4 firm ripe pears, preferably Bosc
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 strip lemon peel
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sweet wine (Marsala or Madeira)
1/2 cup dry wine
1 pint ice cream (i.e. vanilla, toasted almond, pear)
1 pint raspberries, pureed with 2 tablespoons sugar
Peel, core and halve pears. Combine sugar, water, lemon peel, vanilla and wines and bring to a boil. Boil 3 minutes. Add pears and slowly poach in the sauce until tender and infused with sauce. Turn pears occasionally with tongs. Remove from sauce. Reduce sauce until very syrupy. Cool.
Place a spoonful of sauce in the bottom of an individual serving bowl. Place a 2-ounce scoop of ice cream on the sauce and top with the poached pear. Drizzle with the pureed raspberries and serve.
Serves 8.
PER SERVING: 225 calories, 2 g protein, 36 g carbohydrate, 6 g fat (4 g saturated), 22 mg cholesterol, 29 mg sodium, 4 g fiber.