Choucroute With Caramelized Pears Recipes

Steps:

• Microwave 10 ounces unwrapped soft caramels with 1 tablespoon half-and-half, stirring every 20 seconds, until smooth. Pour into a wide mug, then quickly dip 4 pears in the caramel, sprinkle with chopped pistachios and let set on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Steps:

• Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meats; cook until brown, about 1 minute per side. Add onion; sauté until brown, about 5 minutes. Add pears; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer meats to plate. Add sauerkraut, wine, and allspice to skillet, stirring to scrape up browned bits. Return meats to skillet, arranging atop sauerkraut. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Season to taste with pepper. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Steps:

• Boil ham hocks in unsalted water until tender, at least 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, wash sauerkraut in cold water; drain. Wash again, in hot water; drain and squeeze dry.
• In a heavy, ovenproof pot, melt 3 tablespoons of the fat over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook it until soft and tender; do not brown. Add wine and 1 cup water, then bacon. Cover,and cook 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Season sauerkraut with pepper and a tiny bit of salt; add to pot,covering bacon. Combine garlic, juniper berries, caraway and bay leaf in cheesecloth and tie into a sachet. Bury this in the sauerkraut. Lay a circle of parchment paper directly over sauerkraut, cover, bring to a boil, transfer to oven and bake 1 hour.
• Add pork loin, top with potatoes, and return to oven for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
• About 15 minutes before potatoes are done,add bratwursts and frankfurters to the pot with hocks. Reduce heat to simmer, and heat through. Heat remaining fat in a skillet, and carefully brown blood sausages (they burst if overcooked).
• Add kirsch to sauerkraut; taste and add salt if necessary. Discard herb sachet.
• To serve, slice bacon and pork loin.Cut sausages and hocks into pieces. Put sauerkraut on large platter with meats and potatoes on top and around it. Serve with hot mustard and beer or white Alsatian wine.

Steps:

• In a saute pan on medium, melt the butter then stir in the sugar. Simmer, stirring occasionally until it begins to turn golden brown and caramelized. Add brandy and lemon juice to the pan and simmer to incorporate. Add pear slices and cook slowly to tenderize and caramelize.

Steps:

• In an 8-quart casserole, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is well browned, about 15 minutes. Add the fennel seed and cook stirring for another minute or so.
• Place about 1/3 of the chopped onions, 1/3 of the sauerkraut, 1/4 of the thyme leaves, and 1/3 of the kielbasa over the sausage. Moisten with one-third of the stock and a little wine. Repeat twice more, layering onions, sauerkraut, thyme leaves, and kielbasa, then moistening with stock and wine. Arrange the diced pork butt and smoked ham hocks on top of the last layer of sauerkraut, sprinkle with the remaining thyme and the black pepper.
• Bring the casserole to a simmer over medium-high heat. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 2 hours, covered, without stirring. Remove the ham hocks. Trim the fat from the hocks then cut the meat from the bones. Return the ham to the casserole. Add the chicken bratwurst and simmer until the bratwurst are fully cooked, about 30 minutes.
• When ready to serve, remove the chicken bratwurst. Stir the casserole and add salt, to taste. Spoon the choucroute onto warm plates, top each serving with a bratwurst, and garnish with a thyme sprig. Pass toasted bread, mustard and sour cream as accompaniments.

Steps:

• A simple and elegant dessert, Chuck Hughes' caramelized pears are sure to please any crowd.
• Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Melt the butter, and then add the pears, cut-side down, cooking until they are slightly golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar and continue cooking until caramelized, another 5 minutes. Add the bourbon, if using, and continue cooking for 5 more minutes.
• Divide the pears among 4 plates, garnish with a scoop of ice cream, a drizzle of the caramel sauce and crumbled graham crackers.

Steps:

• Drain the sauerkraut and soak in cold water for 15 to 20 minutes. Taking it by small handfuls, squeeze out as much water as you can. Pick it apart to separate the strands.
• Remove the rind and slice the bacon into 1/2 inch cubes about 2 inches long. Simmer it in 1 quart of water for 10 minutes and drain.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Cook bacon, carrots, and onions in butter slowly in the covered casserole for 10 minutes without browning. Stir in the sauerkraut and when itis well covered with the fat and vegetables, cover and cook slowly for 10 minutes more.
• Bury the herbs and spices in the saurkraut. Pour in the wine, and enough stock to just cover the sauerkraut. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Lay a buttered round of wax paper on top of sauerkraut. Cover and set in the middle of preheated oven. Simmer slowly for 3 1/2 hours.
• Brown assorted meats in skillet. Bury them in the casserole while the sauerkraut is still braising.
• Continue to simmer in oven for another 1 1/2hours. (5 hours total).

Steps:

• In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high. Add pears, one cut side down, and cook until browned, then reduce heat to medium and cook 3 minutes. Turn pears to other cut side and cook 4 minutes. Add sugar and 1 tablespoon water, swirling pan to combine. Turn pears skin side down and cook until sauce is thickened slightly, 2 minutes. Stir in vanilla and pinch of salt. Serve warm with ice cream.

Steps:

• Put the sauerkraut in a colander and rinse well. Press with the hands to extract excess liquid.
• Heat the lard in a large, heavy casserole or Dutch oven. Add one cup of the chopped onions and the garlic. Cook, stirring, until wilted chopped and add the pork hocks. Scatter sauerkraut over all. Add the wine and chicken broth.
• Tie the parsley sprigs, bay leaf and thyme into a small bundle and add it. Add the cloves and juniper berries. Cover closely and bring to a boil.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a saucepan and add the remaining half cup of chopped onion. Cook, stirring, until wilted.
• Put the pork in a mixing bowl and add the cooked onions, caraway seeds and chopped parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Blend the pork mixture well. Shape it into 12 balls of approximately the same size. Arrange them on top of the sauerkraut. Add the smoked pork butt and continue cooking.
• When the sauerkraut and meats have cooked for 30 minutes after the first boil, add the kielbasa. Cover and cook 15 minutes longer. Serve the sauerkraut with the sliced meats and potatoes.

Steps:

• In a large skillet, combine brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally, 4-5 minutes. Add pears; cook and stir until pears are tender, 5-10 minutes longer. Serve over ice cream if desired.

Steps:

• Halve pears lengthwise; remove cores. (A melon baller removes cores easily, but a small spoon works, too.) Place sugar on a plate.
• Heat a large skillet over medium. Press cut side of each halved pear in sugar. Pressing the cut sides of pears in sugar before cooking helps them caramelize. Place cut side down in skillet (fit will be snug). Cook until beginning to brown, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Add 1/2 cup water. Cover; simmer until pears are tender, 5 to 10 minutes (depending on ripeness), adding more water if sugar begins to burn.
• If liquid in pan is thin, simmer until thickened to a saucelike consistency; if it is thick, add more water. Serve sauce over pears.