You will need a bottle of red wine. It doesn’t have to be the best bottle, just make sure it is something you would be happy drinking. Choose a drier wine like Merlot or Cabernet. Poaching the pears takes about 30 minutes, but the best part? You can make the pears 2 days in advance, once the pears are tender, turn off the heat then cool the liquid & the pears. Transfer the pears to a container and cover with the cooled poaching liquid. Then reheat just before serving. We made these for maché magazine and between the two of us, we finished all 6 servings. Half were finished for dessert and the other half went during breakfast the next morning! Recipe updated, originally posted December 2011. Since posting this in 2011, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne 3 firm pears such as Bosc or Bartlett, peeled, halved and cored 1 cup water 1 (750ml) bottle dry red wine like Merlot or Cabernet 1 orange, quartered 1/2 cup honey or more to taste 1 cinnamon stick 4 whole cloves 1 vanilla bean, halved with seeds scraped out 1 cup cold heavy cream 2Add bottle of wine and 1 cup of water to a 3 to 4-quart saucepan. Squeeze orange quarters over the wine, releasing their juice and drop in the quarters of orange along with the honey, cinnamon stick, cloves and the vanilla pod and seeds. 3Bring to a boil over high and reduce to a simmer. Remove pear halves from the lemon water then submerge into the poaching liquid, cook until tender throughout, about 20 minutes.
