Easter Bunny Poached Pears
From:	Ile de France, France
Comments:	Pear poaching time varies depending on how ripen they are; fro this dish, choose 'melting' yet not over-ripened pears.
Servings:	4

1 orange 4 cups [1 L] water 1 1/2 cups [300 g] sugar 4 fresh pears, with stems Juice of 1 lemon 2 cups [500 mL] vanilla ice cream 5 1/4 ounces [150 g] dark chocolate pieces [to decorate] 3 1/2 ounces [100 g] white chocolate pieces [to decorate] 1 3/4 ounces [50 g] almond paste [t decorate] 1 sprig fresh mint [to decorate] Custard 1 cup [250 mL] milk 1/2 vanilla bean 3 egg yolks 10 teaspoons [50 g] sugar 8 tiny waxed paper cones

Well rinse and dry orange; slice unpeeled orange, before removing all seeds. Pour water into a casserole, mix in sugar then add orange slices. Slowly bring to a boil. Carefully peel pears leaving stems on. Delicately coat peeled pears with lemon juice, then add pears to boiling orange syrup. Cover casserole; poach pears slowly for 30 minutes. Turn-off the heat; leave pears to cool down into syrup, until cold before removing pears from syrup. Using the tip of a knife, core pears starting at bottom end, being careful to leave stems on; reserve. Melt dark chocolate pieces into the top part of a double-boiler, over hot yet not boiling water. Into a clean double-boiler, also melt white chocolate pieces into the top part of a double-boiler, over hot yet not boiling water. Fill waxed paper cones with melted dark and white chocolates [bunnies ears]. Onto platic wrap, using almond paste, shape 8 eyes, 4 noses, 8 eyebrows and 4 bow ties, to decorate 4 bunnies. Refrigerate all to harden. Meanwhile, prepare custard. Just before serving, spoon 1 scoop vanilla ice cream [bunny's bodie] onto each of 4 individual dessert plates. Top each scoop ice cream with a well-drained poached pear [bunny's head]; decorate each head with 2 ears, 2 eyes, 1 nose and 2 eyebrows, each bunny with a bow-tie, between body [ice cream scoop] and head [pear]. Serve immediately, along with custard. Custard Into a medium casserole, heat together milk and vanilla bean. Into a bowl whip together egg yolks and sugar. Remove vanilla beat from milk; then, stirring, slowly pour warm milk into beaten sweetened egg yolks. Pour mixture back into casserole; cook until mixture coats the back of a spoon. Strain custard through a fine sieve.