Pear Compote
Feeds 4

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
1 1/2 C. red Zinfandel wine
1/3 C. granulated sugar
1/3 C. red currant jelly
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
5 cloves
pinch of ground cinnamon
3 D'Anjou pears, peeled, cored and cut into edible pieces

For presentation:
-mint chocolate chip ice cream, specialty cookies, mint sprigs

LET'S COOK:
Pour the wine, sugar, jelly, vanilla, cloves and cinnamon into a saucepot. Bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally. Drop the peeled, cored and cut pears into the pan. Bring it back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

At this point, taste one of the pear pieces to be sure it's tender enough for you. If it's not to your liking, cook another 5-10 minutes. When the pears are done to your liking, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon. Discard the cloves

Bring the sauce back to a boil and reduce or boil it down for about 8 minutes. Add the pears back to the pan, turn off the burner and allow it to sit for about an hour. Doing this a day in advance is even better.

When it's time to serve, divide the pears and sauce evenly among 4 nice dessert dishes. Top with a small scoop of the mint chocolate chip ice cream, add a specialty cookie and a mint sprig and serve with great pride.

MORE IDEAS:
Any sort of ice cream will work, plain vanilla, chocolate, even rum raisin.