Poached Pears In a Shiraz Reduction – Fancy Shmancy

DSC 0183 500x746 Poached Pears In a Shiraz Reduction Fancy Shmancy
What better way to jump back from my holiday hiatus than a post-Christmas dessert. Perfect on a winter day and light enough to revive me from food coma…

DSC 0055 499x334 Poached Pears In a Shiraz Reduction Fancy Shmancy
Every time I stroll through the farmers market, I admire the overflowing bushels of pears. Bosc, bartlett and anjou… oh my! Since the beginning of the season, I’ve known that poached pears were on my mental to-do list but with the hectic holidays and the unorganized clutter disguised as my brain, this scrumptious dessert was placed on the back burner.

DSC 0162 499x334 Poached Pears In a Shiraz Reduction Fancy Shmancy
I finally came to my senses and procured an adorable basket of bosc pears. I’m a sucker for things that come in cute containers. Much like my boyfriend *wink wink*…
DSC 0051 500x746 Poached Pears In a Shiraz Reduction Fancy Shmancy
I have to admit that this was my very first attempt at both poaching pears as well as trying them. It’s just one of those desserts that you hear about, but you never attend a party where they serve it and you rarely see it on the dessert menu at restaurants. I am so glad I finally had the opportunity to create this dish because it is so simple but fancy at the same time. And in case you haven’t noticed, I’m all about enjoying simple recipes with a pinky up.

DSC 0067 500x746 Poached Pears In a Shiraz Reduction Fancy ShmancyDSC 0074 500x746 Poached Pears In a Shiraz Reduction Fancy Shmancy

DSC 0069 499x334 Poached Pears In a Shiraz Reduction Fancy Shmancy
These poached pears are wonderful if you’re hosting a dinner party or attending a small potluck. And I can certainly guarantee tons of kudos from your deserving guests! Another wonderful thing about this dessert is how inexpensive it is to make. I only purchased 6 pears for $2.50 at the farmers market and used the famous Trader Joe’s two buck chuck. I had plenty of wine sauce leftover so this recipe is definitely better suited for about 10 medium-sized pears. That’s less than $10 for a fancy shmancy treat. So why wouldn’t you make this for your next festive gathering?
DSC 0160 499x334 Poached Pears In a Shiraz Reduction Fancy Shmancy

DSC 0175 500x746 Poached Pears In a Shiraz Reduction Fancy ShmancyDSC 0010 500x746 Poached Pears In a Shiraz Reduction Fancy Shmancy
Ingredients:

6-10 medium-sized bosc pears
1 bottle Charles Shaw Shiraz from Trader Joe’s
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
4 Tbsp lemon juice
1 large strip of lemon or orange rind
  1. In a large stock pot, combine winer, sugar, 2 Tbsp of lemon juice, honey, cinnamon stick and anise. Bring to a slow boil. Meanwhile, fill a large mixing bowl with cold water and 2 Tbsp of lemon juice. Peel the pears and soak in the water/lemon mixture until the wine mixture comes to a boil. Once the wine reaches a slow boil, gently place all the peeled pears inside the stockpot. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the pears are tender. Every so often, use a spoon to baste the pears that are not completely submersed in the wine mixture.
  2. Remove the poached pears from the heat. In a large container, place the pears and wine mixture and chill overnight in the refrigerator. Twenty minutes prior to serving, bring three cups of the wine mixture to a boil. Reduce until mixture becomes thick and syrup-like. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the pears and place on individual serving plates. Drizzle with the shiraz reduction and serve with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

This entry was posted on Monday, December 28th, 2009 at 11:13and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

32 Responses to “Poached Pears In a Shiraz Reduction – Fancy Shmancy”

Leave a Reply

CAPTCHA Image
*

Subscribe without commenting