CLOSE
Arts & Entertainment

by -
0 193
1 of 4

By Rita J. Egan

For four decades the Three Village Historical Society has been illuminating the way to the holiday season with its Candlelight House Tour, showcasing historic properties dressed in all their festive finery by a team of local decorators.

On Saturday, Dec. 1, ticket holders can take part in the society’s 40th annual Candlelight House Tour. Titled 40 Years Honoring a Sense of Place, the tour will include five homes in East Setauket, the grist mill at Frank Melville Memorial Park and the historical society’s headquarters on North Country Road.

This year’s tour is the seventh one organized by co-chairs Patty Cain, historical society vice president, and Patty Yantz, a former president. Yantz said the title of the tour is a natural fit for the society that offers various programs that educate residents about former residents and local history, which in turn gives them a sense of place.

“People can come and go, but that history still lives on and is hopefully appreciated by generations to come,” Yantz said.

One of the homes on the tour this year was featured during the first Candlelight House Tour and is owned by the same owner, Eva Glaser. Glaser was one of the first co-chairs of the event and came up with the idea to hold a candlelight tour to raise money for the refurbishment of The Setauket Neighborhood House, where the historical society was initially housed. “It’s a treat to have her home on it,” Cain said.

This year’s tour includes other homes from past tours, mostly from the event’s first decade, and even though the owners have changed, the historical aspect of the houses hasn’t, according to Yantz and Cain.

“Some of these houses are favorites of tour-goers and the community, so they do like to see them again,” Cain said.

Cain said in the past some recently built homes were included on the tour because they were situated on properties of historical significance, but this year all the houses are significant on their own merits. The co-chair said they all date back 100 years or more, and the owners have maintained the unique historical character for each.

Among the spots are one structure that belonged to a sea captain and a beach house that overlooks Conscience Bay. Cain said a Dutch Colonial home that is a familiar sight to locals will also be one of the stops giving ticket holders the opportunity to see what the new owner has done with it.

The theme of each house is different either depending on the décor or the architecture of the home, according to Yantz, and each spot highlights and honors the area.

“Not only do we get to see the houses but sometimes we get a glimmer or concept of who built the house,” she said. “We get the history. We get an idea of who came here before [us], which I think is a wonderful thing in the more of a transient world we live in. Sometimes it’s very nice to be very grounded.”

Cain said she thinks attendees will take away a lot from this year’s event.

“I hope what they get out of the tour this year is to really see a beautiful sampling of the historic homes that we have in the area and can appreciate the fact that each owner has really cherished the fact that it is a historic home, and they have maintained the bones of the house,” Cain said.

The 40th annual Candlelight House Tour will be held on Dec. 1 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (the Nov. 30 evening tour is sold out). Tickets are $50 per person, $45 members. An optional breakfast at the Old Field Club from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. is available for an additional $20. For more information or to order tickets, call 631-751-3730, email [email protected] or visit www.tvhs.org. Tickets may be picked up at the Three Village Historical Society located at 93 North Country Road, Setauket.

Photos by Rita J. Egan, 2017

by -
0 309
Bernadette Castro

As part of their 55+ Club series, The Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) and Burner Law Group will welcome Bernadette Castro to speak on her illustrious and diverse career at a Master Class on Wednesday, Nov. 28.

Among her countless achievements, Castro was named commissioner of the New York Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation in 1995 by Gov. George Pataki (R) and her 12-year term included assisting in the protection of one million acres of parkland across the state.

Castro ran for the New York State Senate in 1994 winning 42 percent of the vote, and in 2002 Castro helped to bring the first U.S. Open Golf Championship ever played on a public golf course to Bethpage Black at Bethpage State Park. Currently, she serves on the 2019 PGA Championship Executive Committee, which will also be played at Bethpage Black. Castro was even a recording artist in the 1960s, appearing on the “Clay Cole Rock & Roll Show” singing one of her hits, “His Lips Get in the Way.”

Today she is the chairperson of Castro Properties, the commercial real estate company owned by her family. She is also still the spokesperson for Castro Convertibles, the very company she was the face of as a 4-year-old starring in the brand’s legendary television commercials from 1948 and beyond. Those appearances earned her the distinction of being the “most televised child in America.”

