Got Pears?

Ahhh, Pears. It could be me, but pears seem to be making a comeback. They are sweet, like most fruit, but have a subtle, fresh taste that is reminiscent of summer. They can do savory just as easily as sweet and are just a bit unexpected. I work with really picky, McDonald's loving, adolescent girls and even they love pears. The cook has to put them out one or two at a time and even raw, they are snatched up and enjoyed.

The AC has been on a pear kick lately too, and it's pretty awesome. Even better, the pear kick has equaled more desserts, which is always good for me.

Exhibit A

I present to you three dishes, four pictures. The fourth is just to demonstrate the end result, and I liked the image- remember, this is also about photography for me.

Exhibit A. Made while we were hosting some new friends for Art-a-Whirl. Preparation was scant and overall, these were quite spontaneous- The AC gets up from the dinner table around midnight after an evening of over indulgence. He doesn't say a word.  I don't disturb him. And my art friends and I get a treat. Kinda like my sister when she visited. see the fried bananas post and you'll get the idea. A common, green Bartlett pear was sliced thin and marinated in St. Germaine Elder Flower liqueur for a little over 20 minutes. The AC put the pears and the sauce used to marinate in a med-high frying pan, coated with butter. He added cinnamon and ground ginger and fried on both sides until browned and slightly soft. He halved some dried cherries and served.  All were eaten voraciously. The result was a semi-sweet, buttery, warm, just perfect follow-up to a meal.

Exhibit B

Exhibit B. Oatmeal. Served on a standard Saturday morning, with bacon, or course. This was added to demonstrate yet another way to add excitement to oatmeal. Honestly, oatmeal had no idea how exciting it could be until it met the AC.

This version used the pears, again Bartlett, marinated in St. Germaine. The oatmeal was prepared with ground clove, cinnamon, orange and lemon peel and a small hint of french lavender. Think about that, meaty, hearty oatmeal, balanced with citrus, subtle pear sweetened with St. Germaine (yes, I guess that means we consumed alcohol for breakfast) and the clean taste of lavender. This is your license to go crazy on your oatmeal...ready?? Go!

Exhibit C

Exhibit C. Caramelized roasted pears. Enough said. This is truly bringing out the total dessert potential of this fruit. The AC really outdid himself with this. Bosc pears are used. They are the pears with the brown skin, they are ultimately slightly less sweet and very good for cooking.

Exhibit D

To make this, preheat the oven to 375 degrees, cut the pears in half and core. Squeeze fresh lemon juice on both sides. Turn round side up and then lightly drizzle vanilla extract and generously sprinkle with brown sugar. Place the pears on a baking sheet that has a lot of butter coating it, it will be used for more than release but part of a sauce when we're done. Create the sauce using various liqueurs, for these we used a combination of cointreau and plain triple sec. Add cinnamon, ginger, allspice, a bit of salt and a bit of cayenne. Cook the sauce until reduced, pour the sauce over the pears after the pears have cooked about 25-30 minutes (somewhat soft all the way through) and then place under a broiler. Broil until brown and bubbly. Remove from the broiler, pour the remaining sauce from the pan over the pears and then top with chopped dried cherries and fresh mint leaves.

Place in front of your lucky dinner guests and see Exhibit D.