PEARS POACHED IN RED WINE- A GREAT WINTER TREAT!

6 medium-size fresh Anjou or Bosc pears, or any favorite variety
1 small orange
6 whole cloves
4 cups dry red wine
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
Half a stick of cinnamon

With a potato peeler, remove about half of the peel from the pears, leaving vertical strips of peel intact and giving the fruit a striped appearance. Stud the unpeeled orange with the cloves. Combine the wine, sugar, cinnamon stick and orange in a stockpot. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the pears. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook the pears for approximately 30 minutes or until they are tender. Cool the mixture and chill pears in the cooking liquid. To serve, put 1 whole pear on each serving plate with 1 tablespoon of the wine sauce around each pear.

Makes 6 servings