Dinner with Friends

Last night, we had a couple of our close friends over for dinner and enjoyed a delightful evening of good food, wine and conversation. Having friends over for dinner is a wonderful way to personalize your time together and make sharing food and wine a special event. There really is not, in our opinion, a better way to spend an evening.

Inviting friends over for dinner does involve more work than going to a restaurant - making sure the house is clean, choosing food and wine that will please your guests and setting the table to let your friends know that they are welcome in your home. With a little planning ahead, you can easily create an evening that everyone (including the cook!) will enjoy together.

Last night, we ended dinner with poached pears and a small slice of Ciambella, an Italian ring cake. The pears were especially welcome after all those heavy holiday desserts of the past month. Here is the recipe:

Spiced Poached Pears

2 cups bottled orange juice

1/2 c dry white wine

1 c. water

1/2 c sugar

1 cinnamon stick or 1/4 t ground cinnamon

5 whole cloves or 1/8 t ground cloves

5 cardamom pods, lightly bruised

1 t vanilla extract

4 Bosc or other pears, peeled with stems intact

Combine the first eight ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan or Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and add the pears. The poaching liquid should cover about three quarters of each pear. Add a bit more water, if necessary.

Gently poach the pears for 20 to 30 minutes, keeping the liquid at a bare simmer. Turn the pears now and then to cook evenly. The pears are done when they can easily be pierced with a knife but are not falling apart. Allow the pears to cool in the poaching liquid when done.

The pears can be served warm, drizzled with the poaching liquid or can be chilled (overnight is fine) in the refrigerator to serve cold. Allow 1/2 to 1 pear per person.

Serves 4 to 8, depending on portion size

Variation: You can serve the whole pears as a dessert by themselves by slicing a small section off the bottom of each pear to stand upright on a plate. Drizzle with a thickened chocolate sauce, allowing the sauce to puddle around the bottom of the plate.