Pears Poached in Red Wine with Black Pepper and Vanilla

Martha Stewart Living

Makes 6 servings

    750 milliliters dry red wine                                   
    1 1/2 cups sugar                                               
    2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns                          
    1 vanilla bean split                                           
    6 firm but ripe Bosc pears                                     

These pears can be prepared a day or two ahead.

Combine red wine, sugar, peppercorns, and vanilla bean in a large saucepan. Add 4 cups water, bring to a boil, and stir until sugar dissolves. Turn off heat. Carefully peel pears, leaving stem intact. Place in cooking liquid, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and weigh down pears with a saucer or small pot lid to keep them submerged. Cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a medium bowl to cool. Bring cooking liquid to a boil. Simmer until reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Pour over pears. Chill pears in syrup until cold and deep red in color, at least 3 hours or overnight. Serve pears with reduced syrup.

MY NOTE: Really delicious.  May take longer to reduce syrup.  A little too sweet, so I may cut sugar to 1 1/4 c sugar. Also, I recall they were still a bit raw in the center. I saw a cooking show where 1) she used honey instead of sugar and 2) she cooked them for 4-5 hrs (!!) at 250 in the oven. Then they were "wined" all the way through instead of just on the outside.

MXF