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11/12/1999 Archived Entry: "Nesselrode Pie and Very Spicy Caramel Pears"

I was intending to put my recipe for Nesselrode Pie here today. It is among what I like to call my holiday collection of pie recipes (see the Maven’s Diary item from Nov. 9). However, it dawned on me only this morning that Nesselrode Pie is on this web-site already. How soon we forget. It is a recipe so frequently requested that it ranks among the top 10 Favorite Radio Recipes. You can find it in that section of the web-site.

I must tell you, there is a problem with the recipe. Raffetto’s “Nesselro” product, which flavors the pie, seems to have disappeared from the market, like the pie itself. I mention in the recipe introduction that it is manufactured and marketed by Romanoff International, Inc., the same people who market the caviar you can buy in the supermarket, and that it is distributed through Haddon House. But no grocery manager seems to be able to get it. At least that is the message I am getting from those of you who have tried to buy it. Don’t despair. I suggest you substitute candied chestnuts, preferably ones packed in syrup, but you could use the drier type, too. Just chop them into about 1/4-inch pieces. When you read the introduction to the recipe, you’ll see that candied chestnuts are actually more in keeping with a true Nesselrode anyway. The jarred product of candied cauliflower (yes, cauliflower) and othr stuff was always a compromise – not that it didn’t taste good.

The following recipe is as appropriate for the Thanksgiving table as any pie – and a lot easier to make. It comes from David Lebovitz’s just-published cookbook, Room for Dessert.

I met David in Phoenix last spring, at the annual conference of the International Association of Cooking Professionals (IACP), and we bonded immediately. He’s an absolutely delightful man. He’s from San Francisco, and was for 12 years a “pastry cook” at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Alice Water’s famous restaurant. Now he mainly writes and teaches. I put “pastry cook” in quotes because that’s what David calls himself. It shows how modest he is. Most people of his accomplishment – his desserts were also critically acclaimed at Bruce Cost’s restaurant, Monsoon, in San Francisco -- would call themselves “pastry chef.” Whatever … he is a very accomplished baker and dessert cook.

As someone who is still, after all these many years in the kitchen, not as comfortable baking as I am cooking, I really, really appreciate David’s book. Besides precisely written recipes for contemporary pies, tarts, cakes, and cookies, the book has recipes for custards, puddings, souffles, cobblers, ice creams, sorbets, and a whole large chapter on fruit desserts – the kinds of sweets I feel more comfortable preparing. There are also chapters on candies, liqueurs, and preserves. Altogether there are 110 recipes in this deceptively slim volume filled with beautiful color photographs by Michael Lamotte.

David’s “Very Spicy Caramel Pears” were a huge success on my table, and I didn’t even dress them up with ice cream, or crème fraiche, or whipped cream, which I was sorely tempted to do. David says that he often does not strain out the spices that flavor the sauce, but I would definitely do that next time. Some of my tasters found the bits of spices in the syrup too intrusive.

David suggests using a baking dish for the pears, but I used a heavy saute pan instead. This made it slightly easier, as I was able to melt the butter and sugar on top of the stove (step 3), instead of in the oven, and I didn’t need to transfer the juices to another pan when the pears were cooked (step 5). Read the recipe and you’ll see what I mean.

Very Spicy Caramel Pears
Serves 4

15 whole cloves
2 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
4 pears, Comice, Bosc, or Butter
4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup Cognac, brandy, or rum
1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Coarsely crush the spices with a mortar and pestle or break them up in a plastic bag by smashing them with a rolling pin or hammer.

3. Peel and quarter the pears, and core them, slicing away the fibrous parts in the center. Cut the butter into small pieces and put them in a baking dish with the brown sugar. Put the baking dish in the oven for a few minutes to melt the butter. Arrange the pears in the baking dish, add the sauces and liquor, and toss everything together so that the pears are evenly coated.

4. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake 30 to 45 minutes, until the pears are baked through. (The baking time will vary depending on the pears you use. Firm Bosc pears will take 45 minutes, but softer Comice and Butter pears will take about 30 minutes.) Remove the dish from the oven two or three times during baking, and stir the pears so they will be flavored on all sides.

5. The pears are ready when they can be easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife. Remove them from the oven and lift them out of the baking dish with a slotted spoon. Scrape the juices and spices from the baking dish into a heavy sauté pan.

6. Add the heavy cream to the pear juices and spices on the stove and cook over medium heat until the mixture turns a deep color, thickens, and caramelizes. Strain the finished caramel over the pears and serve with scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Variation: The pears can be replaced with good, firm baking apples – peeled, cored, cut into eighths, and baked for 25 minutes.