Brandy-Poached Pears with French Toast and Vanilla Brandy Syrup

For the brandy poached pears:
Use a vegetable peeler to strip the pears of their skin. Cut a small piece off the bottom of each pear so that it will stand upright. Set aside.

Combine the brandy, water, orange zest, star anise, sugar, and vanilla bean in a pot (make sure it’s big enough to fit the pears into). Heat over medium-high heat until just boiling. Add the pears, cover the pot, reduce the heat to minimum and simmer for 15 minutes. You may have to turn the pears and lay them on their sides occasionally, depending on how deep your pot is. Remove from the heat and set aside.

For the vanilla brandy syrup:
Combine the brandy with the water in a bowl and set aside.

In a heavy bottom pot, add the sugar and listed amount of the poaching liquid from the pears. Do not stir them together. Heat over medium heat until the sugar begins to melt and turns a golden color. You may have to stir occasionally to ensure even melting and caramelization. Once the sugar is a dark amber color, slowly add the brandy/water mixture. The liquid will cause the sugar to bubble and spatter for a moment, and will cause the sugar to solidify. Continue to stir over medium heat until the sugar re-melts and mixes with the brandy and water. Once the sugar has remelted, turn the heat up slightly, bring the mixture up to a low boil, then remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and mix until incorporated. Scrape the caviar out of the vanilla bean pod half. Stir the caviar and the vanilla bean pod into the brandy syrup. Set aside to cool slightly. Remove the vanilla bean pod before serving.

For the French toast:
Slice the baguette diagonally into 1″ thick slices. Set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Set aside.

Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add a teaspoon of butter to the pan. Once the pan is hot, dip each piece of the bread into the egg/milk mixture until it is well coated. Fry the bread for 2 minutes on each side. Remove cooked bread to a plate and finish dredging and cooking the rest, adding butter to the pan as needed.

Serve warm with brandy poached pears and a generous serving of vanilla brandy syrup.