Ok... as promised, here is the incredibly simple Riesling Poached Pear recipe I got from my sister, with slight adjustments from yours truly. I love this recipe because it is plenty fancy enough to serve at a special gathering or to your loved one on a date-night-in, but you won't be slaving away forever like you will with other desserts! Just follow a couple steps, and let things take care of themselves! :)
Riesling Poached Pears with Cardamom Cream
4 similarly-sized ripe pears (any variety, select for symmetrical pear shapes)
2 cups sugar
1 bottle Riesling (any kind you prefer - something you'd like to drink)
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
-
1 cup heavy cream + 1 Tbsp sugar
OR
2 cups Cool Whip Free
1) Gently peel pears, keeping the stems intact. Use a melon baller to remove the core from the bottom of the pear (you will pull out 4 or 5 melon ball-size pieces to get all of the core). Cut the bottom off of each pear so each will sit nice & flat.
2) Pour the bottle of Riesling in a large saucepan. Whisk in 2 cups of sugar. Add pears, using a small plate or bowl, if necessary, to keep the pears submerged. Add water, if needed, to get liquid up to at least the stems of the pears.
3) Slowly poach the pears over medium heat. When the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Very ripe pears will only need to poach for 20 or 30 minutes. Unripe pears may need to poach for a few hours. To get a stronger flavor in your pears, poach them for a longer period, adding more water if liquid evaporates and begins to expose the pears' flesh.
4 a) If you want to use heavy cream:
Whisk together heavy cream, 1 Tbsp sugar, cardamom and nutmeg until you achieve a soft peak. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
4 b) If you want to watch the calories and use Cool Whip Free:
Stir together Cool Whip, cardamom, and nutmeg until fully mixed. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
5) When pears are ready, remove from heat and allow to cool. Meanwhile, take 2 cups of poaching liquid and slowly reduce in a saucepan over low heat until you achieve a thicker consistency.
6) To serve, place a pear standing up on a plate or bowl, spoon cream onto pear, drizzle with poaching syrup. You can garnish with a sprig of mint, thyme or another herb of your choice.
(You may store these pears in their poaching liquid for 4 or 5 days.)
Enjoy!!
