BAKED PEARS WITH VANILLA, CINNAMON AND GRAPPA

BAKED PEARS WITH VANILLA, CINNAMON AND GRAPPA image

Yield 4 people

Number Of Ingredients 7

4 large Comice pears
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
1/2 cup grappa (or cognac or brandy)
2/3 cup crème fraîche, for serving

Steps:

Total Time: 1 Hour Active Time:15 Minutes Serves: 4 1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. 2. Cut a small slice off the pears' bottoms so they stand upright. 3. Grease a small baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Rub remaining butter over pears, coating each in a thin layer. 4. Arrange pears evenly in the baking dish and sprinkle sugar over top. Tuck vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks under and around the pears. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. 5. Remove foil and pour grappa over pears and into dish. Baste pears with cooking juices and return dish to oven. Roast until pears are cooked though and easily pierced with a knife, about 40 minutes. As pears roast, baste with pan juices. If pears are done before the alcohol mellows, remove pears from the oven and continue to roast the juices until the alcohol burns off. 6. Serve each pear with a few spoonfuls of cooking liquid poured over top and a dollop of crème fraîche alongside.