Candied Pears

Grandma Franklin, my mother's mother, used to make this dish for every Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.  She called them "spiced pears," but their flavor comes more from candies than from spices, so I've amended the name over time.  These pears were always a favorite of my brother's and mine, and I remember calling my grandmother and asking for the recipe in 2004 and 2005, when Sameer and I started spending the holidays together and I hadn't yet bothered writing down any recipes I used.

Please note all amounts listed below are approximations. You can vary them wildly and it shouldn't matter too much.

Ingredients
1 (28 oz.) can pear halves in heavy syrup
1 (10 oz.) jar maraschino cherries (without stems)
1 cup maraschino cherry syrup (not the same as grenadine, which is pomegranate syrup -- you can typically find maraschino cherry syrup with either sundae toppings or drink mixers at the grocery store)
12-15 Red Hot candies (If you can't find Red Hots, you can substitute other less potent cinnamon candies such as Hot Tamales and just use more.)
7 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

Directions
1. Combine a few of the maraschino cherries (smushed to release their juices), all of their liquid from the jar, the additional cup of maraschino cherry syrup, Red Hots, cloves, and cinnamon stick in a small sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Simmer syrup, mashing Red Hots with a spoon until they have almost completely dissolved, about 7 minutes (I'm making that number up -- it could be anywhere between 5 and 15 -- I've never watched the clock while doing this.)
3. While syrup is simmering, drain the pears and put them in a heat-proof container just large enough to hold them all (your goal is for as much of the pears to end up submerged in syrup as possible).
4. Remove syrup from heat and strain through a sieve into the dish with the pears. (The sieve keeps out the tiny un-melted candy bits, as well as the cloves and cinnamon stick.  You can make do without it, but I'd hate to have to.  Rinse your sieve immediately after using it, before the syrup dries into all the tiny holes and becomes difficult to clean.)  Add most of the remaining maraschino cherries to your pears, seal container, and refrigerate until cooled.  These pears are best made up to 5 days in advance.