Honeyed Pear Puff Pastry with Bourbon Sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel pears and core from the bottom. Cut the bottom of the pears straight across, so they will stand upright. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the 4 cups wine/water, 1/2 cup balsamic, 2 cups sugar and 1/2 cup honey. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. When the sugar has melted, add the pears, 1 lemon, cinnamon and cloves. Simmer pears until they are fork-tender. This can take 20-40 minutes, depending on the ripeness of your pears.
2. When the pears are soft, remove them from the pot and allow them to cool slightly. Discard solid pieces from the saucepan and reserve the poaching liquid, simmering down into syrup if wanted. While pears are cooling, cut the puff pastry into 1/2" strips. One sheet of puff pastry will cover 4 small pears.
3. Wrap cooled pears with puff pastry starting at the bottom and working upwards. When you come to the end of a pastry strip, brush it lightly with water and press to adhere to the next pastry strip. Continue wrapping until you reach the top of the pear. Tuck the end of the last pastry piece behind the previous dough spiral. Place wrapped pears on a parchment-lined jelly roll pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until puff pastry is golden brown.
4. In a 1-quart saucepan set over medium heat, combine the cream, milk, and sugar. Bring to a hot mess. Place the cornstarch and 1/4 cup of the bourbon in asmall mixing bowl and whisk to blend and make a slurry. Pour the slurry into the cream mixture, whisking until thick and smooth. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat, add the salt, and stir in the balsamic. Serve warm.