White Wine Poached Pears with Lemon and Herbs

A great recipe from Cooks Illustrated! I used beautiful red bartlett pears and served this with the smallest scoop of Creme Fraiche gelato by Snoqualmie Gourmet. The ice cream wasn't over sweet but added a delicious richness to contrast with the pears. I also quartered instead of halved my pears and served 3/4 of a pear per person.

Ingredients:

1	bottle dry white wine (750-ml, about 3 cups) - I used a Sauvignon Blanc
3/4	cups sugar (5 1/4 ounces)
6	lemon zest strips from 1 lemon
5	sprigs fresh mint leaves
3	sprigs fresh thyme
1	vanilla bean , halved lengthwise, seed scraped out and reserved (see the illustrations)
1/2	cinnamon stick
1/8	teaspoon salt
2	tablespoons juice from 1 lemon
6	ripe but firm pears (about 8 ounces each), preferably Bosc or Bartlett

1. Bring the wine, sugar, lemon zest, mint, thyme, vanilla seeds and pod, cinnamon, and salt to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves completely, about 5 minutes; cover and set aside until needed.

2. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with water and add the lemon juice. Peel, halve, and core the pears following the illustrations in the related quick tips, adding them to the lemon water to prevent browning.

3. Drain the pears, discarding the lemon water, and add to the wine mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until pears are tender and a toothpick or skewer can be inserted into pear with very little resistance, 10 to 20 minutes, gently turning the pears over every 5 or so minutes.

4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fruit to a shallow casserole dish. Return the syrup to medium heat and simmer until it is slightly thickened and measures 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Strain the syrup through a fine mesh strainer, then pour over the pears, discarding the strained solids. Refrigerate the pears until well chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. To serve, spoon portions of fruit and syrup into individual bowls.