6 lg Firm pears

1 pt Dry cider; strong

- or red wine 4 oz Sugar

1 Vanilla pod; split

2 Whole cinnamon sticks

1 ts Corn starch; or arrowroot

Flaked almonds; toasted 15 fl Double cream; whipped

Preheat the oven to 250 oF / 130 oC. Peel the pears neatly, leaving the stalks on, and stand them in a large casserole. In a saucepan bring the cider, sugar, split vanilla pod and cinnamon sticks to the boil. Pour this over the pears, cover the casserole and bake very slowly for about 3 hours, turning the pears half-way through the cooking time. When the pears are cooked, transfer them to a serving bowl and cool. Pour the liquid into a saucepan, discarding the vanilla pod and cinnamon sticks. Mix the arrowroot with a little cold water to a smooth paste, then add to the saucepan with the liquid. Bring to the boil, stirring till the mixture has thickened slightly to a syrup. Pour it over the pears, allow to cool a little, then baste each pear with a good coating of the syrup. Place in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly and serve sprinkled with toasted flaked almonds and whipped cream. From: Felicity and Roald Dahl, Memories with Food at Gipsy House, Viking, Penguin 1991, ISBN 0-670-83462-9 Typed for you by Rene Gagnaux @ 2:301/212.19 (or 2:301/707.20)