Cranberry Pear Compote

You can serve this compote warm over pound cake or cooled with whipped cream. You can layer the chilled compote in parfait glasses with whipped cream and pieces of pound cake, broken fig-filled cookies, or graham cracker crumbs.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• ½ cup port or Madeira wine
• ½ cup sugar
• 6 allspice berries
• 4 cardamom pods, crushed
• 1 cup cranberries
• 4 large pears, cored, peeled, and sliced into quarters

1. Add the water, wine, sugar, allspice and cardamom to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until the liquid is bubbling around the edges. Stir to dissolve the sugar in the liquid.
2. Rinse and drain the cranberries. Remove and discard any stems or blemished cranberries. Stir into the liquid in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until the cranberries pop.
3. Wash, peel, core, and cut the pears into quarters. Stir into the other ingredients in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours.
4. Remove and discard the allspice berries and the cardamom pods. Serve warm from the slow cooker or allow to come to room temperature and pour into a covered container and refrigerate until chilled.