With seemingly limitless drive and energy, Castro, a Suffolk County resident, has won a multitude of awards and supports a number of organizations and charitable causes. She is on the Advisory Board of Volunteers for Wildlife, hosts “Tomorrow’s Hope,” for the Catholic Faith Network (formerly Telecare) and is very involved in raising funds for the INN (Interfaith Nutrition Network), the largest private social service agency of its kind on Long Island helping those challenged by hunger, homelessness and poverty.   

Castro is also an advisory board member of the New York Landmarks Conservancy. She graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s in broadcast journalism and a master’s in educational administration. She became the first woman to receive the university’s School of Journalism Distinguished Alumnus and last month was inducted into the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communication Hall of Fame. Castro also holds an honorary doctor of law degree from St. Joseph’s College, an honorary doctor of law from Dowling College and an honorary doctor of humane letters from Daemon College.

Castro will offer a Basket of Life raffle at this event, which will include items such as her senate race bumper sticker, her 45 rpm record, Norman Vincent Peale’s book, “The Power of the Plus Factor,” which mentions her father, Bernard Castro, an Italian immigrant who never finished high school but went on to become very successful with the creation of Castro Convertibles. She is the proud mother of four children and eight grandchildren and says, “What really matters is what my children and grandchildren will remember about me. Hopefully, that I was kind and generous and helped not only people that I knew, but also those I would never meet.”

The program is free and will take place at WMHO’s Educational & Cultural Center, 97P Main St., Stony Brook on Nov. 28 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served. To reserve your seat, call 631-689-5888.

by -
0 246
From left, Emily Edwards, Michael Mingoia, Adriana Scheer and Ryan Cavanagh in a scene from ‘White Christmas’

By Heidi Sutton

Fans of Irving Berlin are in for a treat this holiday season as the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts presents its latest offering, the stage version of “White Christmas.”

With book by David Ives and Paul Blake, the musical features 17 songs written by Berlin including what he considered his greatest song ever, “White Christmas.” Sung by Bing Crosby, the song would receive an Academy Award in 1943 for Best Original Song and sell more than 50 million copies, making it the best-selling Christmas song of all time.

A scene from ‘White Christmas’

Based on the classic 1954 film that starred Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen, the musical centers around Bob Wallace (Michael Mingoia) and Phil Davis (Ryan Cavanagh), World War II veterans who team up to become a successful song and dance act, even making appearances on the Ed Sullivan show.

Always on the lookout for new talent, they head to a nightclub to see the Haynes sisters, Betty (Emily Edwards) and Judy (Adriana Scheer) perform. While Phil and Judy hit it off right away, Bob and Betty need a little more time.

When Bob and Phil follow Betty and Judy to their next gig at the Columbia Inn in Pinetree, Vermont, they discover that the ski lodge is owned by their former general, Henry Waverly (Eugene Dailey). When the housekeeper, Martha Watson (Anne Marie Finnie) informs them that the inn is in financial straits, they decide to stage a benefit show in the barn on the property on Christmas Eve. Will everything go on as planned?

Directed by Ronald Green III, the 27-member cast transports the audience to the 1950s and does an excellent job portraying the story through song and dance.

Emily Edwards and Adriana Scheer perform ‘Sisters’

With choreography by M.E. Junge, Edwards and Scheer shine in “Sisters,” Finnie, Edwards and Scheer’s “Falling Out of Love Can Be Fun” is delightful while Mingoia delivers a beautiful version of “White Christmas” at the very beginning of the show. As a special treat, 10-year-old Cordelia Comando, in the role of  the general’s 9-year-old niece, belts out a rendition of “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy” that will take your breath away. There are big tap dance numbers also like “Happy Holidays/ Let Yourself Go,” “I Love a Piano” and the rousing “Blue Skies” that are a joy to watch.

The various sets are impressive as well, from a night club to the lobby of the inn to a barn, and the costumes designed by Green, from the army uniforms to the glittery gowns are top notch. The show closes with a “White Christmas” sing-along sure to get one in the holiday spirit. Running time is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission.

The Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts, 2 East Main St. Smithtown kicks off its 17th season with Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas The Musical” through Dec. 30. Tickets are $38 adults, $34 seniors, $25 students. For more information or to order, call 631-724-3700 or visit www.smithtownpac.org.

Photos by Courtney Braun

by -
0 1876
Sam Aronson. Photo courtesy of BNL

By Daniel Dunaief

Sam Aronson, the retired head of Brookhaven National Laboratory, has set his sights on a new project far from Long Island.

