BIG, FAT, GREEK DINNER at Jacek and Joanna's

Dessert

Catherine and George made pears poached in spiced red wine with puff pastry rafts and vanilla soy ice cream. The ice cream was an experiment and turned out very well.

Pears poached in spiced red wine
6 Bosc pears, stems intact
1 bottle Pinot Noir wine
3/4 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
6 black peppercorns
1 clove
1--3-inch strip of orange peel, zest only

Heat the red wine with the sugar over medium-high heat in a saucepan that will hold all the pears upright. Stir sugar to dissolve.

Core the pears from the bottom and peel them. If necessary, slice the bottoms so they will stand up fairly straight.

Add the spices to the red wine and let simmer for a few minutes. Then add the pears. Simmer until slightly tender, about 20 minutes, basting with the wine every 5 minutes or so.

Remove from the heat and let cool. Remove the pears to a clean dish, cover them, and let stand at room temperature if serving within a few hours, or refrigerate if desired.

Strain the spices from the red wine and simmer the wine briskly until reduced to a thin syrup. Let cool.

Serve the pears with ice cream and wine syrup poured over. If using puff pastry rafts, place the puff pastry next to the pear and place a scoop of ice cream on top of the puff pastry. Pour the wine syrup over all and let it puddle on the plate.


Vanilla Custard Soy Ice Cream
A delicious substitute for dairy ice cream for the lactose-intolerant

4 egg yolks
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
2 cups soy milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl. Heat the milk in a saucepan until steaming; do not scorch. Pour milk slowly into the egg mixture, whisking the whole time. Return the milk and egg mixture to the saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until thickened (it will coat the back of a metal spoon). Stir in the vanilla. Pour into a bowl and cover the whole surface of the custard closely with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming. Refrigerate until well-chilled, at least 4 hours.

Prepare in your ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer's directions.


Puff pastry rafts

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry

Let puff pastry thaw on the kitchen counter. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. When thawed, cut puff pastry sheet into thirds in one direction and then cut each strip into thirds again--making nine pieces. A pizza cutter is a useful tool for this.

Cut each of the nine squares into six strips. Weave the strips alternately over-and-under, 3 strips vertically and 3 horizontally, into latticed mats about 4 inches square.

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 to 15 minutes until nicely browned. Cool on a wire rack and store in an air-tight container until used.