Poached pears in red wine

This is a good recipe for using leftover red wine or ripe pears.  You can experiment with throwing in extra flavorings in addition to (or in place of) the vanilla...rosemary, thyme, orange zest, etc.   Adapted from http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/rosemary-red-wine-poached-pears/

Ingredients

4-6 ripe pears
1.5 c red wine
1 cinnamon stick
2 t real vanilla extract
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c mascarpone cheese
1/4 c cream cheese
1 t honey
walnuts for garnish

Instructions

1) Peel pears, leaving stems intact, then slice vertically and remove cores.
2) In a large saucepan, combine red wine, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon stick, and bring to a boil.
3) Reduce heat to simmer, gently add pears - simmer for 10 minutes, the flip over and simmer for another 10 minutes, or until pears are tender.
4) Take pan off heat and let pears sit in wine sauce for 30 minutes (if you want to speed things up, you can skip this step).
5) Remove pears from wine sauce with a slotted spoon and place on a small plate - do not discard the liquid!
6) Return pan to heat and simmer sauce, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until liquid has reduced by half.  (This is where you can add herbs or spices - let them simmer with the wine reduction, and remove when done.)
7) Combine mascarpone, cream cheese, and honey until light and fluffy.
8) To service, place pears on plates, add a small spoonful of filling into the center of each pear, top with a walnut, and drizzle with red wine syrup.