Teaming up with Acacia Leakey, the project management and engineering consultant of a company called SOSAED and a member of the famed family that has made seminal discoveries about human evolution in Kenya, Aronson would like to stimulate the growth of businesses through the use of solar power that provides products and services.

“This [part of Africa] is an area where there’s really little infrastructure,” Aronson said. “We’re looking to help people get up on the economic pyramid.”

The people Aronson and Leakey would like to help are representative of the one billion people without access to electric power. Two-thirds of them live in sub-Saharan Africa.

Through SOSAED — which stands for Sustainable Off-grid Solutions for African Economic Development — Aronson and Leakey are working with the Turkana Basin Institute of northern Kenya, Stony Brook University, Strathmore University in Nairobi and other Kenyan educational institutions and businesses to integrate business creation in off-grid areas into the larger Kenyan economic ecosystem.

The group would like to create a business model, using local workers and managers, for a range of companies, Leakey explained.

SOSAED plans to start with a small-scale solar-powered clothing production business, which would create affordable clothing for the heat, including skirts, shirts and shorts. SOSAED expects to build this plant adjacent to the TBI research facility.

Ideally, the manufacturer will make the clothing from local material. The clothing business is a pilot project to see whether the model can work for other types of projects in other areas. The Turkana Basin Institute will provide some of the infrastructure, while SOSAED will acquire the equipment and the raw materials and training to do the work.

SOSAED hopes the project will become “self-sustaining when it’s up and running,” Aronson said. “To be sustainable, it has to be the work of local people.” He hopes what will differentiate this effort from other groups’ attempts to build economic development is the commitment to maintenance by people living and working in the area.

“To an extent, the suitability of technology is rarely rigorously considered when humanitarian or generic development projects are implemented,” Leakey explained in an email. “Not only are the skills required for maintenance an important consideration, the availability of spare parts and the motivation and ability to pay for these are also important.”

Developing a system that includes upkeep by people living and working in the area could “make a project move ahead on its own steam,” Aronson said. The area has limited infrastructure, although some of that is changing as new roads and government-funded water projects begin.

Leakey suggested that a long-term project would need extensive participation of the users in every step of the development and implementation. “The project will likely look very different once complete to how we envisage it now, and part of our success (if it comes) will lie in working in a way which allows a great degree of flexibility as it is unlikely we’ll design the ‘right’ system the first time around,” she explained in an email.

In areas with mature systems, Leakey suggested that some organizations had difficulty changing direction, retrofitting existing systems or adapting new technology. New York, she explained, is struggling to adopt sustainable technologies to the extent that it could. “Legislative and physical infrastructure imposes unfortunate roadblocks in the way of clean technologies,” she wrote in an email. “We’re fortunate that with electricity provision we have a fairly blank slate” in Kenya and that the “Kenya government also recognizes the value of off-grid initiatives.”

Leakey appreciates the support TBI played in helping to create SOSAED and is grateful for the ongoing assistance. Through Stony Brook University, SOSAED is beginning to engage business students on economic questions. In the future, the group may also work with engineering students on technological challenges.

“Research may include developing new productive uses of solar power, optimizing the existing system and using the site to rigorously test technologies developed at Stony Brook,” she explained.

Aronson’s initial interest in this project came from his technological connection to Brookhaven National Laboratory, where he retired as the director in 2015. He has been eager to bring new technology to a population he is confident they can help in a “way that makes sense to them and addresses their needs.”

With the support of the Turkana Basin Institute and Stony Brook, Aronson hopes to have a functioning solar hub and factory near TBI that serves a few surrounding villages within the next 18 months. “That’s a very ambitious goal,” he acknowledged. “We’re working in an environment that, because of the history and development, people you’re trying to serve are somewhat skeptical that you’re serious and that you have the staying power to make something that looks like what you’re talking about work.” 

While Aronson and Leakey are continuing to make connections in Kenya with government officials and residents interested in starting businesses, they are searching for ways to make this effort financially viable.

SOSAED is raising money through philanthropic grants and foundations to get the project going. Eventually, they hope to approach venture capital firms who are patient and prepared to invest for the longer term in a number of projects.

After they have an initial example, they will approach other financial backers with more than just a good idea, but with a model they hope will work in other locations.

Aronson lauded the effort and knowledge of Leakey. “We wouldn’t be making much progress right now for a variety of reasons in Kenya if [Leakey] hadn’t come on board,” Aronson said. “I value in the extreme her ability to get the work done.”

