Ingredients:

Recipe Serves 4 people
• 1 bottle Port Wine
• 1.5 cup Brown Sugar
• 3 each Cinnamon Sticks
• 4 each Whole Cloves
• 2 each Bay Leaves
• 5 each Bartlet Pears
• .5 cupMascarpone Cheese Casa Leonardi
• 4 Tbls Vanilla Ice Cream
• 4 tops Mint Leaves
• 2 pints Fresh Berries, assorted

Instructions and Comments:

Start with the poaching liquid: combine the Port Wine, sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and bay leaves in a small pot. Bring the liquid to a low simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, peel the pears. This can be a little tricky; First, cut the bottom of the pear flat so it stands upright. Second, using a sharp pearing knife, peel the skin away from around the stem, try to keep the stem in place. Now, with the pearing knife, peel away the remaining skin from top to bottom. The idea here is to make nice sides in the pear. Do your best to follow the contour of the pear. Now for another tricky part. Using an apple corer, from the bottom of the pear, insert the corer into the pear till the top of the corer is about 3/4 of the height of the pear. Do not use to much force, you don't want to go all the way through. Slowly remove the corer. Now for a little trick. Using the pearing knife again, about where the corer stopped inside the pear, on the side of the pear, cut a small slit the width of the knife parallel to the bottom of the pear. Push the knife into the pear and move it back and fourth. The idea is to free the core, and create a small cavity. Also to rid the pear of seeds.. To remove the core, stabb it with a small fork and pull it out. If you don't feel comfortable with this process, disreguard the coring step. And don't buy the mascarpone cheese. As soon as you are done peeling and coring each pear, place it in the poaching liquid. When they are all peeled place the pot on your stove and bring the pears to a very low simmer. Turn the pears in the liquid to evenly cook. Repeat this several times. After about 1/2 hour, remove from the heat and place the whole pot in the cooler. While the pears are cooling turn them frequently. The Port will continue to die the pears even when cooling. You are looking for even coloring. When the pears are cool place them on a plate upright. Take the poaching liquid and bring it to a simmer again. Reduce the liquid till you have about 3/4 cup of liquid left. Strain and cool the liquid. This is now your Port Syrup! Using a small spoon, scoup the Mascarpone Cheese into the cavity of the pear. Place the pears, covered with plastic wrap, back in the cooler for service.

For Service: Refer to the photo for plate presentation help; Melt about 4 tablespoons of vanilla ice cream, Place the pear in the upper left portion of the plate. Make a little pile of assorted berries just to the lower right of the pear. Spoon out a little of the Port Syrup, and Vanilla Sauce(melted ice cream) on each plate. Be creative with the sauces. I like irregular patterns of both sauces. For the finishing touch, place a small top piece of fresh mint on the top of the pear. Very Nice!!