Here ya go, Lorraine.
Poached Pear Salad
(Cuisine, December 1997, Issue 6, p. 32)
Makes: 4 Servings Total Time: 1 Hour Rating: Easy
Garnish With:
Blue Cheese and toasted walnuts
6 cups mixed salad greens
For the Poached Pears—
Peel, Halve and Core:
4 Bosc pears
Poach Pears in Mixture of:
2 cups dry red wine
1 cup port wine
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. chopped crystallized ginger
1 cinnamon stick
For the Blue Cheese Dressing—
Reduce to 3/4 cup:
Poaching liquid from pears
Whisk Together:
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
Add:
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 T. finely chopped shallot
2 t. fresh thyme
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. white pepper
1/4 cup poaching syrup
For Croutons, Cut and Toast:
8 slices white, wheat or rye bread
Toss Together:
Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Peel pears and cut them in half lengthwise. Use a melon baller to remove core. Cut the stem out with the tip of a paring knife. Combine wines, orange juice, sugar, ginger and cinnamon stick in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
Poach by placing pear cut-side-down in the liquid. (They’re easier to turn that way.) Simmer for 20 minutes, turning pears after 10 minutes. Remove pears from poaching liquid using a slotted spoon. Save liquid. Make 1/4 "-thick lengthwise cuts in pears, leaving stem ends intact. Remove a slice from the right side of the pear. (This will help it lay flat.) Slide paring knife under that side and push pear gently to fan.
Reduce the poaching liquid over high heat for 20 minutes till 3/4 cup remains. It will be a thick syrup.
Whisk the oil and vinegar together in a bowl until it is very well blended.
Add in cheese, shallot, thyme, salt and pepper. Don’t whisk the cheese smooth; leave some pieces. Whisk poaching syrup into vinaigrette. Give it another stir just before tossing with the greens.
For croutons, cut and toast bread on baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Broil until golden brown, turn and repeat.
Toss greens with vinaigrette to coat. Serve any extra dressing on the side. Arrange greens on salad plates, mounding them in the middle. Carefully place fanned pear halves opposite each other on greens, with tips pointing up. Place two croutons on each salad.
Garnish salad with blue cheese crumbles and toasted walnut pieces. Serve salads soon after making them, so the greens don’t wilt.
PJ
Not exactly the way I would write the recipe, but every now and then, especially with the older recipes,
C@H's format is, well,