Pears in white wine syrup
1 bottle of white wine, dryish, not sweet
1 bottle of water
2 cups of sugar
2-inch fresh ginger root, peeled and cut into matchsticks
Zest strips from 2 lemons -- use a vegetable peeler to make strips about 1/2 inch by 2 inches
juice from 2 lemons
As many pears as you can peel, halve and core to fit into the syrup.
Combine all the ingredients except for the pears in a large pot. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Start preparing pears next to the stove, and put them right into the syrup as you work. When you have as many pear halves as will fit into the syrup, bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for another 10 minutes or so, until the pears are tender. Serve the pears with some of the liquid and some of the ginger and lemon peel.