Wine-Poached Pears - cooking recipe

Ingredients

6 bosc pears
1 cup sauterne or 1 cup port wine
1 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
5 whole cloves
x lemon, zest of, cut in strips
1/2 lemon, juice of

Preparation

Peel pears, leaving stem intact.
Using a small melon baller, remove stems and seeds from bottoms of pears.
In a saucepan that will accommodate pears upright, combine wine, water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, lemon zest and lemon juice.
Bring to a boil.
Add pears, cook over medium heat, maintaining a boil for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, allow pears to cool slowly.
Baste pears occasionally with poaching liquid.
When completely cooled, chill pears.
Serve on individual dessert plates; spoon liquid over pears.