Fruit Dessert

For a light alternative to traditional Thanksgiving pies, tequila-poached pears (above) provide a southwestern twist. Popular in Mexico and Central and South America, prickly pear jelly is paired with raspberries for the sauce. Serve with the Lemon Bizcochitos and dessert wine, such as Muscat.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Makes use of the microwave oven.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Washington pears and California raisins complement each other deliciously. This is perfect with vanilla ice cream.

Cooking rhubarb to the right consistency is trickier than you might think — it changes from barely tender to falling apart in a matter of seconds. Watch it carefully while it's poaching. In this recipe you’ll need to boil the rhubarb syrup to the "soft-ball stage." To determine this, just drop a small amount of syrup into a cup of cold water. If you can form it into a sticky lump that flattens when pressed, it has reached the right consistency. This technique is especially useful with small amounts of syrup, from which it can be difficult to obtain an accurate temperature reading with a thermometer.

This is a refreshing and fast adults-only dessert for any summer meal. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

This classically simple milliard is similar to a clafouti - both desserts are a cross between a cake and a custard and are about as thick as a thin cake layer.

Filled with raisins and brown sugar and baked in Marsala and cider, these apples make a warming ending to the meal. Accompany them with vanilla ice cream and some purchased almond biscotti.

Great with the blintzes or ice cream. This recipe originally accompanied Cheese Blintzes with Carmelized Apples.

Caramelized Fresh Fruit These crackly-coated fruits bring back childhood memories of candied apples. I've given the Roman recipe here; in Venice, where they're coated with a thicker layer of caramel, they are called golosezzi veneziani. Set aside about 1/2 hour for the caramelizing and finish the procedure no more than 1 1/2 hours before serving so that the fruit remains crisp.

What to drink: Fess Parker 2000 Late Harvest Muscat Canelli, Santa Barbara County, or another sweet dessert wine with orange and honey flavors.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 8 1/2 hr (includes chilling)

The nutty, slightly spicy flavor of the sweet red wine works well with the berries in this dish. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 45 min