SOSAID would like to submit proposals to funding sources that can drive this concept forward.

If this effort takes root, Aronson believes there is a “tremendous market out there.” That would mean this would “become a much bigger organization.”

by -
0 277
1 of 6
'My Autumn Garden' by Mike Stanko
'Chicken Minder' by Diann Haist
'Imperial Staircase, Manor House, Bayard Cutting Arboretum' by Pamela Waldroup
'Johnson Canyon' by Ross Barbara
'Looking Within' by Kyle Blumenthal
‘Rider at Old Field Farm’ by Liz Kolligs.

By Heidi Sutton

For almost a month now, the Mills Pond House Gallery has been exhibiting the Smithtown Township Arts Council’s annual Member Artist Showcase, a unique exhibit featuring the original artwork of 61 STAC member artists. The juried show will run through Dec. 2 and most of the works are available for purchase.

While typically a juror or curator selects works for an exhibit, the Member Artist Showcase allows the artists to choose what piece they would like to display, which is most likely their favorite or a new piece they want to debut.

“I always like the member show but this is a pretty member show and very eclectic,” said STAC director Allison Cruz during a recent guided tour. “I’m proud of these artists,” she said, adding that there are many new members this year.

It is also a very diverse show, with many different types of medium represented including oil, acrylic, watercolor, solarplate etching, photography, charcoal, pastel, torn paper collage, colored pencil and mosaic sculpture.

Exhibiting artists, which hail from 33 communities across Long Island as well as North Carolina, Alaska and Maryland, include Amal, Chris Ann Ambery, Ross Barbera, Shain Bard, Karen Bennett, James Berger as well as Barbara Bilotta, Renee Blank, Kyle Blumenthal, Renee Caine, Susan Carney, Linda Ann Catucci, Carol Ceraso, Jane Corrarino, Donna Corvi, Donna Crinnian, Bernadette De Nyse, Julie Doczi, Paul Edelson, Vivian Gattuso, Maureen Ginipro, Rhoda Gordon, Justin Greenwald, Diann Haist, Diane Henderson, Katherine Hiscox, Donna Howard, David Jaycox Jr, Anne Katz, Kathee Shaff Kelson, Lynn Kinsella, John Koch, Liz Kolligs, Susan Kozodoy-Silkowitz, Frank Loehr, Terence McManus, Frederic Mendelsohn, Margaret Minardi, Karen George Mortimore, Diane Oliva, Eileen W. Palmer, Sean Pollock, Lynne Rivellese, Robert Roehrig, Irene Ruddock, Michael Sauer, Lori Scarlatos, Joan Schwartzman, Ken Schwartzman, James Scovel, Gisela Skoglund, Mike Stanko, Gunter Stern, Nicholas Valentino, Adriann Valiquette, Sherona Varulkar Kelley, Mary Ann Vetter, Pamela Waldroup, Nancy Weeks, Constance Sloggatt Wolf and Patty Yantz.

This year’s juror of awards was Dawn Lee, art curator of the Omni Gallery in Uniondale, professor and chair of the art department at St. Joseph’s College and coordinator of the artist-in-residency program at Fire Island National Seashore. 

Tasked with choosing four winners, Lee picked Ross Barbera’s “Johnston Canyon, Alberta Canada,” Kyle Blumenthal’s “Looking Within,” Julie Doczi’s “Winter Morning” and Liz Kolligs’ “Rider at Old Field Farm.” These winners will be invited to participate in a future Winners Showcase. 

Lee also selected four Honorable Mentions including Diann Haist’s “Chicken Minder,” David Jaycox Jr.’s “Meadow View,” Frederic Mendelsohn’s “Mustard Field” and Pamela Waldroup’s “Imperial Staircase, Manor House, Bayard Cutting Arboretum.”

The Mills Pond House Gallery, located at 660 Route 25A, St. James, will present the Smithtown Township Arts Council’s Member Artist Showcase through Dec. 2 (closed Nov. 21 to 25). The gallery is open Wednesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, call 631-862-6575 or visit www.millspondgallery.org.

by -
0 279
Alexa’s photograph of a juvenile osprey taken at Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park

Alexa Helburn, a junior at Huntington High School, will have her photography on exhibit at Cold Spring Harbor Library, 95 Harbor Road, Cold Spring Harbor, on Wednesday, Nov. 14 from 6 to 7:15 pm. 

