Vanilla Honey Poached Pears

These vanilla honey poached pears, featuring honey, may look and taste elegant, but the recipe is quite simple. And they’re even better when made a day ahead. Just leave them in the poaching liquid in the refrigerator, covered, overnight. Before you’re ready to serve, reduce the cooking liquid to create a wonderful pear-honey caramel sauce. NOTE: If you plan to let the pears sit in the cooking liquid in the fridge overnight, leave them in the liquid for at least 10-15 minutes as you rewarm it to make the sauce.

Ingredients

• 2 cups water

• 1 cup dry white wine

• 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

• 1 cup honey

• 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 4 whole cloves

• 2 Bosc pears, peeled, cored and halved

Directions

In a large saucepan, bring the water, white wine, lemon juice, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves to a boil. Add the pears to the pan, reduce the heat to medium-high, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until tender. Remove the pears from the liquid and set aside. Remove and discard cloves and cinnamon stick. Return the sauce to medium-high heat and simmer until it reduces to a syrup that thickly coats the back of a spoon, about 30 minutes. Serve the pears warm with the reduced syrup and vanilla bean ice-cream.