Pernod Pears

From a market stall I bought a bowl of pears for £1. In it were 14 of that fruit, and in perfect condition. What a bargain it was. As time past, the last few to be eaten were on the decline. So I peeled them, cut them up, and added Pernod. In a day the spirit had been absorbed, and the result, with a dollop of Cornish cream, was – well, delicious.

PERNOD PEARS

You will need;

Pears

Pernod or another aniseed spirit

Cream

Peel and cut up the pears, discarding only the stems and pips.

Place the pieces in a bowl, add a little Pernod, and turn it around. Refrigerate the fruit until wanted.

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Saucisson Sec Skin

Dry sausages that are generally made in France and Belgium, when cut in thin slices, make an ideal accompaniment for drinks (especially when served with small gherkins (cornichons). But there is a snag – the sausage skin.

To peel the skin from some sausages is easy – especially when they are not too dry. But when they are hard and at their best, the problem is considerable. When being consumed, the skin from these hard slices remains in the mouth and has to be disposed of or swallowed.

We are given a delicious example of this type of sausage from Belgium, with instructions to allow it to dry out in the refrigerator until quite hard. To skin it then is almost impossible – even after the slices have been cut.

One night, I was giving some thought to this problem and came up with an idea.

My plan was to slice the sausage, then, with every slice on a board, cut them across in the middle. It should then be easy to peel each half slice.

So I tried it the next day and my plan worked beautifully – but was a little time-consuming.

Half slices may not look as nice as whole ones, but the pleasure of eating  saucisson sec without the skin adds tremendously to its charm.