Poached Pears

- Firm Pears ( I used the bosc variety) Peeled and cored, sliced, halved or whole.

- Enough water to fill saucepan

- 1 cup sugar

- Vanilla bean

- Cinnamon stick, Star anise, Slices of Ginger, Allspice berries, peppercorns, whole cloves.

Or instead of the above you could throw in a dash of chinese 5 spice and a cinnamon stick and whole cloves or ground of either.

Set the pears in the liquid and bring to a low boil/gentle simmer and allow to poach for 15-25 mins.

To prevent pears from floating place a round piece of parchment on top of the liquid to fit inside the pot, and cut a hole inside so it's like a donut to prevent steam buildup.

When they're tender remove from heat and serve warm with a dessert or on ice cream.

Here I served it with a creme brulee ice cream.

Store the pears in the fridge in some of the liquid and store the rest for drinks, it is very flavourful but strain out the spices.

Enjoy!

Citrus curds and Raspberries

Here are some fun ideas!

The other day my mum and I made a lime curd, what a great way to use up all those egg yolks from the very white sprinkle party cake with swiss meringue buttercream
Originally we wanted to make a lemon curd but no lemons on hand so limes worked just great. I really love limes, it wasn't until someone pointed out that they taste different that I ever thought about it because whatever is on sale is usually what I buy and don't really notice the difference in salads and such.

So onto the curd, it was quite easy. I used this recipe thanks to Goodlife eats.

lime curd

1/2 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 - 1 1/2 cups sugar
8 egg yolks
10 tablespoons butter, sliced into tablespoons

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine the juice(s), zest, and sugar. Heat over medium heat until simmering. Turn heat to low.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a medium sized bowl until smooth. Slowly pour half of the citrus mixture into the yolks while vigorously whisking. Return the amount in the bowl to the saucepan.

Continue to cook over low heat while whisking until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. About 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time.

Cool to room temperature, then store refrigerated in an airtight container for about a week.

Now with your curd you can either enjoy with a scone like we did, tastes great with raspberries for some reason!

Or you can put together a simple yet fancy dessert by whipping up some heavy cream with powder sugar and vanilla into a light whip cream then folding some curd into it and layering it with raspberries (or any fruit of your liking)

If you have leftover pound cake or any cake try layering it with the fluffy curd and fruit.

Delicious!

I had a lot of raspberries on hand as well so I made a raspberry BBQ sauce for short ribs, that turned out really nice too!

Smoosh your raspberries in a pot and add brown sugar, balsamic vinegar a hint of molasses, salt, black pepper, a bit of tomato paste, garlic powder, onion powder and cook until reduced.

Keep tasting and adjusting it depending on your taste then strain (to remove seed) and refrigerate until ready to use.