Pears Poached in Red Wine and Cassis

I staged these pears for their photo shoot. But since I cooked them at 9:00 a.m. and like to pretend I don't eat cake for breakfast, they were unceremoniously tossed back into the pot. 

Growing up, every holiday season promised two things: a box of Harry & David pears and a box of See's chocolates, both brought home from the office by my dad (thanks, boss-man). It's hard to say which were better; the chocolates speak for themselves, but the Harry & David pears came individually wrapped in green tissue paper and gold foil, good enough to eat on their own, but so much better poached in wine with a vanilla bean and cinnamon. 

It should be easy to reproduce this childhood memory as an adult. It's not. The majority of poached pear recipes were written by people who fail to understand one fundamental truth: You don't throw away the poaching liquid! This isn't Nam, man. You reduce it into a thick, winey, cinnamony sauce, and when you serve it you accidentally give yourself the biggest pears and the most sauce and start eating it before you get to the table so no one else knows what a monster you are. Like, "Oh, I'm delicate and thin and only had a bite!" I HAD 11 BITES.

If you know my dad (hi, Dad), then you know he thinks everything is the "best ever." This really is the best ever. 

If you know me, you know that anytime I eat anything remotely good, I say so. Like, "this is so good," or "that was so good!" This is so good.

Like these pears? It took me 8 minutes to stage them.

Pears literally being poached. 

Ingredients

3 cups not-too-robust red wine, such as a Beaujolais or a Côtes du Luberon
1/3 cup mild honey, such as clover
1/4 cup crème de cassis liqueur
1 vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup dark or golden raisins
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 firm but ripe pears
1/4 cup lightly toasted slivered almonds

Directions

1. Combine wine, honey, and crème de cassis in a medium saucepan. Using the tip of a paring knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean halves into wine and add pods. Add cinnamon stick and raisins and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, fill a bowl with water and add lemon juice. Peel, quarter and core pears and drop into the acidulated water. (This prevents the pears from discoloring.)
3. Drain pears and add to simmering wine. Bring back to a simmer, cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes more, until pears are slightly translucent. Turn off heat and remove cinnamon stick. Add almonds. 
4. Remove pears from the wine and bring back to a boil. Reduce by about a third. 

Serve warm or chilled.