14 days of recipes for Valentine’s Day: Day 10 | Honey Poached Pears

No matter if you’re coupled up or single, we’re pretty sure you’ll still be hungry for some sweet treats no matter if you choose to celebrate the love-filled holiday or not. Who would pass up all that chocolate? Not us.

Throughout the 14 days leading up to the big day of hearts, kisses, and cupid, we’ll share a mix of recipes of food and cocktails appropriate for the holiday. It’s up to you if you want to share or not!
For today’s recipe, we’re sharing the ingredients for Honey Poached Pears with Gorgonzola and Hazelnuts to cap off your Valentine’s Day meal.

DAY 10: Honey Poached Pears with Gorgonzola and Hazelnuts

*Recipe courtesy of Honeydrop Beverages and Dan Lorig (Honeydrop COO and former Teaching Kitchen Manager of The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone and Certified Chef de Cuisine). Learn more about their product by visiting Honeydrop’s facebook page at facebook.com/Honeydropbev.

Honey Poached Pears with Gorgonzola and Hazelnuts

Ingredients: 

• 4 pears
• 3 cups white wine
• ¾ cup honey
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• Star anise
• Cinnamon stick
• ¼ cup honey
• ½ cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
• ¼ cup hazelnuts

Method:

• Carefully, core pears from the bottom, then peel and reserve in cold water with a few drops of lemon juice to prevent browning.
• Combine the wine, honey (reserve ¼ cup), lemon juice and spices.
• Place pears and honey mixture in a 2 -3 quart saucepot ensuring that the poaching liquid fully covers the pears.
• Place a small oven safe dish on top of the pears to keep them submerged throughout the cooking process.
• Poach the pears on medium heat and bring to a slow simmer. Continue poaching the pears for approximately 40 minutes or until they are fork tender.
• Remove the pears from the honey liquid and refrigerate to cool (discard the star anise and cinnamon stick).
• Reduce the remaining liquid down to 1 cup.
• Remove the reduction from the heat and add the remaining honey. Refrigerate to cool.

To Serve:

• Place a chilled pear on a small chilled plate (trimming the bottom as necessary, for a flat surface).
• Drizzle the chilled reduced poaching liquid on top of the pear and place the gorgonzola and hazelnuts around the plate to garnish.