7 medium-size (3 1/2 pounds) pears
4 cups cranberry-juice cocktail
2 cups ruby port
4 drops red food coloring (optional)
1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup red currant jelly
Peel, halve, and core pears. In 4-quart saucepan, heat cranberry juice, port, and food coloring, if desired, to boiling. Add pears; cover and cook over low heat 10 to 15 minutes or until pears are just tender. Turn off heat and let pears stand in port mixture 30 minutes to intensify color.
Meanwhile, in medium-size bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt. Add butter and vanilla; blend with fork until stiff shortbread dough forms.
Heat oven to 375. Grease a 12-inch pizza pan. With floured fingers, pat dough out to cover bottom of pan evenly and form a rim at pan's edge.
With slotted spatula, remove pears from port mixture; reserve port mixture. Arrange pears, cut side down, on dough-lined pan. (If all pear halves will not fit, cut leftover into 1/2-inch cubes and tuck under pear halves to fill hollow where core was removed or refrigerate for another use.)
Score tops of pears several times. Bake pear-topped shortbread 45 to 50 minutes or until shortbread is firm and lightly browned. Cool in pan on wire rack.
Meanwhile, add currant jelly to port mixture and cook over low heat until reduced to 1 cup. Drizzle reduced port mixture over pears. Cut pear-topped mixture cornmeal shortbread into 10 wedges and serve at room temperature.
