pears

pears are yummy.

i rarely eat them on their own, though-- i find them a little blah. (this is where my friend maury rubin comes in ...again.) a few years ago, i threw an "autumnal themed" dinner party, and decided to try rubin's square peg pear tart ...because it looked pretty, and i trusted it'd taste good. i mean, my tart bible hasn't failed me yet.

the square peg pear tart is mostly pear puree mixed with heavy cream and whipped to make, quite simply, pear whipped cream. fill the tart shells with the cream, top with a small square pear peg, sprinkle with sugar, and torch like creme brulee. it's simple and beautiful (and only a little bit like baby food).

the flavor of pears in a dessert like this is so delicate and delicious. actually, it's just pears on their lonesome that i can't take.

when ashley and i hosted a dinner at home for the grandmas, pear was integral to the meal. a staggering stacked pear salad started the meal. after much debate between the co-hosts, ash and i agreed on how to produce the image i had in my mind. it took careful slicing of a pear per guest, and filling the slices with goat cheese, dressed arugula, toasted pine nuts, and cranberries, then was the real challenge: re-assembly.

click the picture to enlarge it and get a better look at the awesome results!

after dinner (pears weren't a part of dinner. didn't want overkill...), we served another from the book of tarts, a tart of white chocolate infused with pear skins. ashley choose this one, a tart i'd never made before. it was quite rich, but wonderful. it would be really good as mini tarts, where there would be a higher ratio of crust to tart filling. for another occasion...

so in conclusion, i'm open to pears as a part of a recipe. in a dessert or on a salad. just don't hand me a pear and think i'll be happy.

...then again, don't get any funny ideas-- don't you dare try to make a pear cupcake. eew.

white chocolate infused with pear skins

1 1/4 cups heavy cream, peels from 2 large ripe bartlett pears, 4 ounces white chocolate chopped finely, 6 fully baked tart shells (either standard dough or chocolate dough), 1 ounce of bittersweet chocolate for design (we made marbled chocolate pear cut-outs to top each piece)

1 combine three quarters of a cup of cream and the pear skins in a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and puncture several holes in it with the tip of a paring knife. refrigerate for at least four hours, or overnight.

2 place the white chocolate in a medium bowl. pour the remaining half cup of cream into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. pour the hot cream all at once onto the white chocolate. let stand for one minute, the whisk until smooth. let cool to room temperature.

3 strain the chilled pear-infused cream into a mixing bowl, pressing hard with the back of a spoon to extract all of the flavor from the pear skins. using a hand-held mixer, beat at medium speed just until soft peaks form (don't beat too much!). fold the whipped cream into the cooled white chocolate cream.

4 ladle or spoon the white chocolate cream into the tart shells. refrigerate for thirty minutes, or until set.

5 fill a small paper pastry bag with the melted chocolate. stripe and dot the top of each tart to make a simple design. let sit at room temperature for fifteen minutes before serving.

(from book of tarts, page 90)