Although I suggest that you serve the pears at room temperature, this is a dessert that you can make days ahead. Poach the pears as directed — remember to turn them in the syrup as they’re cooking if you don’t have enough syrup to cover them (and you might not, it’ll depend on your pot) — let them cool in the syrup, pack them into a container that’s large enough to hold the pears yet small enough that they’ll be submerged, cover and then pop them into the fridge and keep them there for up to 5 days.
If you’ve got time, bring the pears to room temperature; if you don’t — or if, in the heat of the feast, you forget (something that usually happens with me) — serve them chilled, they’ll still be delicious. And if you just happen to have a little hot fudge stowed away … warm the sauce and drizzle a little over each pear. (If you don’t, but wish you had, here’s a good hot fudge sauce recipe.)
The recipe will appear in this Sunday’s Parade Magazine and on the Parade website now.