Hi, marie! About two years ago, Victrola posted here his "recipe" for canning poached pears in wine. I have tried it and found them quite yummy. They make a great local hard cider here in Prince Edward County where I now live, and I was thinking of maybe trying something similar (maybe mixed pears and apples?) in the cider. Haven't done it yet, so can't speak to it. But here's the pear post and a few later discussion notes, in case you are inspired! Zabby Canning poached pears: a Victrola Adventure Since Zabby recently suggested, tongue in cheek, that I've been hoarding my recipes, here is something I made today. Okay, so it's not quite a "recipe" but I don't think it lacks for details (other than measurements, but I don't measure things, so don't ask for 'em!). Today at the market, my favourite vendors had some beautiful firm Flemish Beauty pears. This is one of my favourite variety of pears; I find they have a distinctive and pleasant vanilla note. I think there were about 8 pears. Their firmness meant that, although not ready for eating, they were perfect for cooking. I peeled them with my old-fashioned apple peeler device, which worked (for most of the length of most of the pears) because they were firm and fat. After peeling, I cut them vertically into wedges of eighths, and dipped them in lemon juice to keep them from browning. (Perhaps that was superfluous, since they were to be poached in red wine anyway?) I bought a litre of the Hungarian red wine Szeksardi Voros, which friends of mine, not knowing how to pronounce Hungarian, would call Sex and Divorce. As their English name implies, it's not a fancy wine, but it's fine (and cheap) for these purposes. I brought it to boil with some cloves, a cinnamon stick, a whole allspice, a few peppercorns, one whole cardamom, two slices of lemon, one slice of orange, sugar to taste, and the "pearings" (couldn't resist the pun... sorry... pear parings, in English). I boiled this until greatly reduced. Then I fished out the solids, added the pears, boiled for about two minutes, stirring gingerly. Once again, I must praise the firmness of these pears. They didn't go to mushiness. I removed them from the heat, fished out the pears, packed the slices into jars (500ml and 250ml jars... pints and half-pints, if you prefer), and covered with the reduced wine syrup. Whoops, I had reduced it too much, and there wasn't enough to cover all the pears, so I boiled up some sugar and water (1:4 ratio) very quickly to cover the pears. Silly me, I now realise, after the fact! I had meant to top them up with brandy before sealing, not more syrup! After 20 minutes processing in BWB, I pulled out two beautiful 500ml jars and three lovely 250ml jars. And to my great pleasure, one of them did not seal, so I had no reason not to sample my wares: yum yum. I can't wait to have the occasion to bring these out for a dinner party or give them as host/hostess gifts. One last time, let me emphasise the firmness of the pears! I couldn't imagine this turning out well with Bartlett pears (which I love for eating out of hand), for example. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: MrsBartholomew 6a Canada (My Page) on Mon, Sep 20, 04 at 16:11 I love poached pears in red wine. I often make them for dessert when we have guests. Once I did them in white wine instead, just for a change - it was a Gewurtztraminer, and the seasonings were just a vanilla pod, a couple of star anise, and a cinnamon stick. Oh, it was beautiful. I serve one pear with about a half-cup of syrup and a dollop of whipped cream, and the syrup always gets eaten up! I've never tried canning them but maybe I should. It was the firmness I was afraid would be lost, but I didn't think of buying a harder pear. Good thinking. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RE: Canning pears poached in red wine: a Victrola adventure Posted by: lpinkmountain 5b/6a border PA (My Page) on Mon, Sep 20, 04 at 16:16 I mix the juice with maybe a little more sugar and some cornstarch and make a warm sauce to serve with the pears. I serve mine topped with canned vanilla pudding, warm sauce and some crumbled sugar cookies mixed with nuts. Or you can serve cold over cottage cheese or yogurt. Or plain. Or slice them, make the cornstarch based sauce, arrange the slices in the bottom of a greased nonstick 10 inch pan, pour the sauce over the pears and then pour cake batter over that. Turn it upside down to serve with a little more warmed sauce and some whipped cream. Or serve them with some sponge cake and hot chocolate sauce drizzled over them. Or mix them with other fruits for ambrosia. Or add the juice and chopped pears to jello. That's for starters. But definately save the juice to make a sauce. Mix it with cornstarch, say maybe 1-2 TBLSP, depends on how much juice you start with. You can always add a little more cornstarch, but it has to be mixed with COLD water first. Too much cornstarch gives the sauce a gluey taste.

I gallon apple cider (apple juice will work but cider is a bit tastier) one orange into which you have pushed 15 cloves (or you can throw in the cloves and orange, which can be whole or sliced) 3 or 4 cinnamon sticks (the spice, not the candy) Heat in a large pan over low heat for about 30 minutes so that the flavors will blend. Do not boil. Taste it to see if the spices and orange have flavored it before you serve it--sometimes it takes a little more cooking. After about 90 minutes, I always remove the spices and orange as they will make the cider bitter if cooked too long. This is good as is. Or you can put a shot of brandy, rum, or Irish whiskey in the bottom of your cup before adding the cider.

