Many recipes for this delicate dessert are made with aggressive spices that may overwhelm the delicate taste of the fruit. This approach calls for simmering the pears in an unspiced syrup that is reduced to concentrate the fruity flavor. It's worth it to seek out Poire Williams (a pear-flavored eau-de-vie) to finish the dish, but you can also use brandy.
Way easier than classic Julia Childs recipe. Only had one pear so scaled simple syrup amount down to 1c and prepped in small sauce pan. Also used limoncello instead of pear liqueur. Once (very firm) pear was soft after 25 min poaching, removed from liquid and added 3/4 c of a Pacific NW Syrah to remaining 3/4c simple syrup and limoncello. Reduced down to about 1/2c, cooled until thickened and served warm over pear halves. Wonderful aroma intense flavor and nice soft texture. Just wish I had started with more pears!
