Wine-Poached Pears With Brandied Cream

I have a recipe for a delicious and elegant dessert that is much easier to make than it appears.  It does take a long time to prepare, but almost all of that time is the food being in the oven.  Actual hands-on preparation time is almost nil.

Step one is to peel the pears.  That can be done the same way as tomatoes: score the skin and then let the pears sit in simmering water for perhaps a minute, and then shock them in ice water.  The skins literally fall off.   

Then you prepare the poaching liquid, which is as easy as heating equal parts wine and water on the stove.  You need enough liquid to just cover the pears, about 6 cups for four pears.  A nice semi-dry red wine works great.  You don't want to use a super cheap wine, but it doesn't have to be expensive.  You want to use something that you'd be willing to drink.  Two tablespoons of honey and a tablespoon of sugar go into the cooking liquid also. 

Once the liquid reaches a simmer, the pears and liquid together go into the oven at 300 degrees for 3 to 4 hours.  The liquid then gets separated from the pears and the pears go into the fridge to cool.  The poaching liquid is reduced (about 15-20 minutes of simmer time) with an additional tablespoon of sugar. 

The pears can be served on their own or with whipped cream.  Creme fraiche is another tasty option.  And, of course, drizzle the whole thing with the nummy reduced syrup.

Here I have a pic of the pears sitting on a bed of brandied cream with just a dollop of vanilla ice cream on the side. I made the brandied whipped cream by mixing 1 tablespoon of brandy per half cup of whipping cream, and whipping as usual.  I also used vanilla sugar in place of regular sugar for the whipped cream.

For as little effort these pears take, they are a huge payoff.  So yummy-nummy. 

Happy eating!