ANST - POIRES AU GRATIN

[James Crouchet]

Posting Recipes, are we? Ok, I'll play.

Did anyone like the Pear Dessert at Candlemas? Here it is:

POIRES AU GRATIN 

Take several pears and cut them corse. To make a sauce, boil and 
strain apricots and mix them with sugar and sweet spices. Add 
wine and brandywine. Add butter and thicken. Put the pears in a dish 
with butter and the sauce and bake in a hot oven. Serve with crisp 
pastry.

Or in modern form:

4 large Anjou pears (1/2 lb each) - peel, core and dice very corse. 
Remember, pear cores are much smaller than apple cores, so don't cut 
away too much. Put in a deep bowl.

To make the sauce, mix an 18oz jar of apricot preserves (the 
kind with sugar) with 2 tbsp dry vermouth, 1 tbsp brandy and 1 tbsp 
sherry. Spice to taste. I used 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cardamom 
and 1/4 tsp allspice, but allspice and possibly cardamom are new 
world. Do not add vanilla or the pears will be overpowered. Add 2.5 
tbsp unsalted butter and puree in a blender.

Pour the sauce into the bowl of pears and add 1/4 cup powdered 
tapioca (or substitute your favorite unflavored thickener) and mix it 
well. [Note: I doubt tapioca is period for Europe, but I like it as 
it is almost completely flavorless.]

Lightly coat an 12x8 pan with unsalted butter. Pour the pears and 
sauce in the pan and level. Crumble 2 or 3 puff pastry over the 
top and bake at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes (add five minutes if 
more than 2 pans are done at once).

Just before serving, top with a crisp puff pastry. The choice of 
pastry is critical and I find that (ironically) a cookie called a 
Dore is perfect. You could also experiment with butter cookies or 
shortbreads, but the heavier the cookie, the more it will distract 
from the pears.

For your own use, plan on 8 servings from a dish. For a feast, do 1
dish for about every 14 people as some will not or cannot eat it and 
most folks will be full by then. At Candlemas I did not have any left 
to take home.

Don Christian Dore

p.s. - Yes, it means pears with cheese. No, there is no cheese. I 
have no idea where the name came from, but this a variation of a 
French dessert that is still popular today.
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