Making a Carnival of Your Kitchen

Riesling Poached Pear and Ash-Aged Goat Cheese “Corn Dogs”

If working with craft beers has taught Vintage 50 toque Aaron McCloud anything, it’s getting funky with foodstuffs. “This is a fun, amusement park-like snack recreated in a way that can impress your guests without a lot of hard work,” he says of his gourmet (completely vegetarian, no less) corn dogs.

Aaron McCloud
Executive chef, Vintage 50

Photography by Hana Jung

PREP TIME: 10 min.
COOK TIME: 20 min.
SERVES: 4

INGREDIENTS
4 Seckle pears
3 cups semi-sweet riesling
4 cups spiced apple cider
1 cup vegetable stock or canned vegetable broth
1/4 pound Cherry Glen Farm Monocacy Ash goat cheese
1 box Jiffy corn-muffin mix
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon red currant jelly
1 quart vegetable oil
4 stalks rainbow chard
4 torpedo shallots

PREPARATION
Peel each pear, and scoop out the bottom of the core with a melon baller. Place the pears, vegetable stock, wine and spiced apple cider into a saucepot, and slowly simmer until the pears are slightly tender (about 10 minutes). Allow the pears to briefly cool in the liquid. Once manageable, stuff as much of the cheese in each pear cavity as possible.

Prepare the corn-muffin batter as per the instructions.

Combine the vinegar and jelly in a sauce pan, and reduce until the mixture begins to thicken.

Heat the vegetable oil in a deep pan over medium-high heat. Dip stuffed pears in the batter, and place one at a time in the oil. Fry individually until golden brown.

Saute the chard and shallots together; deglaze the pan with a little bit of pear-poaching liquid.

Place the chard in the center of the plate, with the pears on top; drizzle balsamic-currant syrup all around. Enjoy!

(April 2009)

Tags: corn dog, corn-muffin mix, goat cheese, pear, riesling