large, nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the pears, lower the heat so the liquid barely simmers and poach until the pears are soft but not falling apart, about 20 to 30 minutes. Lift out the pears with a slotted spoon, place in a bowl and set aside.
• Add the plums and poach until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Lift out the plums and add to the pears. Add the figs, make sure liquid is barely simmering and poach for about 8 minutes. Lift out the figs and add to the pear mixture. Raise the heat and simmer the poaching liquid until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Gently stir the blackberries into the fruit mixture and pour the hot syrup over all. Let stand 5 minutes.
• Divide the fruit evenly among 4 bowls, spooning the syrup over the top. Serve immediately with the cookies, about 3 per person. You will have cookies left over.