Poached Pears with Ruby Red Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients:
2 medium, ripe Bosc pears (with stems)
1/2 lemon
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed (reserve 10 raspberries for garnish)
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon black currant-flavor or orange-flavor liqueur
Mint sprigs for garnish

Instructions:
1. With apple corer or small knife, remove cores from blossom end (bottom) of pears. Peel pears almost to top but do not remove stems. Rub pears with lemon half, sprinkle with sugar.

2. In a glass pie plate, arrange pears lying down with stems toward center, add 2 tablespoons water. Cook, uncovered, in microwave oven on High 5 to 6 minutes, until tender, turning pears over halfway through cooking. Transfer pears, stem ends up, to 2 dessert plates, set aside until ready to serve.

3. In blender at high speed, puree raspberries. Sift confectioners' sugar through coarse sieve into small bowl. Press raspberry puree through same sieve into same bowl to remove seeds. Discard seeds. Stir liqueur into raspberry mixture.

4. To serve, spoon raspberry sauce over poached pears. Garnish with mint sprigs and reserved raspberries.

Makes 2 servings.

Date: August 8, 2004