Elegant Poached Pears

Poaching pears in simple syrup with whole spices is an easy yet elegant way to enjoy this abundant fall fruit. Serving the pears with sweetened mascarpone cheese turns them into a decadent dessert! Poached pears are a fantastic make-ahead dinner party dessert and if you use red wine (please no cooking wine!), you will create the most gorgeous and irresistible, ruby-colored pears. Please make sure the pears you select are firm and ripe but not overripe for this recipe. Pack leftovers for a special school snack.

Technique Note: Poaching is the technique of cooking foods gently in a liquid just at the simmering point, not boiling. Try to keep the pears covered in the liquid or turn them often. If cooking a large number of pears, consider reusing the poaching liquid instead of doubling or tripling the recipe.

Ingredient Note: If you want specks of vanilla to appear in your poaching syrup, score the vanilla bean once lengthwise before adding to the pot. An uncut vanilla bean can be rinsed, dried and reused. Penzey's Spices has a wide range of excellent quality spices available through their retail stores, online store and catalog.

Makes 4 servings:

Ingredients:

• 1 4-pack Trader Joe’s organic pears (or buy a bag of organic pear and double or triple recipe)
• 1 cup water
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 C red or white wine
• 1 vanilla bean
  
• 1 long piece cinnamon or 2 short pieces
• 2 star anise (optional)
• 8 oz. container Trader Joe’s mascarpone cheese (optional)
• 1 teaspoon Trader Joe’s vanilla extract (optional)
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar or Trader Joe’s honey (optional)
• Finely chopped hazelnuts or chopped Trader Joe’s candied walnuts (optional)

Preparation:

1. Peel pears, leaving stems intact. You may wish to rub the pears with lemon to prevent them from browning. If using red wine, this is unnecessary.
2. Using the small end of a melon baller, remove cores by scooping from the bottom of the pear and working your way towards the top. Stop when you have removed the seed and surrounding core, leaving the top of the pear intact.
3. In a deep saucepan just wide enough to hold pears in a single layer, combine water and sugar to make a simple syrup by bringing to a boil and melting the sugar.
4. Add red or white wine – use whatever you have on hand. If you are using a dessert or other sweet wine, the resulting dish will be sweeter unless you reduce the sugar a bit. Let it boil a minute or two to burn off the alcohol.
5. Add the vanilla bean, cinnamon and star anise, reduce heat to a simmer, and add the pears.
6. Simmer pears, turning often so all sides cook and color evenly, until tender but not falling apart, anywhere from 15-30 minutes depending upon the size and ripeness of the pears. Test with a paring knife for doneness. I recommend turning with a curved plastic spatula or wooden spoon to avoid bruising or mashing the fruit.
7. When done, carefully remove pears from poaching liquid and set aside.
8. Remove cinnamon, vanilla and star anise from poaching liquid. Raise heat to a boil and reduce poaching liquid until it has a syrup-like consistency. If you overcook it and it becomes too thick, just add a little water. Just don’t let it burn!
9. If using mascarpone, either by hand or with a mixer, whisk with sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
10. I like to serve these warm, perched atop a dollop of sweetened mascarpone, with the poaching syrup drizzled on top and a sprinkling of nuts. You may store pears in syrup in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Bon appetit!