Poached Pears!

It sounds fancy, but really it's about the easiest dessert out there. Served warm right out of the spiced poaching syrup, you won't mind it's still cold outside.

Poached Pears:

*2-3 Pears

*4 cups water

*generous pinch of cinnamon, or 1 cinnamon stick

*generous pinch of ground clove, or 5 whole cloves

*splash of high quality vanilla

*3/4 cup organic dark brown sugar

*2 oz 80-100% dark chocolate

Combine water, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla and sugar in a medium saucepan. Simmer for 10 minutes. Peel pears, leaving stems in tact. Slice a small portion off the bottom so they sit upright when served. Place in the poaching syrup and very gently poach until tender (make sure not to over cook), about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool in the syrup.

Remove pears from syrup, and dry off with a towel. Place upright on a plate. Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler and drizzle over top of the pears. Allow to cool slightly and serve.

*Variations: Add 2 cups red wine in place of 2 cups of the water for poaching syrup.

You can skip the chocolate step and serve as is or with a bit of the syrup spooned over top.