Incredible Pear Dessert.. even if you don't generally care for pears or ginger..

Last night, my husband and I had dinner with a couple of friends with a newborn baby. Hubby had been in the mood for a chilled dessert involving ginger and pears, so he'd found a recipe on Global Gourmet last week that he wanted to try. I made it last night, and it was absolutely wonderful! All four of us adults (the baby wasn't interested in anything but milk, of course) practically inhaled our dessert! Here's the recipe (with a modification or two):


Poached Pears with Ginger
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 c. sugar
3 c. water
1 c. white wine
Juice of 1 lemon
2 2-inch pieces of lemon zest (I use a vegetable peeler)
1 4-inch cinnamon stick
1 2-inch unpeeled piece ginger root, sliced
2 star anise
6 firm Bosc pears

Directions
Place sugar, water, wine, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon stick, ginger root and star anise in a saucepan just large enough to hold all of the pears in a single layer. Bring the liquid to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar, and cook for about 5 minutes to allow the spices to flavor the liquid.

Core and halve the pears. Carefully place the pears in the boiling liquid, adding more water, if necessary, to cover them. Return the liquid to a boil. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Simmer the pears gently until they are just tender, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the ripeness of the pears.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the pears from the liquid and set aside. Increase the heat to high and boil to reduce the liquid to about 2 cups. Strain the sauce, discarding the solids.

If serving hot, place the pears in individual serving dishes and spoon some sauce over each.
If serving cold, place the pears in a bowl, pour the sauce over them and refrigerate, covered. The pears will keep for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator.