French & Spanish Recipes

Since we are in the eating spirit, I found some delicious traditional French and Spanish dished that i'm sure you will love, courtesy of about.com!

Poached Pears in White Wine Recipe (French)

Poached fruit is a mainstay on nearly every French restaurant’s menu. Easy to make and absolutely delicious, this special dessert is healthy and low fat, so anyone can order it. Try this recipe for poached pears in white wine at home and you’ll be adding it to your kitchen repertoire, too. Serve it with a bit of crème patisserie or almond glace for richer treat – the cream perfectly accents the spiced wine syrup and sweetness of the pears.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sweet white wine
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 vanilla bean (substitute 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 4 pears, peeled with stems left intact
• 2 cups granulated sugar

Preparation:

Stir together the white wine, water, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat and add the prepared pears. Poach the pears, uncovered, for 7 to 9 minutes, until they turn tender, but not mushy.

Use a large slotted spoon to transfer the pears onto a serving plate. Return the poaching liquid to a simmer, add the sugar, and allow the mixture to reduce by half in volume, about 6 to 8 minutes. The syrup is ready when it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean from the syrup

Arrange the pears on individual serving plates and drizzle with the wine syrup.

This poached pears in white wine recipe makes 4 servings.

Creamy Apple Tart Recipe - Tartas de Manzana Individuales (Spanish)

These individual apple tarts have a light, flaky crust and an apple filling that is creamy, fresh and not too sweet. They make a good dessert for a festive occasion. Bake them in the morning and refrigerate until dinner. Warm them just before serving. Use individual china or metal dishes for baking.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Granny Smith apples (medium)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 6-8 Tbsp granulated sugar
• vegetable oil or shortening to coat pans
• 1 pkg (16 oz) frozen puff pastry
• 1 cup whipping cream or half-and-half
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon (optional)

Preparation:

To make individual tarts, use 5-inch round china or metal pans, as pictured.

Tip: Peeling, coring and slicing of the apples can be done in about 5 minutes using a peeler/corer/slicer that clamps to a table.

Preheat oven to 300F degrees on bake setting. Remove the puff pastry package from the freezer. Open and set each folded sheet on a platter or cutting board to thaw while you prepare the apples.

Peel, core and slice the apples. Sprinkle with lemon juice and cover tightly, so that they do not turn brown.

Puff pastry should have thawed enough so that you can carefully unfold it onto a cutting board. Using the individual tart pans as guides, cut circles in the pastry. Place the pastry circles in the bottom of each tart pan.

There should be enough pastry left to cut narrow strips to line the sides of the tart pans. Press the pastry into the sides of pans. Prick pastry with fork. If you have used a “apple, peeler, corer, slicer,” your apples will be sliced in a spiral. Cut them in half. Place apple slices in a circle around each tart pan. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp of sugar over the top of each tart. Sprinkle cinnamon over apples if desired.

Place tart pans on a cookie sheet and place in oven on middle rack for about 10 minutes, or until apples brown a bit. Remove from oven and place on counter. Turn up oven temperature to 350F degrees.

Beat the egg in a medium mixing bowl, then add the heavy cream and 4 tablespoons of sugar. Beat until thoroughly mixed.

Pour the cream and egg mixture into each tart pan, covering the apple. Return tarts to oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes. If a knife is inserted into the tart and it comes out clean, it is done.

Enjoy!