Instructions: Preheat oven to 425F.

Do not remove the stems from the pears, but peel them with a vegetable peeler. Then, using a melon baller, citrus spoon or half-teaspoon measuring spoon, remove the seeds from each pear by digging them out from the base.

Melt the butter in a small gratin dish. Stir the lemon juice into the butter. Roll the pears in this mixture and sprinkle them with the sugar.

Stand the pears upright in the gratin dish, and place them in the 450F preheated oven. Cook the pears for about 1 1/4 hours, basting them with their own juices every 15 or 20 minutes, until they are nicely brown and tender when pierced with a knife. The juices should be caramelized and a rich brown color at the end of the cooking; if they should begin to burn, prevent this by immediately adding 3 to 4 tablespoons of water to the gratin dish.

When the pears are tender, remove them from the oven. Add the Madeira wine to the dish, and stir well to combine it with the juices.

Cool the pears to room temperature. Serve them with the accumulated juices spooned over and around them. Decorate with mint leaves.

Description: "Fresh pears roasted with stem and served with Madeira sauce."

NOTES : Success of this dessert depends largely on the quality and ripeness of the fruit. Anjou or Bartlett pears are roasted at a high temperature for more than 1 hour, until their juices caramelize and turn a rich mahogany color. The juices are then diluted with a little Madeira, and the pears are served at room temperature with the juices.

From Pepin: about 1.5-lbs of pears and 2 tablespoons butter.

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