Pear Purses with Vanilla Sauce

Note from Cheri: The recipe, text and photo below are reprinted with permission from The Private Chef -- Hollywood's Premier Private Chef and the Recipes & Techniques That Got Him There by Richard Florczak (2006, The Hamilton Group). When I first heard about this book I thought, do we really a book filled with fussy food for high maintenance celebrities. It turns out, yes. Home cooks can learn a lot of practical tips and techniques from chef to the stars Richard Florczak(on staff personal chef to Mel Gibson plus freelance jobs with Jennifer Garner and other Hollywood luminaries). After all, the private home chef does not have the luxury of a staffed, prepped kitchen that his restaurant counterparts do. He has to do it all -- from shopping to chopping to cooking and often even serving and cleaning up afterward. As such his routine must efficient and streamlined, although he must still turn out world class fare. Click here to learn more about this book, for discount ordering links through Amazon.com and for more sample recipes from Hollywood Private Chef Richard Florczak.

The trick to working with phyllo dough is keeping the sheets damp. While assembling each purse, cover the remaining sheets of dough with a slightly damp, but not wet cloth. Even if the purses don't look perfect, the baking of this dessert always renders unique results.

Purses: 4 firm, but not hard pears, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes 8 ounces butter 1 tablespoon flour 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 package frozen phyllo dough, defrosted powdered sugar for dusting Sauce: 1 cup heavy cream 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise 1 egg yolk 1/2 cup sugar

Serves 4-6 Melt 4 ounces of butter in a medium skillet over low heat. In a mixing bowl, toss together pears, flour, sugar, and cinnamon and add to skillet. Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally until heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Remove phyllo dough from package and place on a cutting board. Peel off about 4 layers and place flat on the cutting board. Return remaining phyllo to the package and refrigerate. Cut phyllo dough with with a large knife into 4 equal 10 inch squares. Place squares on top of one another, creating one stack and cover with a damp cloth. Melt remaining butter in a saucepan. Remove 4 layers of phyllo dough and place flat on the cutting board, always making sure to cover the remaining sheets with the damp cloth. Using a pastry brush, liberally brush both sides of the phyllo sheets with butter. Use care when turning the sheets over. Spoon 1/4 of the pear mixture into the center of the dough. Bring corners of the dough together and pinch just above the pear mixture. Carefully transfer purse to a baking pan. Repeat with remaining dough, for a total of 4 purses. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and let cool. Heat cream and vanilla bean over medium heat in a saucepan and reduce by one quarter. Place egg yoke in a small bowl and pour 1/2 of the hot cream over the yolk. Stir quickly. Return egg yolk mixture back into the cream and stir. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring continuously for 1 minute. Add sugar, stir, and strain into a sauceboat. To Serve: Dust purses with powdered sugar. Using a metal spatula, place on dessert plates and serve with vanilla sauce. For the lovely presentation in the photo, simply cover the bottom of an individual dessert plate with sauce, dust the purse with powdered sugar and place on top of the sauce. Lightly dust the sauce, not the plate, with cinnamon.