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1
To make the poached pears, in a saucepan, combine the sugar, vinegar, water, star anise, peppercorns, cloves, peperoncino, and cinnamon stick, and bring to a boil.
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2
Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
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3
Add the pears, bring it back to a simmer, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender.
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4
Remove from the heat and cool in the liquid.
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5
Unless used right away, transfer the pears and liquid to a container.
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6
(Keeps in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks.)
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7
Preheat oven to 350F.
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8
Butter a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
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9
To make the gingerbread, bring the beer, coffee, and molasses to a boil in a medium saucepan.
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10
Remove from the heat and whisk in the baking soda.
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11
Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and place the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice water.
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12
Stir until mixture is cool and set aside.
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13
In a bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, oil, 3 tablespoons of the sugar in the raw, and fresh ginger.
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14
Whisk in the egg.
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15
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and pepper.
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16
In three parts, alternate adding the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients to the brown sugar mixture, whisking to combine.
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17
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of sugar in the raw on top.
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18
Bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the loaf is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
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19
Do not open the oven frequently during baking; wait until the gingerbread has cooked for 40 minutes, then turn the pan 90 degrees.
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20
Remove from the oven, let rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack.
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21
To make the ice cream, split the vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape the seeds from each side into the measured sugar.
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22
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, and half of the vanilla sugar.
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23
Whisk together and bring to a full rolling boil over medium-high heat.
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24
While the milk mixture is heating, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining vanilla sugar.
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25
Temper the eggs into the boiling milk mixture by removing the saucepan from the heat and pouring half of it over the yolks.
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26
Whisk well and return the yolk mixture to the saucepan.
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27
Whisk in the salt.
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28
In a metal bowl over ice, chill the ice cream base thoroughly.
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29
Strain the base through a fine-mesh sieve.
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30
Whisk the rum into the ice cream base.
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31
Process the base in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.
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32
Transfer the ice cream to a covered container and place in the freezer for about 2 hours, until it is firm.
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33
When ready to assemble, let the ice cream defrost at room temperature for 15 minutes.
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34
Evenly spread the softened ice cream over 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices of gingerbread, covering them all the way to the edge.
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35
(The ice cream must be soft enough to avoid ripping the bread.)
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36
Top the ice cream with the pear slices and season with pepper.
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37
Close the sandwiches with a matching 4 slices of gingerbread and place in the freezer for at least 1 hour before serving.
