Oven-Poached Pears With Red Wine

• 2 cups full-bodied red wine, such as a California cabernet or an Italian Barolo
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 cloves
• 3 thick slices of lemon
• 8 firm Comice or russet (Bosc) pears

1. Combine the wine, water, sugar, cinnamon stick, cloves and lemon slices in a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, until the mixture is reduced to approximately 4 cups liquid.
3. Set aside until ready to use.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
5. Peel the pears but leave the stems on.
6. Place the pears upright in a baking dish just large enough to hold them comfortably.
7. Bring the wine mixture to a boil again and pour it over the pears (it will not cover them completely).
8. Bake for 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes.
9. The pears should darken to a rich mahogany color as they cook.
10. When the pears are done (still firm but easily pierced with a fork), remove them from the oven.
11. The liquid in the baking dish should be syr-upy.
12. If it is not, transfer it to a saucepan and cook on the stove over a high heat until there are approximately 2 cups of syrup.
13. Place the pears in compote or similar dishes and cover with syrup.
14. The pears may be served with a ricotta cream sauce (see following recipe).

fullbodied red wine, water, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, lemon, russet

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/457 (may not work)