Poached Pears with Cabernet Sauvignon Sauce
- Peel pears, leaving the stems intact.
- Place pears in a sauce pan and cover with cabernet sauvignon wine. For one bottle of wine, you can usually cover about three pears at a time.
- Simmer the pears until they are fork tender.
- Remove the pears from the wine by using the stem as a handle so that you don’t damage the flesh.
- Repeat steps 2-4 until you’ve poached all the pears using the same wine.
- Add sugar to taste, around ¼ cup.
- Add vanilla and a cinnamon stick.
- Put pears back into the seasoned wine for 5 minutes to infuse the flavors. You may be tempted to add the sugar at the beginning to save a step, but it will not taste good.
- Carefully remove pears by the stem again.
- Cook wine until it is reduced and slightly thickened - to around a cup or two.
- If you don’t have a lot of time or don’t need as much sauce, toss half the wine and reduce to about one cup.
- Should be syrupy when cold. If too syrupy, reheat until it is the desired consistency.
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- What Michelle did for book club:
- Whip heavy cream with honey and vanilla.
- Add mascarpone cheese.
- Whip together.
- Created a lumpy texture. I personally loved the bursts of mascarpone.
- What Michelle wished she did:
- Whip heavy cream with honey and vanilla.
- Whip mascarpone cheese.
- Fold together. Should create a homogenous, smooth texture.
