• Put the wine, pomegranate juice, sugar, spices, and orange slices into a large deep pot and begin to heat.
• Peel each pear and drop them into the pot.
• Bring the pot to a boil, then turn down and simmer, partially covered, for about 30 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally so the pears poach evenly. They should be completely submerged, if possible.
• Check a pear by piercing with the tip of a sharp knive to see if it is tender. If it is still firm, simmer for 10 more minutes, or until tender. Once the pears are tender, remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let stand until room temperature, with the pears still in the liquid.
• Carefully remove the pears and strain the liquid. Put the liquid back on the stove and boil to reduce it down by half.
• The pears can be served in a shallow bowl standing in a little of the reduced poaching liquid, or you can make a custard sauce to serve with them.

to make custard sauce

• In a medium bowl whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
• In a medium heavy bottomed saucepan heat the half and half until scalded, but not boiling. It will start to smoke and little bubbles will appear along the edges.
• Drizzle some of the hot half and half into the egg mixture, while whisking constantly. Then pour that back into the pan and continue to cook, whisking or stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and comes to a boil.
• Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove any stray lumps.
• The custard can be served warm or cold. If you'd like to serve the custard chilled, you can speed the process by placing it in a a large bowl filled with ice.