Poached Pear

I made this for dessert Friday night as a special treat for Dean. It was surprisingly easy and tasted delightful. :)




















I googled a bunch of recipes online and sort of compiled them together based on what I had in the kitchen:

6 Bosc pears, peeled with stems still attached
1 c. white wine
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 T. sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 lemon, zested
2-3 star anise pods
water
vanilla ice cream (to top it off!)

Slice off a small portion of the pear bottoms, so they will stand upright in a pot. Place the pears in a pot and pour in the white wine and red wine vinegar and add enough water to cover the pears. Add in the cinnamon, star anise, lemon zest and sugar (sprinkle the sugar over each pear). Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes or until pears are soft enough to carve with spoon. After pears are soft, remove pears from liquid and chill in refrigerator.

Measure out 1 c. of the liquid to reduce in a smaller pot. Reduce until there is about 1/3 c. left. After pears are chilled, place each pear on its own dish. Pour a generous amount of the reduction over each pear and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Deliciousness.