I've had apples on my mind lately, since they're in season and the ones this year are just awesome. There's a variety called Honeycrisp that they sell at Whole Foods, I can't get enough of them. Mmmmmm!!
My daughter was talking about making baked apples. I am at work so I can't search the whole thread - do you remember posting a recipe or do you know of one? What kind of apple works best in these?
Also poached or simmered pears - they sell those at the deli case at outrageous prices and I bet you can make them yourself. That would be a good recipe to post, too. Hopefully they would tell you what kind of pear works best and how ripe it needs to be. The pears have been outstanding, too. Yum!!

Simmered Pears in Red Wine.
Winter side dish or dessert.
Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8 firm cooking/dessert pears (in Holland we use Gieser Wildeman or Saint Remy pears),
- bottle of red wine
- caster sugar ( I use 10 dessert spoons of sugar, but you can add more (or less) if you like)
- 2 cinnamon sticks,
- Rind of halve a lemon or 400 ml. orange juice
Method:
1. Peel the pears, leave the stem and dont cut them (if you want, you can slice the bottoms off to help them to stand up easily in the pan or when served).
2. Pour the wine into a large saucepan. Stir in the sugar. Put the pears into the pan and add the orange juice and cinnamon sticks. Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer. Put a lid on and cook for 45 minutes or so (Gieser Wildeman or Saint Remy pears take longer 90 minutes or so), until beautiful red and soft but still retaining their shape.
3. When you eat them as a side dish, eat them hot!(Delicious with roasted potatoes) If you want to use them for dessert, let them cool in the liquid. Serve with cream, or mascarpone, or just plain vanilla ice-cream and some port-wine or some of the liquid
Enjoy!
Tip: you can store these pears in your freezer (store them in a container with the liquid)
Tip2: Dont throw away the liquid
.its very tasty and you can drink it or use it as a sauce
There are several recipes for stewed/cooked apples and pears.
I read on a blog this morning, that the lady places her pears in a crockpot, cooks till soft and seasons to taste.