Moscato is not well known in this country, but this sweet, fizzy wine is very often served at the end of Italian meals along with dessert or just some cheese and fruit. Here I use it to poach beautiful whole pears; the cinnamon poaching liquid is then reduced to a syrup. It’s the perfect ending to a Thanksgiving dinner because it’s not too sweet or too heavy, and it’s absolutely gorgeous on the plate—not to mention how it fills the whole house with holiday fragrance. Serve flutes of chilled Moscato alongside for a very elegant finish to a fancy meal.

　　

Ingredients

6 servings

　　1 1/2 cups sugar

　　1 (750 ml) bottle Moscato wine or other sweet dessert wine

　　2 cinnamon sticks

　　2 tablespoons honey

　　1 (3/4-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

　　1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

　　6 small, firm, ripe Anjou or Bosc pears, peeled and cored

　　Vanilla ice cream or gelato

　　

Step 1

In a saucepan large enough to hold all the pears, combine the sugar with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the wine, cinnamon sticks, honey, and ginger. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and add the bean to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the honey has melted.

　　

Step 2

Add the pears and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until the pears are tender when pierced with a small knife. Remove the pears from the liquid and allow to cool. Continue to simmer the liquid until it thickens and is reduced by half, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Discard the cinnamon sticks and vanilla bean.

　　

Step 3

Place each pear on a small serving plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle with the poaching syrup. Serve immediately.

　　Giada at Home by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2010 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.