I am making these over Labor Day weekend. I like the idea that you make your own cider reduction and the recipes from this site have always worked well for me. Alexa Apple Cider Doughnuts Adapted from Lauren Dawson at Hearth Restaurant Makes 18 doughnuts + 18 doughnut holes (suggested yield for a 3-inch cutter; my larger one yielded fewer) Most apple cider doughnuts, despite their name, are kind of a bummer because they don�t taste very apple-y. One of the many things that appealed to me about this recipe was the way the apple cider was reduced and concentrated to hopefully give it more presence. And despite the fact that these are cake doughnuts, which have always played second fiddle to yeast doughnuts in my experience (likely because cake are more likely to get stale sooner, or you know, by the time you buy them), I think this is all the more reason to make them at home. Personally, I don�t think a sweetened doughnut needs any kind of topping, but I went with a cinnamon-sugar coating anyway. Hearth dips theirs in an apple cider glaze, and serves them with applesauce and barely-sweetened whipped cream. We had ours with a dark beer. 1 cup apple cider 3 1/2 cups flour, plus additional for the work surface 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) butter, at room temperature 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1/2 cup buttermilk Vegetable oil or shortening (see my explanation in the post) for frying Toppings (optional) Glaze (1 cup confectioners� sugar + 2 tablespoons apple cider) Cinnamon sugar (1 cup granulated sugar + 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon) Make the doughnuts: In a saucepan over medium or medium-low heat, gently reduce the apple cider to about 1/4 cup, 20 to 30 minutes. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Set aside. Using an electric mixer on medium speed (with the paddle attachment, if using a standing mixer) beat the butter and granulated sugar until the mixture is smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat until the eggs are completely incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the reduced apple cider and the buttermilk, mixing just until combined. Add the flour mixture and continue to mix just until the dough comes together. Line two baking sheets with parchment or wax paper and sprinkle them generously with flour. Turn the dough onto one of the sheets and sprinkle the top with flour. Flatten the dough with your hands until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Use more flour if the dough is still wet. Transfer the dough to the freezer until it is slightly hardened, about 20 minutes. Pull the dough out of the freezer. Using a 3-inch or 3 1/2-inch doughnut cutter � or a 3 1/2-inch round cutter for the outer shape and a 1-inch round cutter for the hole from a set like this, as I did � cut out doughnut shapes. Place the cut doughnuts and doughnut holes onto the second sheet pan. Refrigerate the doughnuts for 20 to 30 minutes. (You may re-roll the scraps of dough, refrigerate them briefly and cut additional doughnuts from the dough.) Add enough oil or shortening to a deep-sided pan to measure a depth of about 3 inches. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and heat over medium heat until the oil reaches 350�F*. Have ready a plate lined with several thicknesses of paper towels. Make your toppings (if using): While the cut doughnut shapes are in the refrigerator, make the glaze by whisking together the confectioners� sugar and the cider until the mixture is smooth; make the cinnamon sugar by mixing the two together. Set aside. Fry and top the doughnuts: Carefully add a few doughnuts to the oil, being careful not to crowd the pan, and fry until golden brown, about 60 seconds. Turn the doughnuts over and fry until the other side is golden, 30 to 60 seconds. Drain on paper towels for a minute after the doughnuts are fried. Dip the top of the warm doughnuts into the glaze or cinnamon sugar mixture (if using) and serve immediately. Here is a link that might be useful: Apple Cider Donuts from Smitten Kitchen

Here is my T & T recipe for Wassail, which I have made for years. Each year I am asked to make it and bring it to parties. Everyone always wants this recipe. It came from a Christmas Home Tour by a local City's Womens' Club that I attended back in the 1980's. WASSAIL 1 gallon Apple Cider 3 cinnamon sticks broken up slightly 1 tsp Nutmeg 3 tsp Allspice 1/3 box brown sugar, or less, if desired 1 12 oz can Frozen Lemonade 1 12 oz can Frozen Pineapple or Pineapple/Orange Juice 1 to 2 cans (cans from frozen Lemonade) of water combine all ingredients and heat.(Place cinnamon sticks and spices in a bag and drop into liquid so you don't have to strain mixture) Float clove studded oranges in liquid. Also, oranges,thinly sliced make a nice presentation. This can be cooked in a slow cooker, on top of stove, or in a coffeemaker. I make this for Christmas Eve Services at church and triple the recipe (do not triple the frozen fruit. Leave it as shown)and use a 100 up coffeemaker that is seperately designated for Wassail only because it will leave a definite aftertaste in the coffeemaker. This year at a party in my home I made this in a 7 quart slow cooker which really worked well. Note: I have been using Sugar Twin Brown Sugar substitute so that Diabetics can drink this. I cannot tell the difference in the taste.