We're already in the 5th week of the Steemit IronChef competition, and this week's theme is PEAR. Many thanks to our wonderful host @progressivechef for organizing such an engaging and creative challenge!
I am a lover of most fruits, and a good pear is no exception. I was happy to hear the theme and to create a dish to highlight the delicate and fresh sweetness of pears.
I bought several small bartlett pears from the local farmer's market over the weekend, and they were perfectly ripened by the time I was ready to use them.
So here's the plate I made up. It took about 100 times more time to make it than it did for my kids, husband, and I to gobble it up. I tried several new techniques in this week's challenge, including making tuiles, oven-baked candied pears, and poached pears. What a great week of learning and cooking and eating!
For the candied pears, I used a mandoline to thinly slice the pears, dipped both sides lightly in granulated sugar, and baked on a silpat, flipping halfway through. The result is a crispy and sweet dehydrated pear that is concentrated in pear flavor.
By accident, the candied pears created a fabulous pear juice crisp - a glass-like candy that formed when the juices of the pear caramelized on the silpat. Delicately crispy with the pure essence of pear, these pear juice crisps added a nice element of crunch to the dish.
I poached the pears in a combination of apple cider and earl grey tea. Pears and tea seem to be a fitting combination, delicate, pure flavors. The natural sweetness of the apple cider was a nice complement to the poached pears, and let the pear flavor take center stage.
After poaching the pears, I reduced the poaching liquid to form a cider and earl grey poaching liquid reduction. I reserved half of the poaching liquid reduction and whisked in some dark chocolate to melt down and create a dark chocolate poaching liquid glaze for one of the pears and the plating.
To make the pear and pomegranate mousse, I whipped heavy cream, adding pureed pears and pomegranate seed juice, along with a touch of maple syrup.
For the tuile, I whisked together egg white, sugar, flour, melted butter, vanilla, and pear puree to form a batter. I spooned and spread the batter onto the silpat and baked until just crisp. With quick hands, I rolled the tuiles before they firmed up and set.
Here's my proof photo!
I hope you've enjoyed this recipe, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.
If you're interested in being a part of the Steemit IronChef Competition, don't forget to check out the details at @steemit-ironchef. A huge thanks to @progressivechef for coming up with this awesome way to showcase our food creations and build community with each other here on Steemit. Looking forward to continuing this competition!!
@progressivechef for organizing such an engaging and creative challenge!
@steemit-ironchef. A huge thanks to 
@jaymorebeet, taken on October 3, 2017 with a Canon 7D Mark II.