Alexa’s photography, featuring the beauty of fall and wildlife in and around the Long Island Sound, will be available to take home and enjoy as a token of appreciation for donations to Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society’s program of helping to support Maya girls in Guatemala continue their education where they learn about sustainable farming, leadership and, of course, conservation. 

The 16-year-old uses her love of photography to explore her surroundings and to bring an appreciation for the beauty of nature to others. “I’m very glad to hold this photography fundraiser to help the Maya girls get a good education and learn how to live a healthy lifestyle. That is very important to me and I believe it will benefit the girls and their whole community,” said Alexa. For more information, call 631-692-6820.

by -
0 380
Photo by Mark A. Suban

On Saturday, Nov. 17 the Centerport United Methodist Church, 97 Little Neck Road, Centerport will kick off the holidays with its Santaport Fair, an annual holiday fair and marketplace featuring an array of boutiques, games and crafts for children, a luncheon cafe and professional photographs with Santa, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 631-261-5222 or visit www.centerportumc.org.

by -
0 1577
Regular exercise helps prevent or manage a wide range of health problems and concerns. Stock photo
The real benefits of exercise

By David Dunaief, M.D.

Dr. David Dunaief

With holiday dinners right around the corner, what would be a better topic than exercise? To quell our guilt about Thanksgiving dinner indiscretions, many of us will resolve to exercise to burn off the calories from this seismic meal and the smaller, calorically dense aftershock meals, whether with a vigorous family football game or with a more modest walk.

Unfortunately, exercise without dietary changes may not actually help many people lose weight, no matter what the intensity or the duration (1). If it does help, it may only modestly reduce fat mass and weight for the majority of people. However, it may be helpful with weight maintenance. Therefore, it may be more important to think about what you are eating than to succumb to the rationalization that you can eat with abandon during the holidays and work it off later.

Don’t give up on exercise just yet, though. There is very good news: Exercise does have beneficial effects on a wide range of conditions, including chronic kidney disease, cognitive decline, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, fatigue, insomnia and depression.

Let’s look at the evidence.

Weight loss attenuated

The well-known weight-loss paradigm in medicine is that when more calories are burned than consumed, we will tip the scale in favor of weight loss. The greater the negative balance with exercise, the greater the loss. However, the results of a study say otherwise. They show that in premenopausal women there was neither weight nor fat loss from exercise (2). This involved 81 women over a short duration, 12 weeks. All of the women were overweight to obese, although there was great variability in weight.

However, more than two-thirds of the women (55) gained a mean of 1 kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, of fat mass by the end of the study. There were a few who gained 10 pounds of predominantly fat. Significant variability was seen among the participants, ranging from significant weight loss to substantial weight gain. These women were told to exercise at the American College of Sports Medicine’s optimal level of intensity (3). This is to walk 30 minutes on a treadmill three times a week at 70 percent VO2max — maximum oxygen consumption during exercise — or, in other words, a moderately intense pace. 

The good news is that the women were in better aerobic shape by the end of the study and that women who had lost weight at the four-week mark were more likely to continue to do so by the end of the study. This was a preliminary study, so no definitive conclusions can be made.

Other studies have shown modest weight loss. For instance, in a meta-analysis involving 14 randomized controlled trials — the gold standard of studies — results showed that there was a disappointing amount of weight loss with exercise alone (4). In six months, patients lost a mean of 1.6 kilograms, or 3.5 pounds, and at 12 months, participants lost 1.7 kilograms, or about 3.75 pounds.

Weight maintenance

However, exercise may be valuable in weight maintenance, according to observational studies. Premenopausal women who exercised at least 30 minutes a day were significantly less likely to regain lost weight (5). When exercise was added to diet, women were able to maintain 30 percent more weight loss than with diet alone after a year in a prospective study (6).

Chronic kidney disease

As just one example of exercise’s impact on disease, let’s look at chronic kidney disease (CKD), which affects 14 percent of adults in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (7). The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has indicated that there is insufficient evidence to treat asymptomatic CKD. In fact, the American College of Physicians has said that asymptomatic CKD, which includes stages 3a and 3b, or moderate disease levels, should not be screened for, since the treatment risks outweigh the benefits, and lead to false positive results and unnecessary treatments (8).

