by Conan Simmons – April 25, 2021 – 8:00 am
As you sit down tonight to watch Hollywood’s annual Academy Awards show and see if your favorites win any Oscars you’ll probably want to have something to eat during the long ceremony. Here’s a dessert that you can make and enjoy not only on Oscars night but any night of the year!
Poire avec Orange (or, Orange Poached Pears) is an easy to make gourmet dessert fitting for awards! And if you’re looking for a food with a movie connection you’re in luck because this delicious dish was featured in the Academy Award winning film ‘Beauty and the Beast’. The 1991 animated hit caused quite a fuss amongst Hollywood when it was nominated for Best Picture. The controversy lingered on through the 1990’s until the Academy began a new category specifically for Animated Features in 2001.
‘Beauty and the Beast’ was remade into a live action film in 2017 starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens. Of course, film fans will always recall Jean Renoir’s 1946 live action adaptation as the ultimate classic.
Anyway, back to the food! Here is the list of ingredients and the steps necessary to make this scrumptious slice of flavor:
INGREDIENTS:
Pears, peeled (4 should do unless you’re serving more), Bosc pears are best for the traditional look and cut the bottoms off so they balance easier in the pan, they’re going to stand stems up
1 & 1/2 cup of orange juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon star anise
1 teaspoon orange zest
Coconut shreds and Slivered Almonds to garnish
DIRECTIONS:
Heat the orange juice, cinnamon, sugar, cloves, star anise and orange zest in a medium sauce pan until boiling.
Once the sugar has dissolved place the pears stems up in the pan.
Bring to a simmer and cover the pan. Cook for 1 hour drizzling the syrup over the pears every 10 minutes or so to make sure the pears are gaining that flavor!
Take the pears out of the pan. Bring syrup back up to a boil until it thickens.
Pour syrup over the pears then garnish with the coconut shreds and slivered almonds.
Serves nicely on a dessert plate!
Have fun watching the Oscars! If you want to see ON GENRE’s predictions you can see who we think will win here!