This month Julia over at A Slice of Cherry Pie is serving up Pears, Nuts and Lemon for the ingredients of “In the Bag”. This is a blog event that celebrates and encourages the use of seasonal ingredients in our cooking.
Here are the rules as posted by Julia on her site:
” Rules
Here are the loose rules – but ultimately remember the objective is to have fun whilst highlighting seasonal food:
1. Participants should attempt to use all the ingredients ‘in the bag’ for that particular month, but may leave one out if they prefer. The dish should be based around the seasonal ingredient, rather then just including it as an afterthought.
2. Participants can include any “extra” ingredients that they see fit.
3. Entries should include a link back to the host for that month, and the post should be tagged “In the Bag”.
4. Entries can be written any time during the month, as long as the URL is emailed to that month’s host before the closing date.
5. Participants from outside of the UK are most welcome to join in and substitute an item from their own local seasonal produce if necessary.
That’s all! Any deviations from the above are at the discretion of the host. Have fun!
‘In The Bag’ is a food event run monthly by ‘A Slice of Cherry Pie’ and ‘Real Epicurean’. “
I have chosen to make baked pears enrobed in a butter pastry and stuffed with walnuts and pistachios in honey reduced and flavored with lemon zest and spices, and a bit of cream cheese. Whew what a mouthful-literally!
Nuts in Honey- Beehive Baked Pears
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one butter pie crust, recipe here
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2 large Comice or other pears, firm ripe, washed unpeeled
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1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
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1/4 cup Pistachios, toasted
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1/4 Honey
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2 Tablespoons of vanilla scented granulated sugar (put your rinsed and dried vanilla beans -or a fresh one-in a canister of granulated sugar after other uses)
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pinch of salt
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pinch of allspice, cloves, Ceylon cinnamon and cassia cinnamon
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zest from a small lemon
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4 tablespoons cream cheese
Toast the nuts. Wash and dry the lemon and zest it. Place the honey in a small sauce pan and cook over medium heat until it boils. Add the nuts and stir to coat. Add the zest and salt and spices and cook until the honey is thickly coating the nuts. Wash and dry the pears. Using a melon baller, remove the blossom end and make a small cavity by removing the core of the pears. Spoon the nut mixture in and then plug the bottom with about 2 Tablespoons of cream cheese- depending on the size of your pears. Set aside. Roll your pastry dough out to a rectangle about the height of your pears and 2 x the circumference. Cut into strips about 1/2″ wide. Wrap the pastry around the pear starting from the bottom side and slightly overlapping each go round. Use a little water join pieces as needed. Wrap all the way to the top and place strips on the bottom to cover. Completely encase the pears in the pastry. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for about an hour or until the pastry is golden and the pear is tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Cool slightly, cut open and serve with vanilla bean ice cream, a caramel sauce or crème anglaise as desired. Serves 2-8 depending on your appetite!
Many thanks to Julia for hosting this event! I hope you enjoy these.
xoxo
Arfi, Thank you!
Courtney- Thanks to you too!
Mary- Thank you xoxo
Emiline- Thanks for your comment. I don’t think there was a prize but I had fun so that’s a winner!
Maryann- Thank you thank you 🙂
LisaRene- Thanks! Cream cheese and pears are a heavenly combo so I had to throw some in.
Kevin- Thanks!
Brilynn- Thanks!
Lisa- Thanks! hope you do try it and let me know what you think!
Barbara- Now that’s a compliment! Thanks!
Kristen- Thanks! I know- I am always finding more events too. It’s a great community out there.
hope to see you all again soon!
xoxo
What a great recipe. It is amazing to me all the food blogging events out there that are still new to me!
I almost licked the screen! Those look amazing!
Holy cow that looks amazing! What a unique recipe.. I can’t wait to try it! 🙂
xoxo
Those look so cool!
That looks amazing!!! It sounds really tasty as well.
What an inventive idea. I love how they look and the very appropriate name. The cream cheese is a very nice unexpected touch.
It looks like a little beehive! Great job you!
http://findingladolcevita.blogspot.com
Those are so cute. They really look like beehives!
I love anything really nutty.
Good luck! Do you win anything?
OH MY! That looks delicious!
Thats amazing!
looks sweet and crumbly at the same time. yum, lovely with ice cream!!