chai poached pear with jersey blue

you know those fancy restaurants, where you can pick cheese or dessert? to me, to choose between cheese and dessert is an impossible task. or the outcome seems to be a lose-lose, somehow. because i obviously always want both. 

those pears are kind of like my signature dish. i like to make them for brunches, dinner parties and even just a simple meal of its own, in many varieties. 

6 smallish pears

1 liter apple juice

1 liter cranberry juice

1 organic orange, juice and peel

1 organic lemon, juice and peel

700 g sugar

4 cinnamon sticks

2 vanilla beans, scraped

1 tbsp. black pepper corns

1 tbsp. pink pepper corns

4 star anise

1 tbsp. cloves

4 cardamom pods

1 tbsp. coriander seeds

1 piece ginger, peeled and chopped

cheese of choice

some nuts for garnish

6 fresh bay leaves (or other ever green)

put the apple and cranberry juice in a large pot and add all the other ingredients: spices, sugar, orange juice and peel, lemon juice and peel. bring to a boil. in the meantime, peel the pears and cut off the bottom of them so they sit upright. when the chai boils, reduce the heat to a simmer, then poach the pears in it for about 10 to 15 minutes. remove from heat, cover and let the pears cool in the juice. leave in the chai juice until ready to serve, so the pears keep nice and juicy. drain from juice (you can keep the juice and serve it hot, as a mulled wine), stick a bay leaf into each pear, arrange on a plate and serve with cheese and nuts of your choice.