Poached Pears & Zabaglione – Volpi Foods

Ingredients

• 1 bottle inexpensive, medium dry red wine (such as Montepulciano)
• 1½ cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• seeds from 1 vanilla bean pod
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 black peppercorns
• 3 juniper berries
• 1 star anise
• 1 orange
• 4 firm but ripe Bosc pears
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup Marsala wine
• pinch of salt
• melon baller or serrated grapefruit spoon