I am NOT a dessert person. It must be my Irish heritage. I could live on meat and potatoes…and then have MORE potatoes for dessert. But when COMPANY (namely my sis in law Patricia) comes to town, I feel like I should make SOME kind of an effort…yet keep it healthy too.
When I stopped at the grocery store yesterday they had a great special on pears, so I decided to make a quick Poached Pear dessert.
(FYI…Our dinner began with a HUGE salad followed by Drunken Chicken and a Quinoa and Brown Rice side dish. Oh…and some wine…YES…WINE…)
Here’s how I pulled off dessert…
POACHED PEARS
As usual…the amounts are approximate. It’s the best I can remember. (I told you we drank WINE!)
4 FIRM Pears (Peeled but with stems intact)
2 Cups Red Wine (I used Cabernet)
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 to 1/2 Cup Orange Juice
3 whole Cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp Orange Zest
Place all ingredients in a sauce pan except pears and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Cut small slice from bottom of each pear so they will stand up after cooking. Place in simmering liquid and cook (covered) until pears are cooked through but NOT soft. ROLL PEARS AROUND IN THE LIQUID OFTEN SO THE COLOR IS EVENLY ABSORBED. When pears are cooked, carefully remove from pan and stand on a plate to cool. Continue to simmer the cooking liquid until it cooks down into a thickened syrup. STRAIN the syrup over the standing pears and allow to cool.
RICOTTA HONEY TOPPING
1/2 Cup Ricotta Cheese
2 Tbsp Honey
Shredded Fresh Basil (optional)
I decided the pears needed a little “bling” so I stirred together ricotta cheese and honey until smooth. I drizzled over the pears and topped with a bit of fresh basil.
I must admit it was a delicious end to a beautiful Autumn day in Iowa…
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