PERFECT PEARS

My daughter and I came up with this idea for her son's birthday and the kids really liked it. We found that whole pear portions were pretty big for the kids and most of the adults as an after dinner dessert, so we have cut the size in half and it works out just fine. Give it a try. The pears are pink and it s lots of fun to make. The kids can help with most of the work. The following recipe will serve six people.

Ingredients:

3 ea pears, should be firm winter pears or on the green side
1 qt Cran-raspberry juice
3 ea Drops red food coloring (optional)
6 ea Whole cloves
2 stk Cinnamon
6 Tbsp Ricotta cheese
1 tsp Sugar
3 Tbsp Finely chopped walnuts or almonds
Red candy sprinkles and/or finely chopped nuts for dusting the tops of the pears on the serving plates.

Directions:

Peel the pears and cut them in half. Remove the core and any stem parts running into the core. Place the cran-raspberry juice in a pan large enough to hold all of the pears and add the cloves, cinnamon stick and red food coloring. Heat the juice to the boil, place the pears in the juice (the pears must be covered by the juice) reduce the heat to simmer and simmer the pears for twenty minutes.

Remove the pears from the juice and drain. Allow to cool.

Cool the juice and serve it over ice in tall glasses. Even the kids will love it.

In a bowl, mix the ricotta cheese with the chopped walnuts.

Using a teaspoon, fill the area of the pears where you removed the seeds and the stem parts. Lay the pears, cut side down, on a dessert plate with the filled side down. Dust the back of the pears with finely chopped nuts for the adults and do the backs of the pears with red candy sprinkles for the kids.

When your friends find the cheese and nuts, it will be a pleasant surprise.

Options

When peeling the pears, be careful not to damage the stem. Cut a small flat spot on the bottom of the pear and leave the pears whole. Place in enough cranberry/raspberry juice to cover the pears. After twenty minutes, remove the pears to cool and when cool, carefully cut them in half length wise and do not remove the stem.

Carefully core and seed the two halves, stuff them with the cheese, place the two halves back together, dust them with crushed nuts and serve them upright on the plate. Each person gets one full pear and it is real nice for a luncheon or dinner. Try placing a lettuce leaf under the pears for serving.

More Options

Use half cream cheese and half Gorgonzola or blue cheese and omit the sugar for stuffing the pears. Let the cheese set at room temperature and then mix it together and stuff the pears. Place the pear halves together, sprinkle with chopped walnuts and stand up on a dessert plate. The stem creates a nice touch and makes a great conversation piece.

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