Pears with Fresh Cranberry Sauce

1 3/4 cup orange juice
1 (4-inch) cinnamon stick
4 firm pears, pared, stems attached
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange rind
2 cups fresh cranberries

Combine 1 1/4 cups orange juice and cinnamon stick in large saucepan. Add pears. Bring orange juice to a boil. Cover; reduce heat. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until pears are just tender, basting often. Remove pears from saucepan. Chill thoroughly.

Discard cinnamon stick. Add sugar and orange rind to orange juice in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir in cranberries; reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Pour into blender container; puree until smooth. Force sauce through sieve to remove seeds.

Serve sauce over poached pears.

Yields 4 servings.