Buttery Spiced Poached Pears

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This post is sponsored by Workman Publishing Company in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own.

This week I am trying something completely new to me! I made a recipe from a cookbook without changing a thing! I received the new cookbook from Lucinda Scala Quinn called Mad Hungry Family.

Lucinda Scala Quinn is former executive food director at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the host of her own television show, Mad Hungry: Bringing Back the Family Meal. She lives and cooks with her husband and three sons in New York City. She appears pretty regularly on morning television and QVC with her top-selling Mad Hungry Kitchenware line. Read Lucinda Scala Quinn interview on The Sunday Supper Movement website.

In MAD HUNGRY FAMILY, Scala Quinn helps seasoned cooks and newbies alike with the tools they need to be successful in the kitchen. My kinda gal! I love making cooking easy so that my readers can recreate my recipes and enlist their little kid helpers too!

The Mad Hungry Family cookbook recipes and friendly advice will bolster your confidence and inspire you to cook every night of the week. The author proves you can feed your family real, delicious food even on a budget. As a young, stay-at-home mom to three growing boys, she learned to be creative and resourceful in the kitchen and passes that knowledge on in her cookbooks.

Scala Quinn suggests simplifying your holidays by choosing food rituals that make you and your family happy instead of chasing the latest holiday food trend. The recipes available in Mad Hungry Family are some of her tried and true favorites.

The Mad Hungry Family cookbook has so many recipes that have my mouth watering! How about the flat roast chicken or second-day spaghetti pancakes. The book contains primers on the ingredients and techniques you need! . Mad Hungry Family is the “you-can-do-this” handbook every mom needs. Follow Mad Hungry on your favorite social media: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Today, I made an awesome recipe out of the Mad Hungry Family cookbook that is a fruit based dessert that my family and friends loved!!

Buttery Spiced Poached Pears Recipe

serves 4

When apples and pears are in season from autumn into winter, I keep a large bowl on the countertop for out-of-hand eating. I also love to poach them to transform them into this luscious dessert.

1 cup apple cider

2 tablespoons dry vermouth or dry white wine

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 star anise pods or cinnamon sticks

1⁄4 teaspoon coarse salt

3 Anjou or Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and sliced into 6 slices each

1⁄2 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

Crisp cookies, for serving (optional)

1. Combine the apple cider, vermouth, butter, star anise, and salt in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add the pears, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, until the pears are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Whisk together the yogurt and honey. Divide the pears and poaching liquid among four bowls and serve topped with a dollop of honey-yogurt and the cookies, if desired.

Recipe used with permission from Workman Publishing Company.

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Cookbook Giveaway

10 copies of the cookbook will be given away in a joint giveaway. See below to enter!

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For two weeks, 10 Sunday Supper tastemakers will be sharing Mad Hungry Family recipes for Weekday Supper. Here’s the line up:

Make sure you visit all the delicious Mad Hungry Family recipes and reviews:

Week One:

Monday, November 14 – Straight-Talk Turkey – Family Foodie
Tuesday, November 15 – HamJam Cheddar Puffs – Renee’s Kitchen Adventures
Wednesday, November 16 – Chocolate Hazelnut Orange Potstickers – Grumpy’s Honeybunch
Thursday, November 17 – Squash Gnocchi with Sage Butter – Dizzy Busy and Hungry
Friday, November 18 – Thanksgiving Leftover Pie – Meal Planning Magic

Week Two:

Monday, November 21 – Fig and Pancetta Stuffing – My Life Cookbook
Tuesday, November 22 – Yorkshire Pudding – A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
Wednesday, November 23 – Buttery Spiced Poached Pears – April Golightly
Thursday, November 24 – Upside-down Apple Tart – Alida’s Kitchen
Friday, November 25 – Princely Potatoes – Crazed Mom

Weekday Supper recipes are great for when life gets busy! It’s easy to find them. Search the #WeekdaySupper hashtag across social media or click here for more on our Sunday Supper website. Also check out the Weekday Supper Pinterest board for plenty more ideas and inspiration.