Pandora’s Chai-Poached Pears

Yield: 4
8 cups water
4 teaspoons chai tea
2 cups sugar
4 pears, peeled and cored
1 cup Neufchâtel cheese, mascarpone or cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup crystallized ginger
Zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup honey

Garnish: cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg

1. In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil, add tea, and boil for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how strong you want the taste.
2. Reduce heat to just under a boil, and add sugar.
3. Once sugar has dissolved, add peeled and cored pears, and reduce heat to a simmer. Poach pears until soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Reserve poaching liquid, and cool to room temperature.
4. While the pears and poaching liquid are cooling, place the cheese, vanilla and ginger in a medium bowl, and combine with a fork. Add 2 tablespoons of poaching liquid to mixture; mix well. Place mixture in a piping bag, and fill the holes in the pears. Set aside.
5. In a heavy saucepan, bring 1 cup of poaching liquid and orange zest to a boil. In a separate pot, combine cream and honey, and heat until warm. Add cream mixture slowly to poaching liquid.
Serving: Place 1 pear on a plate. Spoon sauce around the pear. Garnish with a dusting of cinnamon and nutmeg