Cooking With Wine – Part III

One of the most fool-proof methods of cooking wine is poaching. That is, simply simmering the food with wine as the liquid. You can poach vegetables, meat or fish. They are all good, but poaching goes great with fruit. It can render a marvelous dessert dish, as noted in the recipe below. Just simmer any substantial fruit (apples, peaches, plums, etc.) in a sweet wine. The wine can be can be a sweet sherry, Marsala, port or other. I’ve chosen pears, and Sauternes, a dessert wine from Bordeaux.

PEARS POACHED IN SWEET WINE

1 cup Sauternes
1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
Rind and juice of 1 lemon
4 pears, peeled and cored
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon pear brandy (optional)

1. In a medium pan, combine wine, water and sugar.
2. Add rind and juice of lemon . Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
3. Add pears into the syrup. This must be done immediately after the pears have been peeled and cored. Simmer pears for 10-15 minutes depending on ripeness.
4. Remove pears to a serving platter. Boil syrup over high heat until half has been boiled away.
Pour remaining syrup over pears.
5. Serve chilled with whipped cream flavored with pear brandy if desired.
Yield: 4 servings.