Warm Spiced Pears [What's Cookin']

I'm so very extremely behind on the task of documenting our family's life over the past month or two. There are Christmas photos I haven't even posted yet! Things have just been insane lately, and in an attempt to get back in the saddle again in terms of blogging, I'm posting food. Seems that lately, as I've spent time with friends, we've all talked about sharing recipes. I've loved reading posts from friends about what they cook, so here's a quick share.

Confession time: I've never eaten a fresh pear in my life. I've always loved pears--from a can. So last week when I saw fresh pears in the produce section, I was intrigued, and I bought some. Since last week, they've sat in a bowl on my counter, serving more as decoration that nutrition. Today as I was making lunch I felt bad about this, and decided that I would get past my reluctance to try a "real" pear. So I sliced it up, and was delighted and surprised to find that it was soft and juicy, not crunchy like an apple (though, I suppose that this could be an effect of sitting out on the counter for a number of days). It was yummy. I decided to take it a step further and saute them. Found a recipe to loosely go by, and discovered that pears make EXCELLENT dessert.

Saute 1 T. butter over medium high heat. Slice pears into 3/4 inch slices and drop into butter. Cook approximately 2 minutes, then sprinkle with a little lemon zest, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

These pears are warm, comforting, and oh-so-easy. And, of course, if you toss a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top? Well... there you have a dessert that I'd be happy to serve to anybody.