Poached Pears

What can I say about this; it's a big time mess that turned out pretty good and I was impressed.

I was left home alone Friday night. A.J. worked, one of the girls spent the night at a friend's and the other went to a movie with a friend. Kind of sounds like I know how to clear a house huh?

I was bored, so naturally I wanted to eat something sweet. I foraged and saw some pears in the fridge...

Make simple syrup. 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar.

Bring mixture to a boil, lower heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Remove pot from heat and let syrup cool to room temperature.

In a pot large enough to hold 2 ripe Bosch pears, combine the simple syrup, 1/2 cup of Marsala wine, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon ginger.

Bring the mixture to a low boil and stir occasionally, until the honey has melted. Add the pears and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until the pears are tender. Remove the pears from the liquid and allow to cool.

Continue to simmer the liquid until it thickens and is reduced by half, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Place each pear on a small serving plate and drizzle with the syrup.

I was watching a movie and forgot about the syrup on the stove. It turned VERY thick and dark as you can see in the picture. The syrup tasted good, but was too thick and chewy. The pear tasted fantastic! It was tender and combination of the flavors was incredible.

Give this a try if you're trying to eat a little lighter, if not try it anyway and add a huge scoop of vanilla ice next to your pear!