Spiced Poached Pears

• 6 firm ripe Anjou pears (2 3/4 pounds), peeled
• 1 (500-milliliter) bottle Vino Santo or other sweet dessert wine
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 (3-inch) vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 1/4 teaspoon juniper berries
• 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
• 6 tablespoons creme fraiche (optional)
• Ground cinnamon (optional)

1. Remove cores from blossom ends of pears, leaving stem end intact. If necessary, cut about 1/4 inch from base of each pear so it sits flat. Place wine, sugar, and orange juice in an oval 5-quart electric slow cooker; stir until sugar dissolves. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean; stir seeds and bean into wine mixture. Add juniper berries and cinnamon stick. Set pears in wine mixture. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or until pears are tender.
2. Remove pears from cooking liquid. Cut pears in half. Place pear halves in dessert dishes.
3. Pour cooking liquid into a sieve over a medium saucepan; discard solids. Bring to a boil; boil 20 minutes or until reduced to 1 cup. Drizzle sauce evenly over pears. Top with creme fraiche and sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.

sugar, orange juice, vanilla bean, juniper berries, cinnamon stick, crueme fraueeche, ground cinnamon

Taken from www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spiced-poached-pears (may not work)