Yum! The tastes of fall are around.
 
Beautiful, luscious pears are perfectly in season, with a soft and sugary flesh that is ready to hop on into your lunch sack or cooking pot!
 
Last week, I made delicious poached pears and ate them sliced on top of salads and for dessert all week.
 
This recipe is so easy, you’ll have to pretend you slaved all day when you serve them to your guests!

Recipe for Poached Pears
 
Ingredients: 
Bartlett or D’Anjou Pears
Red Wine (Zinfandel or Pinot Noir is very nice!)
Sugar
Cinnamon Sticks
 
Directions: Peel pears, slice them in half and take out the cores.
 
Lay them in a saucepan with red wine barely covering. Add 1 or 2 cinnamon sticks and approx. 1 Tbs. of sugar per pear.
Bring pot to a low simmer and cook for 30-60 mins turning occasionally until pears are soft. Let them cool in the pan, then remove pears and cinnamon. Chill pears or serve warm.
 
Simmer wine mixture until it is slightly thick and syrupy. Serve syrup over pears, or use it for a rich vinaigrette!

 
Tip: To ripen pears faster, put your pears in a single layer inside a box or flat dish lined in newspaper. Top with another layer of newspaper. Check them every few days until they are your desired softness!
 
Are you a pear lover?
Share your best tips for pears!