Sexy Pear Poached in Wine with Sugar Spice Glaze

Fellas, you want to start a romantic evening? End your dinner by serving this dessert to your lady fair.

1 Bosch pear
1/2 cup red wine (White wine would work too.)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons butter
dash salt
1 scoop vanilla ice cream

  Cut the pear so it will stand up erect. peel away the pear's clothes, er, uh...  peel.

Now let's heat things up! Melt some butter

in a pot over medium heat.

place the pear upright in the pot. 

Sprinkle the granulated sugar and brown sugar over and around the pear, add a dash of salt to the pot and dust the pear gently with the cinnamon.

Raise the heat to high and after a minute slowly add the wine. Bring the liquid to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and cover the pot with a lid. Simmer, simmer simmer...

Let the pear poach gently, giving up it's juices to the sauce.Simmer and spoon the sauce over the naked pear this way for about 10 minutes, checking every so often to make sure there is enough liquid in the pot. Everything should be juicy and sticky by now...

When the pear is just soft enough to pierce with a gentle stab of your paring knife, the dessert is ready to come off the stove to serve. Serve the pear with the ice cream and drizzle the syrupy, caramel sauce over the unctuous, delicious fruit.  Sharing it is a very sensual experience...

This dessert works such wonders that I forgot to take photos of the dish as it was served....     

 Tio     ;-)

Glazed Ham Cuba Libre

Ever have a Cuba Libre? It is a rum and Coca-Cola with lime, and they make a great taste combination. So, why not use those flavors in cooking? Okay here we go, I have a Bacardi and Coke glaze that I think tastes great.  I've used Coke in cooking brisket and that turns out a really tasty dish.  So, I'm not too surprised to find that cola as a base for this glaze is an awesome flavoring ingredient.

Ham is a holiday treat for us. We usually serve ham about 3 times a year,  At least once during the Christmas season, again at Easter, and occasionally as non-holiday party fare.  I sometimes cook lamb at Easter, but more often than not, on Easter Sunday, it's ham.  I love ham, I think we will start having it more often.

I start with a large butt end 1/2 ham, or a whole ham and it should say something on the package like, "cured ham with water added," do not get a ham with "ham product added," that's like the nefarious "cheese food product" or "milk solids" that you see in some ingredient labels.  I prefer a whole ham rather than the spiral cut hams, because the pre-cut hams that I have made tend to be dry by the time they get heated through.  But YOU could use a spiral ham if that is your preference, just adjust the cooking time according to the directions on the package and use this glaze instead.

Ingredients:

2 cans Coca-Cola (regular, not diet)

1/4 cup dark rum (I like Bacardi)

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup yellow mustard

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 -15 whole cloves

Score the ham in cross hatches and stud each intersection with cloves.















Cook the ham, on a rack, covered, in a 350° oven for an hour. You can pour 2 cans of coke into the bottom of the pan or you can use water or stock.

Meanwhile, bring 2 cans of Coke to a simmer in a saucepan and reduce to 1/2 cup.

Add the remaining ingredients and simmer, stirring until smooth, remove from heat.

Remove ham from oven, uncover and begin to glaze the ham.  Return to the oven and cook for another hour or until the proper internal temperature is reached.

Glaze the ham every 15 minutes until the ham has reached the proper temp. If you are using a "cured ham" 160º, if you are using a "fully cooked" or smoked ham 120º.

Let the ham rest for 10 - 15 minute before carving. Brush slices with remaining glaze and serve with whatever sides float your boat. That's Glazed Ham Cuba Libre!