Red Wine Poached Pears with Burnt Caramel Sauce

Happy Holidays everyone!  December can be a quite stressful month for me (and seemingly the entire city), with shopping and traffic and cold weather to deal with. Then I remember to slow down, be in the moment, enjoy bundling up to clean crisp air, see and hear the people I love, and sing along to Christmas music.  I'm sharing a few photos from Seattle downtown Christmas lights this year.

On that note, here's a dessert perfect for slowing down and taking time to inhale the scents of the season.  These poached pears are a elegant, easy and light dessert which is a warm welcome in the midst of winter.  An added benefit of making this dessert, it will fill your home with the scents of the holidays better than any potpourri.  Use any dry red wine, or even a mix or red and white... also a good way to use up leftover wine (shhh... I won't tell;)).  This recipe uses red wine and spices to add flavor.  The additional beet infuses a little earthy flavor, while the real secret bonus is to color the pears into a pretty scarlet red the longer they sit in the poaching liquid.  Using red wine alone typically does not result in such a beautiful color.  Serve alone or alongside ice cream and caramel sauce, and topped with my orangettes.  Slight burnt (purposefully!) caramel sauce adds a sweet yet smokey decadence.

One year ago: Russian Tea Cakes


Red Wine Poached Pears
Adapted from Gourmet

Ingredients
    2 cups red wine
    1 medium red beet, peeled and sliced
    1 tablespoon sugar
    2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
    1 cinnamon stick
    1 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla (or vanilla bean)
    2 Turkish bay leaves
    6 firm but ripe Bosc pears

Bring wine, beet, sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon, vanilla, and bay leaves to a boil in a heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat.
 Peel, halve and core pears.  Add pears to wine mixture in saucepan.  Return to boil, then reduce heat to low, simmer until pears are tender and liquid is syrupy, about 35 minutes.  The cooking time will depend on the ripeness of your pears, they should be tender all the way through when pierced with a stick. Transfer pears to a bowl.  Strain poaching liquid, discard solids, and pour syrup over pears. Cool completely in syrup, about 30 minutes.  Serve the pears at room temperature or slightly warm.  Can be prepared 1 day ahead.  Optional: Top with Caramel Sauce (recipe below) and ice cream.

"Burnt" Caramel Sauce 


1/2 cup (organic cane) sugar
1/2 cup soft brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

Cook regular and brown sugar in a small deep saucepan over medium heat until mixture burns slightly and liquifies.  Swirl pan, increase heat and boil without stirring (stirring causes sugar crystals to form, making the caramel grainy).  When syrup turns a deep amber color, 7-8 minutes, remove from heat.  Immediately add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Let cool slightly before serving.