So, I found these lovely red pears and bought them just “cuz”…. When I got home I remembered seeing poached pears or something to that effect. So I “googled” and found caramelized pears! yummmmmm I did three different recipes with the 3 pears I bought… And it turned out great!
Now remember I don’t measure well and part of finding your inner cowgirl is to have fun! and be creative — so these recipes are simple to follow!
I quartered one pear and placed it in about 4 tablespoons of butter, browned both “open” sides and took out of butter, then I added about a tsp of water and about 4 tablespoons of brown sugar and stirred until I had a caramelized effect… Place your warm pears on a plate pour over your caramel and voila! Of course I added Maybelle’s wonderful cream on top of mine which made it over the moon!!!!
Next I built a tart (well 3)… I took a frozen pie crust (yes I cheated) – cut it into 3 portions and pressed it into 3 mini cake/pie dishes. Then I took about 2 tbs of cream cheese and spread it on the bottom. Next I added my 1 chopped pear divided into the 3 dishes and about 1 tbs of dried cranberries (maybe a little more!). Lastly I had some strawberry rhubarb jam from last year of which I put about 2 heaping teaspoons on top and gently spread it out… Bake it in the oven until your crust is golden and the jam is bubbling a little and YAY! a yummy breakfast tart (or mine was last Sunday!) ps… bake at about 375-385…
Last this one is really fun and playful as you could do it with apples or pears! you could add arugula, romaine or spinach! You could change out the feta cheese for goat cheese? blue cheese? And you could change the walnuts to almonds or pine nuts? The basil you could trade for mint? maybe a bit of fennel?
So here goes…. I took one pear, quartered and chopped it, then I took about a cup of my pickled beets (you could use just plain canned beets) they were pretty small so after draining them, I cut most of them in half. Next rough chop a handful of walnuts and I took about 8-10 basil leaves and chopped them. I left my feta pretty chunky and added 1/2 cup?! Last I added halved grapes (I love them this time of year, very sweet, juicy and colorful!)
Lastly, I took oh about a 1 tbs of good olive oil, 1 tbs of honey, 1 tbs of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Whisk it all together and pour and gently toss your pear/beet salad!
Remember my sweet buckarettes… work on stepping out of the box having confidence and just TRY! These are all simple recipes you can have fun with! Happy Fall!!!