However, in a trial, results showed that walking regularly could reduce the risk of kidney replacement therapy and death in patients who have moderate to severe CKD, stages 3-5 (9). Yes, this includes stage 3, which most likely is asymptomatic. There was a 21 percent reduction in the risk of kidney replacement therapy and a 33 percent reduction in the risk of death when walkers were compared to nonwalkers.

Walking had an impressive impact; results were based on a dose-response curve. In other words, the more frequently patients walked in the week, the better the probability of preventing complications. Those who walked between one and two times per week had 17 and 19 percent reductions in death and kidney replacement therapy, respectively, while those who walked at least seven times per week saw 44 and 59 percent reductions in death and kidney replacement. These are substantial results. The authors concluded that the effectiveness of walking on CKD was independent of kidney function, age or other diseases.

Therefore, while it is important to enjoy the holidays, it is food choices, not exercise, that will have the greatest impact on our weight and body composition. However, exercise is extremely beneficial for preventing progression of chronic disorders, such as CKD.

So, by all means, exercise during the holidays, but also focus on more nutrient-dense foods. At a minimum, strike a balance rather than eating purely calorically dense foods. You won’t be able to exercise them away.

References:

(1) uptodate.com. (2) J Strength Cond Res. Online Oct. 28, 2014. (3) ACSM.org. (4) Am J Med. 2011;124(8):747. (5) Obesity (Silver Spring). 2010;18(1):167. (6) Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1997;21(10):941. (7) cdc.gov. (8) Ann Intern Med. online October 21, 2013. (9) Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2014 Jul;9(7):1183-1189.

Dr. Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com or consult your personal physician.

by -
0 1525
Pear-Custard Pie

By Barbara Beltrami

When in doubt about what to say about something, I always go to good old Ralph Waldo Emerson, my favorite quotable person (except for my grandmother). And, sure enough, he has come through for me again. He writes, “There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat.” And that’s the truth. 

Not ripe and it is flavorless and resistant to the bite. Overripe and it’s a sloppy, juicy mess. And how quickly it morphs from one to the other. That’s if you’re going to eat a pear au naturel. But suppose you miss that 10-minute window, then what? Here are some recipes to save the day and the pear.

Pear and Arugula Salad with Prosciutto and Goat Cheese

YIELD: Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

4 generous handfuls fresh arugula

4 firm ripe pears, pared, cored, halved and cut into ¼-inch slices

8 slices prosciutto

Four 1-inch-thick slices herbed goat cheese

4 to 6 ounces raspberry vinaigrette

DIRECTIONS:

Place one handful arugula on each of four salad plates. Arrange pear slices in a petal formation over arugula; lay prosciutto slices attractively over pears; top with goat cheese. Drizzle with raspberry vinaigrette and serve at room temperature with toasted baguette slices and dry white wine.

Pear-Custard Pie

Pear-Custard Pie

YIELD: Makes 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 prebaked 8- or 9-inch pie crust

3 not quite or just ripe pears, pared, cored, halved and sliced thin

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup flour

¾ cup milk

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Confectioners’ sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line pie crust with pear slices in a slightly overlapping pattern. In a blender or food processor combine the sugar, flour, milk, eggs, vanilla and salt. Pour mixture over pears. Bake 40 to 50 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean, top is golden and custard is firm to touch. Let sit 30 minutes before sprinkling with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature with coffee, tea, a dessert wine or milk.

Pears Poached in Red Wine

YIELD: Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

½ 750-ml bottle of dry red wine

2 to 2½ cups water

11/3 cups sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

4 to 6 cloves

3 orange slices with rind

4 slightly underripe pears, pared, cored and stem left on

DIRECTIONS:

Combine wine with all ingredients except pears in 3-quart or similar size saucepan. Place pears in liquid. Cover and simmer over low flame, turning frequently and basting so fruit becomes evenly stained by wine, until it is tender but firm, about 45 minutes depending on size of fruit. Remove pears and set aside; continue cooking poaching liquid over medium heat until it is thickened and syrupy, about 10-15 minutes. Return pears to hot liquid and turn to coat evenly. Remove pan from heat. Serve warm drizzled with thickened liquid and accompanied by Gorgonzola cheese and biscotti.

Prev1...758759760...968Next Page 759 of 968
TBR News Media is your local news and entertainment website.
We provide you with the latest breaking news and information for your community.
Contact us: [email protected]

Most Viewed

©