Cranberry Sauce over Pound Cake a la Mode

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 medium apples, peeled and chunked, such as McIntosh
• 1 medium Bosc pear, peeled and chunked
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup prepared whole berry cranberry or cranberry-orange sauce
• 4 (1-inch) slices packaged pound cake
• 1 pint French vanilla ice cream

Directions

Place a small saucepan, over moderate heat and add butter. Work close to the stove and add apples and pear to the pot as you chop them. Sprinkle the fruit with brown sugar, a teaspoon of lemon juice and nutmeg. Add cider and raise heat a little. Allow liquid to come to a boil, then add cranberry sauce to the pot. When sauce returns to a boil, turn heat back to moderate, and cook sauce 5 minutes until apples and pears are softened but sauce remains fairly chunky in consistency. Spoon the warm fruit sauce over pound cake slices and top with scoops of vanilla ice cream.