Spiced Poached Pears
This week, I hosted a beautiful fall pumpkin painting party (try to say that three times fast) and wanted to share these two recipes which were a real hit. I’ll post the other recipe and shopping list soon so don’t forget to follow along!
Autumn is my favorite time to host a cozy dinner party, and one of my go-to desserts for the season is poached pears. They’re easy to make ahead the day before, leaving you less stressed about juggling all your other dinner party details on the day itself. Plus, they look stunning on a plate, especially when paired with a spiced punch to warm everyone up.
Hosting without a prep buddy can be daunting so I love having recipes where you can when you can knock two birds with one stone especially with hosting. What's better than a dessert and a drink?
Here’s my simple yet elegant recipe for poached pears, followed by a spiced punch that can be made using the syrup from the poaching liquid. These are perfect for setting the autumn mood, and your guests will love the rich, warm flavors.
Poached Pears
Ingredients:
I eyeballed a lot of this so feel free to adjust to your taste. Don’t forget to reserve the syrup for the spiced punch.
This will make 8 servings.
1 bottle pomegranate juice (shout out to Pom for gifting me these)
6 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks (or 1 tsp cinnamon powder)
4 pears, peeled, halved, and cored (use a melon baller to scoop out the pit)
½ bottle white wine
½ carton heavy cream
3 tbsp sugar for the pears (feel free to adjust based on sweetness preference)
3 tbsp sugar for the cream
Honey (for drizzling)
Ground cinnamon (for sprinkling)
Granola
Instructions:
Peel the pears, cut them in half, and use a melon baller to scoop out the pits.
In a large saucepan, combine pomegranate juice, star anise, cinnamon sticks, sugar, and white wine. Add the pears. There should be just enough liquid to cover.
Simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes, or until the pears are tender and have absorbed the deep red color of the juice.
Remove the pears from the liquid and set them aside. Pour the remaining syrup into a container, and refrigerate both the pears and syrup until you're ready to serve.
Just before serving, whip the heavy cream with the sugar until soft peaks form. Place the pears on plates, drizzle with some honey, sprinkle with cinnamon, and serve with a dollop of whipped cream and granola.
Reserve the delicious syrup to make a spiced punch.
I hope your week is going well and you make use of this recipe.
With Love,
Cristina