The weather has been like no other winter here in Eastern, VA, so, while I made these pears quite a while ago, sunshine and my schedule did not coalesce until yesterday for me to photograph or I would have posted well before now so that if you, too, were gifted with a box of Harry & David Pears, you would have a new and delicious way to serve them.

It was a gift of these pears sent also to my parents by my cousin (he sent mine much later due to a snafu of some sort) and my mom’s craving that resulted in this recipe.  The cream-cheese orange filling makes them extra special and extra pretty.

Hopefully, now that the winter holidays are well behind us, you can enjoy this recipe with the crop of summer pears.

Hey, did you know those Harry & David pear crates make ideal tree ornament storage boxes?

Pears and Red Wine Reduction:

6 large pears (about 8 ounces each), halved lengthwise, stemmed and cored using a melon-baller or small spoon

2 cups Burgundy wine

1/4 cup sugar

1 large orange, zested (reserve zest), halved, and then sliced into 1/2-inch slices

3 cinnamon sticks

Combine wine and sugar in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pears, cut side down, and then tuck orange slices and cinnamon sticks between them.  Bring to a simmer and poach for 10 minutes on one side; gently flip, and poach 10 minutes on the other side.   Arrange in a serving dish or on individual plates or bowls, cut side up.  Place a dollop of filling in the hollow left when the core was removed, drizzle with Red Wine Reduction, and serve.

Vegan Cream Cheese-Orange Filling:

8 ounces vegan cream cheese such as *Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese

2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Reserved orange zest

In  small bowl using a fork, mash together cream cheese and sugar.  When almost smooth, incorporate vanilla extract and zest.

*You can also find this recipe HERE on the Tofutti website!