PEARS MARINATED IN RUBY PORT

PEARS MARINATED IN RUBY PORT

Canned pear halves marinated in Ruby Port wine. Served with a drizzle of cherry flavored creamer! Elegant and easy!

Serves 8

29 oz. can pear halves packed in heavy syrup (I used Del Monte brand)

1 bottle Ruby Red port wine

8 T. non-dairy liquid creamer

4 t. maraschino cherry juice (liquid from a jar of maraschino cherries)

8 fresh whole cilantro leaves

Drain pears and discard liquid. Carefully place pears (without breaking them) in glass dish.

Pour enough wine over pears to completely cover (it will take nearly the whole bottle). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until pears turn red; this will take several hours. If you want a deep red color, then marinate over night.

To serve: Combine non-dairy creamer with cherry juice in cup and stir well.

Rinse and drain cilantro leaves; do not pat dry with a paper towel; it will wilt them

Carefully remove as many pears as you need from marinade. Place on paper towel, hollow side down, for a few seconds, to absorb excess moisture (no longer, though; you don’t want dry pears).

Place each pear half, hollow side down, on individual flat dessert plates.

Place a whole cilantro leaf on each plate near the top of each pear to represent the stem.

Drizzle 1 T. cherry creamer over each pear (but not the leaf). Serve at once.

Notes: An elegant, easy dessert dish. Unlike poached fresh pears, which can only be done when pears are in season and ripe, these pears can be prepared at any time with little effort.

If you prefer to use a different port wine by all means do; just make sure it’s red and mellow tasting.

Variation: If for whatever reason you don’t want to use wine, substitute raspberry juice for the Port wine and use that as your marinade. 10 oz. can Raspberry Juice concentrate mixed with 1 can water till dissolved. This variation is also delicious!