A Pair for Pears
Last week, I attended a holiday party, with potluck refreshments. What to bring? I made a quick survey of the refrigerator for inspiration. I found a bag of Bosc pears, some goat cheese, and three-quarters of a day-old baguette.
Last month, I came across a recipe for caramelized seckel pears. I’ve been thinking about them for weeks, but never had a chance to try the recipe out. This seemed like a good topper for the crostini. Hence, Roasted Pear-Goat Cheese Crostini it would be.
Roasted Pear-Goat Cheese Crostini
Makes about 3 dozen
1 baguette, cut into ¼-inch slices
Caramelized Pears:
2 Tbsp tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp cinnamon
3 Bosc pears
4-6 oz goat cheese, at room temperature
Honey, for drizzling
Preheat the oven to 350F. Arrange the baguette slices in a single layer on baking sheet.. Bake for 10 minutes, until barely browned and crisp. Let them cool.
Turn up temperature to 425F and let the oven preheat. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, vinegar, and cinnamon.
Slice each pear in half. Core with a melon baller. Now cut each half in half again so you have quarters. Slice each quarter into 4 to 6 slices. I found it easier to cut through the peel side first.
In a large bowl, toss the pears with the balsamic dressing until all the slices are coated.
Arrange the pear slices on the lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 12 minutes. Let the pear slices cool.
Spread each baguette slice with goat cheese. Place a pear slice on top of the goat cheese. You might need to cut the pear slices in half crosswise to fit.
Drizzle the crostini with honey.
I ended up with many more pear slices than I needed for the number of crostini I was making. The leftover pear slices are delicious in salad. I love making salads for all the random bits of leftovers in the fridge. I had a great lunch salad with some leftover turkey confit, roasted fingerling potatoes, and the caramelized pear slices, along with lettuce, of course.
Here’s the result of my labors at the holiday greens party. I did start with a plain fir wreath that I bought, but I added more greens as well as all the decorations. Isn’t it pretty?
ffwd: creamy cauliflower soup sans cream
As it gets cold again, soup is just the ticket. This week’s recipe for French Fridays with Dorie was both easy and elegant. In less than an hour, a pile of white and pale green vegetables are transformed into a pot of very creamy, yet creamless, creamy cauliflower soup sans cream.
You start with onions, garlic, celery, and some sprigs of fresh thyme, sautéed in some butter and olive oil. Then you add a head of cauliflower and some chicken broth and simmer until the cauliflower is tender. The soup gets pureed in a blender. I noticed a few chunks of cauliflower, so I actually strained it and reprocessed the chunks that I caught. The result is a lovely ivory soup that tastes like a mysterious potato-leek soup, except there aren’t any potatoes or leeks; it’s cauliflower!
I served this soup drizzled with some walnut oil and scattered some chopped walnuts on top. It was the perfect complement to a salad for lunch. Smaller bowls of the soup would be an elegant starter for dinner as well.
If you’d like to make this yourself, we don’t post recipes for this group, but you can find the recipe in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table. To see how the other Doristas enjoyed their soup, check out their links here.
Happy French Friday! Have a great weekend!
A Plateful of Happiness 