Roasted Pears With Marsala

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. From lemon, with vegetable peeler, remove peel in strips (2 1/2-inches by 1/2-inches each); squeeze juice.

With melon baller or small knife, remove cores from pears by cutting through blossom end (bottom) of unpeeled pears (do not remove stems). With pastry brush, brush cavity of each pear with lemon juice, then sprinkle each cavity with 1/4 teaspoon sugar.

In shallow 1 1/2- to 2-quart baking dish, combine lemon peel, wine, and water. Place remaining 1/3 cup sugar on waxed paper. With pastry brush, brush pears with melted butter, then roll in sugar to coat. Stand pears in baking dish. Sprinkle any remaining sugar into baking dish.

Bake pears, basting occasionally with syrup in dish, until tender, 40 to 45 minutes.

Cool slightly to serve warm, or cool completely and cover and refrigerate up to 1 day. Reheat to serve warm, if you like.