Rosemary Spiced Wine Poached Pears

YIELD: 4 -12 servings
TOTAL TIME: 35 min

*PAIRED WINES: Spicy Vines Original Blend, a red spiced wine.

Have a bottle of spiced wine and not quite sure what to pair with it for dessert? Here is the perfect holiday recipe for the after dinner aperitif spiced wine pairing.

INGREDIENTS:

The Pears
4 - 6 ripe pears
1 1/2 cups Spicy Vines Original Blend
1 cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
A small sprig of fresh rosemary

Mascarpone-like filling:
16 oz cream cheese
1 oz Greek yogurt
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon zest of a lemon

Baked Spiced Walnuts
1 cup halved walnuts
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground nutmeg

PREPARATION:

Peel the pears, slice in half and remove the core with a melon baller.

In a large saucepan, mix our Original Blend spiced red wine, vanilla and sugar. Add the cinnamon stick and rosemary and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, gently add the pears, and simmer for 10 minutes, then flip the pears to poach the other side. Simmer for another 10 minutes or until the pears are fork-tender.

Remove from heat and let the pears bathe in the lovely liquid for about 30 minutes, then using a slotted spoon, gently remove the pears from the pan and bring the wine mixture back to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook, uncovered, for about 20 minutes or so or until the syrup is reduced by about half.

Bake your spiced walnuts: Begin by setting your oven at 420 degrees F and preparing a baking sheet layered with a sheet of parchment paper over it to set aside. To begin the contents, melt your butter in a small mixing bowl in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Remove the bowl and then add your sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and walnuts to the mixture and mix well. Lay your coated walnuts evenly out on your parchment papered baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes, until golden brown and fragrant. (Note: you may want to turn over the walnuts as they are baking to evenly bake them around).

Make the mascarpone-like filling: In a stand mixer, combined and quickly mix the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, sour cream, honey, heavy whipping cream, lemon zest and chopped rosemary. Mix the mixture until it's fluffy and everything is well mixed.

Set your pears on serving plates. Add a small spoonful of the filling to each pear half, drizzle with a bit of the red wine syrup, then add candied walnuts on top. Garnish with fresh rosemary if desired.