Jacques Torress Caramelized Pears Recipes

Steps:

• Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using a whisk attachment, mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Using a paring knife, slice the vanilla bean in half. Add the vanilla seeds, flour, citrus zests, and half of the milk and mix on medium speed until well incorporated. Add remaining milk and cream, continue to mix until the crepe batter is smooth and homogenous. If the batter is lumpy, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve.
• Grease an 8-inch nonstick crepe pan (a nonstick frying pan will also work) with about 1 teaspoon of the butter and place over medium-high heat. Once it is hot, wipe away any excess butter with a paper towel. Then pour a small amount of crepe batter, about 2 tablespoons, into the pan and tilt the pan to spread the batter evenly. The batter should barely cover the bottom of the pan. Cook until it browns around the edges, about 30 seconds. Use a large spatula or pancake turner to gently flip the crepe and cook for another 30 seconds. Adjust the level of heat as needed. The crepe should be thin, light, and unevenly browned. Slide the crepe onto a plate and continue to make crepes until all of the batter is used. If the crepes begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, butter the pan again.
• Crepes may be stacked directly on top of each other and stored in the refrigerator up to 2 days, well-wrapped. Cold crepes may stick together; warm the crepes slightly in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds on high power, or in a moderate oven to separate easily.

Steps:

• For the caramel: Place the sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a heavy 10-inch skillet. Cook over medium-to-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the mixture turns a light caramel color. Remove from the heat and swirl the caramel in the skillet to cool and harden it. (If the caramel darkens too much as it continues to cook in the pan's residual heat, place the base of the skillet in cool water to stop the cooking.)
• For the pears: Peel the pears, cut them in half lengthwise and core them. Arrange the pear halves, cut side up, on the caramel so that the pointed ends of the pears meet in the center. Add the butter and 2/3 cup water. Bring to a boil (the caramel will melt). Cover the skillet with a lid, reduce the heat to low and cook gently for about 20 minutes, checking occasionally, until all the water has evaporated and the mixture in the pan has caramelized again. (By then, the pears should be partly cooked.)
• While the pears are cooking, make the dough: place the flour, butter and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Process for about 10 seconds. Add the milk and process for another 10 seconds. Transfer the unformed dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press on it until it forms a cohesive ball. Place another piece of plastic wrap on top of the dough and roll it with a rolling pin between the two plastic sheets to create a circle about the diameter of your skillet. Refrigerate the dough (still encased in plastic) to firm it slightly.
• After the pears have cooked for 20 minutes fill their hollow centers with the almonds and raisins. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, peel off the top sheet of plastic wrap and invert the dough on top of the pears. Peel off the remaining plastic sheet. Place the skillet in a preheated 400-degree oven for about 30 minutes. (By then, the dough should be nicely browned on top, and when you tilt the pan, there should be a rich layer of caramel in the bottom.) Set the skillet aside until serving time.
• If the pear Tatin has cooled beyond lukewarm at serving time, rewarm it on top of the stove until the caramel is soft again (the whole mixture will move in the pan when you shake it). Not more than 30 minutes before serving, invert a serving plate on top of the dough and turn the warm tart out onto the plate. Slice into portions, serving half a pear per person.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Peel pears and cut in half lengthwise. Remove cores. Place pear halves flat side down in single layer in 1 or 2 large baking or gratin dishes. Sprinkle sugar over pears and dot with butter.
• Place in oven and bake 35 minutes. By this time sugar should have caramelized and pears should be tender when pierced with point of knife. If pears are not tender continue cooking 5 to 10 minutes. Pour cream over pears and return to oven. Bake 10 to 15 minutes more, basting every 5 minutes with cream.
• Cream should have reduced and thickened and turned nice ivory color. If sauce seems to be separating, add a tablespoon or two of hot water.
• Remove pears from oven, allow to cool slightly. Serve directly from baking dish.

Steps:

• Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using a whisk attachment, mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Using a paring knife, slice the vanilla bean in half. Add the vanilla seeds, flour, citrus zests, and half of the milk and mix on medium speed until well incorporated. Add remaining milk and cream, continue to mix until the crepe batter is smooth and homogenous. If the batter is lumpy, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve. Grease an 8-inch nonstick crerpe pan (a nonstick frying pan will also work) with about 1 teaspoon of the butter and place over medium-high heat. Once it is hot, wipe away any excess butter with a paper towel. Then pour a small amount of crepe batter, about 2 tablespoons, into the pan and tilt the pan to spread the batter evenly. The batter should barely cover the bottom of the pan. Cook until it browns around the edges, about 30 seconds. Use a large spatula or pancake turner to gently flip the crepe and cook for another 30 seconds. Adjust the level of heat as needed. The crepe should be thin, light, and unevenly browned. Slide the crepe onto a plate and continue to make crepes until all of the batter is used. If the crepes begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, butter the pan again.
• Crepes may be stacked directly on top of each other and stored in the refrigerator up to 2 days, well-wrapped. Cold crepes may stick together; warm the crepes slightly in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds on high power, or in a moderate oven to separate easily.
• To assemble the crepes, use a sharp paring knife to slice reserved vanilla pod halves into 3 strips lengthwise. If your vanilla bean halves are not wide enough to cut into 3 strips, just cut them in half lengthwise. These pieces will be used to tie the crepe bundles together. It is easiest to tie the bundles together if you have long, thin vanilla strips. Place 1 crepe on a clean work surface. Fill the center of the crepe with about 2 tablespoons of the caramelized pears. Fold the crepe in half so that it looks like a fan. Bring the ends of the fan towards the center and tie the bundle with a vanilla bean strip. Make 11 more crepe bundles. If you don't have enough vanilla bean strips you can just fold the crepes closed. Stand the crepe bundles upright in the center of the plates and serve.
• Peel, core and cut the pears into 1/2-inch-thick slices and then cut in half crosswise. Heat a large heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is warm, sprinkle the sugar into the pan in an even layer so it will caramelize at the same time. As soon as you see the sugar begin to melt, start moving the pan over the burner to keep the sugar from burning. Tilt the pan from side to side so that the melted sugar runs over the unmelted sugar. Cook until all of the sugar is a light golden grown. Add butter and cook until melted. Add pears and spread evenly in the pan. Pour in rum. Let cook over medium-high heat until most of the liquid has evaporated and the pears are soft but not mushy. They should hold their shape but the tip of a paring knife should easily pierce them. If the pears are still hard when most of the liquid has evaporated, add a few tablespoons of water and continue cooling until the pears are done. Pour the caramelized pears onto a plate.