Red Wine Poached Pears with Blue Cheese

Jon and I spent our honeymoon in St. John, the best island in the Caribbean, in our opinion. We loved it so much and were lucky to visit for 2 days while in St. Thomas for Jon's work trip a few years ago. Those 2 days gave us the itch to go back, so we returned for a belated 5th anniversary trip last year. Everything about the island is amazing - the laid back atmosphere, the crazy roads, the protected national parks, the beaches, the views you catch when driving in your rental jeep - absolutely breathtaking, the waterfront bars and restaurants, and the feeling you get when you are on the island - I could honestly go back every year and would never be bored.

While there we enjoyed dinner at Chloe and Bernard's, the Westin's restaurant. I ordered the red wine poached pears with double cream brie, and loved it so much that I have been wanting to make the pears ever since. So last week when I had a few pears that needed to be eaten, I decided to give them a try. I wasn't sure what else was used as the poaching liquid besides red wine, so I turned to this recipe for help.

Coring the pears was easier than I thought, especially since I don't have a corer. I took a potato peeler and inserted it into the bottom of the pear, went around the core, and pulled it out. The core came out easily and I cleaned it up a bit with a small measuring spoon - 1/4 teaspoon to be exact. Once cored, I put them in a bowl of water with a touch of lemon juice while I prepped the poaching liquid.



Ingredients

• 2 cups dry red wine (I used an entire 750 ml bottle of Zinfandel - I think it was Robert Mondavi, just something cheap)
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 c sugar
• 2-inch stick of cinnamon OR 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (I used ground)
• 3 large pears; I used 4 medium Bartlett pears
• Optional: blue cheese

Directions

• In a large pot over medium heat, bring with wine, lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon to a boil (make sure you use a pot that is deep enough for the liquid to cover the pears once you add them).
• Add the pears to the poaching liquid, making sure they are covered.
• Slowly simmer the pears, loosely covered, until they are soft, but not mushy, when poked with a sharp knife.
• Remove from the heat and allow to cool in the syrup to lukewarm.

I stored the pears in the fridge for a few hours. Once ready to serve, I put them on the stove over low heat to bring them back to lukewarm.

I served them with crumbled blue cheese. I see this dish a lot as a salad or starter, but I decided to serve them as dessert. I loved them, and they were so easy to make, but looked impressive on the plate.