Brigitte's Poires Martin Sec au Vin, Poached Winter Pears

Christmas made easy: Winter pears simmered in wine, served after a simple meal with gathered family. While we still have a few days 'till Christmas, we want to rev up the holiday now! This is an easy dessert to put together one afternoon and put aside to chill, soaking in their syrup. Choose pears that mature in the winter for this recipe, like Bosc. This recipe fills the house with the perfume of the holiday, so now is the perfect time. They cost pennies a person. No special shopping for this recipe. The hardest thing is washing the pears. With poached pears, simple is best. Adding long lists of ingredients may add a strange je ne sais quoi, but that's not what we look for in our poached pears. These are a kind of gift from heaven, so simple, delicious, and satisfying.

Poires au Vin

6 pears, Martin Sec or Bosc
1 1/2 cups red wine, any kind you have
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

About the pears: Right now in France we have the winter pear called Martin Sec, which is a wonderful cooking pear, because their texture and flavor when cooked stays firm, smooth and sweet. They retain their body when simmered in anything from caramel to wine. If you don't have Martin Sec, a Bosc is perfect.

Wash the pears thoroughly. Nestle them into a pot that has a cover. Add the wine, and bring it to a boil. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together, and sprinkle it over the pears in their bubbling wine. Let that roll at a full boil for 4 minutes, then top off with water to cover the pears by 2/3. Bring to a boil again and reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate, in their liquid, for as long as 3 days. Serve cold, with their syrup. You can make a batch of these and have them on hand as a dessert choice at family gatherings.

This is going to be a very cheesy Christmas! Everybody thought the same thing and brought cheeses this year! I gathered some from the Alps and the Lyonnais region, and presented them to Brigitte. This was when I heard that Aude and Seb had done the same thing with cheeses from the Auvergne! This means the cheese plate is going to be the best it has ever been, I think.