Wine-Poached Pear Croustades with Ice Cream

Name: Wine-Poached Pear Croustades with Ice Cream
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 4 1/2 cups dry red wine (about 1 1/2 750-ml bottles); 3/4 cup sugar; 18 whole black peppercorns; 2 6x1-inch strips orange peel (orange part only); 1 bay leaf; 3 firm but ripe Bosc or Bartlett pears, peeled, halved, cored; 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch; 1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice; 6 1/2-inch-thick pound cake slices, lightly toasted; Vanilla ice cream

August 20, 2004

Croustades are toasted shapes or shells of bread or baked pastry crusts used as bases for serving various mixtures, either sweet or savory. Here they're made with slices of toasted pound cake and topped with wine-poached pears and ice cream. It's a dessert that's easy to make and a perfect conclusion to a county-style, French-inspired menu.

Recipe notes

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