I’m a dessert person (I often eat dessert first!). We like to follow a rich entrée
or cheese course with a well-spiced, light fruit dessert, accompanied by St. Francis' multilayered and complex wine.
Old Vines Zinfandel’s intense, spicy, almost raisin-y fruit, “pears” beautifully with the sparingly
sweetened, Asian glazed fruit. A lesser wine would be overpowered, but not Old Vines Zinfandel. Its high alcohol
content – 15.5 percent or more – works well for this perfect ending to a multi-course meal, especially
when we begin with a lighter wine and progress to the Zinfandel. |
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Core pears from blossom-end, leaving stem-end intact. Stand upright in a saucepan just large enough to hold pears
comfortably. Cut a very thin slice from blossom-end, if needed, to balance pears.
Combine wine, water, juice, honey, ginger, spices, and a tiny pinch of salt in a separate saucepan and bring to
a boil. Remove from heat and pour over pears. Cover pears and place over low heat. Poach pears until fruit is easily
pierced with tip of a knife, but pears still hold their shape, 20 to 25 minutes, adding cherries during final 10
minutes.
While pears are poaching, place walnuts in oven and roast until shells darken one shade, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove
from oven and cover to keep warm.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer pears and cherries to a plate. Cook poaching liquid until syrupy and reduced to
3/4 cup. Return pears to saucepan and baste with syrup over low heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer pears to dessert plates.
Garnish pears with crystallized ginger, and serve with a bowl of oven-warm walnuts in the shell. Don’t forget
one or two nutcrackers. Serve with St. Francis Old Vines Zinfandel.
*Notes: If the fruit is very sweet, reduce honey to 3 tablespoons, it should be just lightly sweetened, not cloying.
Serve warm with the pears. When shell-on walnuts are not available, substitute toasted walnut halves. Reserve poaching
syrup for another use, such as drizzling over pound cake or ice cream. |
