A PASTRY PARTRIDGE IN A RED PEAR 'TREE'

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Unfold pie crust. With a small bird cookie cutter or with a sharp knife cut out shape of a small bird. Cut out at least 8-10 birds incase of breakage. Put on a small baking sheet, brush with milk and sprinkle with the coarse sugar and bake for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely. Set aside.
• 2. Pour cran-raspberry juice into a heavy deep 3-4 quart pot. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar & red food coloring. Stir. Put on stove and bring to a boil.
• 3. Peel and core the pears leaving the stem intact. Add the pears and simmer covered, turning occasionally for 10 to 15 minutes or until just tender. If necessary put a heavy small bowl or dish on top of pears to keep pears under the liquid.
• 4. Transfer pears to a plate or bowl and put in the freezer for 20 minutes if serving immediately. If serving later in the day just refrigerate until ready to use.
• 5. Put small serving plates in freezer or refrigerator to chill. In small saucepan put the package of defrosted raspberries. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. In a small cup mix cornstarch with 1 cup of the cranraspberry juice the pears were cooked in. Add to raspberries and stir and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and pour into a small dish. Chill.
• 6. In a bowl whip cream. Set aside. In a small bowl put cream cheese, raspberry extract and powdered sugar and mix until well blended. Carefully fold cream cheese mixture into whipped cream until blended.
• 7. Cut a small slice off the bottom of the pear to get it to stand up. Fill a pastry bag or a heavy freezer ziplock bag with whipped cream mixture. Pipe cream cheese mixture into hole of pear where core was and fill. Chill pears.
• 8. When ready to serve drizzle hot fudge in a zig zag back and forth manner across each individual small chilled plate. Put a chilled pear in center of each plate on top of hot fudge. Make a small slit by the stem and put a bay leaf in slit. Do this with each pear. Put a spoonful of the cream cheese/whipped cream mixture by each pear. Position a 'pastry bird' on top of whipped cream. Add one or two more bay leaves by bird if desired. Garnish with 3 of the raspberries if desired.
• 9. Serve. Pass dish of thickened raspberries. Makes 4 delicious, elegant servings.