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Recipe: Perfectly Poached Pears

By adding pomegranate juice, your poached pear will look and taste heavenly.

No one, and I mean, no one, enjoyed the holidays more than my late mother. It didn't matter whether it was Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas or Easter, any occasion was embraced and celebrated with gusto. My mom was a life-long teacher in an extremely impoverished area of Los Angeles, and she learned early on to embrace whatever cultures were present in her classroom, which is why I think she had such a worldly view.

As a Jewish child of the 1970s, I had an eclectic upbringing. I grew up with kosher cooking (thanks, Grandma and Grandpa), Easter baskets (thanks, Mom), Hanukkah latkes (thanks, Aunt Cathy), Kwanzaa baskets with fruit and books–a tradition that has morphed into "book and pajama night," which is what the whole family gets on the first night of Hannukah, a Christmas tree (thanks, Dad) and regular trips to the Unitarian Church that fostered my deep, deep love of Gospel choir music (thanks again, Mom).

My mother wasn't much of a cook due to her work schedule, but she taught me how to make a mean tuna salad and a memorable meat sauce for spaghetti. She made great party food, like rumaki, and she once made a ham, much to the horror of my grandparents, that looked like manna from heaven and tasted just as good. The whole house, the dog and our clothes smelled like bacon for a month.

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My mother was also very fond of cranberries, not fresh but from a can. She'd slide that stuff out with a "shlooping" sound onto the plate and garnish with a piece of parsley and declare, "Dinner is served!" We'd cut hockey puck potions for our plates.

All this reminiscing reminded me of the little, tiny, jarred crab apples that were one of her favorites. No holiday was complete without them. I went looking for them in the store last week, since I was feeling a bit nostalgic. It seems as if their popularity died out with bell-bottoms and disco. Looking for a suitable substitute, I decided I would poach some pears.

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This dish is decidedly simple and easy. The pomegranate lends its beautiful color to the dish, and the clove gives it a little kick. If you are looking to make an adults-only version, you can add a cup of sweet wine and skip the vanilla. 

While the pears aren't quite the same as the cute little crab apples in a jar from my childhood, they are very tasty and will finish off the table-scape for my next family celebration. Miss you, Mom.

Poached Pomegranate Pears

Ingredients

  • 4 Bosc pears
  • 2 cups good pomegranate juice
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. cloves
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Pour pomegranate juice, water, sugar, vanilla and cloves into a deep pan and stir well. Bring to a boil. While the liquid is heating, gently peel the pears, being careful to leave the stem. You can use an apple corer to remove the core from the bottom or you can cook whole.  

Add pears to the heated liquid, cover and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes, occasionally rotating the pears to ensure even color. When pears are just tender (test with a slim knife), remove with a slotted spoon and let cool.  

Very gently simmer the leftover liquid until reduced, but be careful not to let it burn. Spoon syrup over cooled pears. Garnish with pomegranate seeds.

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