Slow Cooker Vanilla-Spiced Wine Poached Pears with Cost Plus World Market

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My Aunt Corrie makes the most beautiful poached pears.  Deep ruby in color and scented with spice, they resemble fine jewels more than fruit.  Very delicious fine jewels. 

Poached pears are undeniably show-stopping and make the perfect dessert for company.  This winter, I set out to develop a version that would be as simple to make as it was impressive. 

The slow cooker is the perfect choice of cookware for poaching because the longer these pears steep in their wine bath, the more flavorful they become. Of course, if you do not own a slow cooker, you could easily substitute a dutch oven set over low heat.

Though you could make these pears any day of the week, I love using this recipe as a "company dessert" because it is so hands-off. While you are enjoying your guests, dessert is taking care of itself.

When it came to devising my poaching liquid, Cost Plus World Market came to my assistance with their amazing wine and pantry sections. This recipe begins with a bottle of rich and fruity Ménage À Trois Cabernet that is sweetened with raw sugar and scented with orange zest, vanilla bean, and a duo of warm, wintry spices.

The combination is just sweet enough and layered with flavor. 

While the mixture heats in the slow cooker, the pears are prepared.  When shopping for your pears, try to find ripe, firm specimens that have their stems intact.  This will make turning and serving them a bit easier. 

By this time, the wine should be simmering and you will never again want to leave your kitchen because it just smells sooo good. 

The pears are flipped halfway through the cooking time, and are simmered just long enough for them to take in all the wonderful flavors of our spicy wine, but not so long that they become mushy.  You are still looking for them to be slightly firm and spoonable.

This color!  It makes my eyes so happy. 

Is it too early to start planning for Valentine's Day?  I feel like these would be a pretty stellar choice. 

After the pears have cooked through, some of the cooking liquid is removed from the pot and boiled down to a thin syrup that will blanket a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream. 

Sweety and salty cinnamon prailine almonds bring a very welcome bit of crunch to the scene.

And just like that, dessert is served. 

Here's to slow, winter days and the sweet rewards that they bring. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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SHOP THIS POST!! 

I found all of these items at my local Cost Plus World Market in Williamsburg, Virginia. You can find all of these items and more at your local store !

washed linen napkins // gold whisk // cinnamon sticks // gold measuring cups // cinnamon prailine almonds // ivory element stoneware // marble and gold tray // Ménage À Trois Cabernet // gold wave spoons // ground allspice // stone gray element soup bowls // madagascar vanilla beans

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VANILLA-SPICED WINE POACHED PEARS 

serves 6

• 1 naval orange

• 750 ml Cabernet Sauvignon (I used Menage a Trois)

• 2 cups pure cane sugar

• 2, 5-inch Saigon cinnamon sticks

• 1 madagascar vanilla bean, split and scraped

• 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 6 firm, ripe bosc pears, peeled

• 1 pint vanilla ice cream

• 1 cup sweet and salty cinnamon praline almonds, roughly chopped

Use a vegetable peeler to remove two, 5-inch strips of zest from the orange.

Combine wine, sugar, cinnamon sticks, vanilla bean paste, whole vanilla bean, allspice, cinnamon and orange zest in your slow-cooker and set on high heat.  Heat, stirring often, until the sugar has fully dissolved and the mixture is steaming; about 45 minutes. 

Add the pears to the mixture and cook on high for 2 1/2 hours, flipping the pears halfway through.  The pears should be deep burgundy in color and fork tender, but not mushy.  

Turn the heat to low and remove 2 cups of the liquid from the slow-cooker and transfer to a small saucepan.  Bring the liquid to a heavy simmer over medium high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes; until the syrup has reduced by half. 

Serve the pears alongside vanilla ice cream and drizzle with the reduced syrup.  Sprinkle with chopped almonds just before serving.  Enjoy! 

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Peach Rosé Sorbet

Summer is fading fast.  Truth be told, in many ways, it is already behind us, and though I will fiercely miss its warm breezes and long evenings, I cannot help daydreaming of pumpkins and cozy bonfires.  Though the autumn is full of its own glorious, cinnamon-scented charms, I want to cherish these last, warm summer moments and drink them in, literally and metaphorically. 

       O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been 

         Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth, 

     Tasting of Flora and the country green, 

         Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth! 

        O for a beaker full of the warm South, 

             Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene, 

                With beaded bubbles winking at the brim, 

            And purple-stained mouth

           - Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats

Last summer, my fiancé and I drove a couple hours so that we could spend an entire Saturday browsing through old bookstores with quirky proprietors, and stopping for refreshments every half hour.

We happened upon a small gelato shop serving a peach bellini gelato that was beyond heavenly. It was a sweet, southern afternoon captured in frozen cream.  That gelato, it's majesty still imprinted upon my mind, was the inspiration for this sorbet.

Before the comments come rushing in, I do not claim to be a wine connoisseur, and I am sure that a sommelier would turn his or her nose up to this ten dollar bottle of rosé that I picked solely based upon the packaging.  Though I plan on giving the world of fermented beverages further study at some point in the future, for now, the ten dollar stuff suits me just fine, especially since I was not planning on drinking it. 

This rosé is combined with granulated sugar, and reduced into a light syrup that brings the flavors of the warm south to our sorbet. 

Let's take a moment to talk about sorbet...

Surprisingly, this three-ingredient treat is not as simple as I had originally thought.  I did a heavy load of research while testing this recipe and learned that the sorbet craft is a finicky one - one that requires a rather stringent ratio. 

Sugar is very important to sorbet making, as it will effect the texture just as much as it will the flavor.  Sugar lowers the freezing point of water, meaning that, in the proper amount, it will keep our sorbet scoopable.  Of course, too much sugar could prevent the sorbet from freezing altogether, so it's important to keep the total sugar content (yes, including that of the fruit) of your sorbet around twenty to thirty percent. 

With rosé at the party, we must be even more careful, as alcohol further reduces the freezing point of water.  We have to tread carefully in order to keep our sorbet from being nothing but very cold soup. 

Fortunately, I did all of the research, failing, and panicking for you so all you have to do is follow the recipe.  If you would like to read more about the science of a perfectly executed sorbet, this article explains it very well. 

Now that all the technicalities are behind us, let's talk about how wonderfully the flavor of sun-ripened peaches pairs with the soft, effervesce of a blushing rosé.  It is pure heaven. 

Today, let us preserve the fading call of summer and savor a few last tastes of the season. 

This.  This is my very own beaker of the warm south. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Peach Rosé Sorbet

serves 6

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 cup Rosé (look for something in the 12% alcohol content range)

- 2 1/2 cups sliced peaches,* skins removed

*You may use fresh or frozen peaches for this application.  However, if you do opt for frozen peaches, make sure they are fully defrosted before using them in the recipe.

Combine sugar and rosé in a small saucepan and place over medium heat.  Stir constantly, until the sugar has completely dissolved and then bring to a simmer.  Simmer for five minutes, and then remove from heat.  

Place the peaches in your blender and cover with the rosé syrup.  Blend on high speed until the mixture is smooth. 

Allow to chill in the refrigerator or in an ice bath until the mixture is very cool.  Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.*  Transfer the sorbet to an airtight container and allow it to set up in the freezer for 2-4 hours. 

*Depending on your ice cream maker, the sorbet may not completely freeze in the machine.  Some ice cream makers do not get cold enough to really freeze the mixture, but do not worry, it will set up in the freezer. 

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