I strongly recommend you use a rather thick piece of fish. Standard fish fillets are too thin to use a thermometer and can be easily overcooked if you lack experience judging their doneness from appearance alone. With a good sized fillet and a thermometer the guesswork is eliminated and the fish can be cooked precisely. Overcooking will cause it to dry out and crumble.

POACHED PEARS IN RED WINE

1 bottledry red wine
1 cup sugar
1 cup water plus more if needed
1 vanilla bean, sliced
2 star anise
2 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
6 ripe pears

Peel, halve, and core the pears, and then place them in acidulated water to prevent browning. Combine all of the remaining ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a poaching temperature and add the pears. Add more water if needed to submerge the pears. You can place a small lid on top of them or cut out a round piece of parchment paper with an inch and a half hole in the center to place on top of them. Either method will help keep them submerged. Cover the pot and poach until the pears are fork tender. This will vary with their degree of ripeness but usually 10-20 minutes. Allow them to cool in the poaching liquid. You can also take some of the liquid and reduce it further to form a syrupy sauce. Pour it over the pears with some ice cream.