Pears With Roasted Nuts Recipes

ROASTED PEARS WITH BLUE CHEESE AND WALNUTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Arrange the pears, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Strip the leaves from the thyme branches and sprinkle over the pears. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake 20 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and spoon a generous teaspoon of crumbled cheese in the center of each pear half, return the pears to the oven and roast until they are tender and the cheese is soft, about 10 more minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the walnuts on another baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Chop. When the pears are cooked, transfer them to a serving plate and sprinkle the toasted walnuts over the top. Serve hot.

PEARS WITH ROASTED NUTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Spread the unshelled nuts on a cookie sheet, and place them in the oven. Roast for 20 minutes. Then, remove and let cool for at least 30 minutes.
• At serving time, arrange the nuts in a basket (after first cracking the shells a little, if you desire), and place them in the center of the table with a couple of nutcrackers.
• Cut the pears in half lengthwise, and serve half a pear, split again lengthwise into two pieces, per person. Diners can peel the pears, crack the nuts and eat them together.

ROASTED PEARS WITH BLUE CHEESE, CRANBERRIES AND NUTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Toss the crumbled blue cheese, dried cranberries, and walnuts together in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Chop off the top of one pear to remove the stem. Peel and slice it lengthwise into halves. With a small sharp paring knife and a melon baler or small cookie scooper, remove the core and seeds leaving a round well. Remove a bit more from the center so you have a nice hole in each pear half. Trim a small slice away from the bottom rounded side of each pear half so that they will sit upright without wobbling. Place the pear halves in a baking dish core sides up and brush them all over with lemon juice using a pastry brush. Repeat with all the pear halves. Use a 2 to 2 1/2 quart shallow casserole dish so that the pear halves all fit snuggly in the dish.
• Stuff each pear hole with some of the cheese mixture, mounding it on top of the holes and packing it slightly.
• Combine the apple cider, port, pear liquor and brown sugar in a small bowl. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture by tablespoons over each pear half letting the excess run over in to the dish.
• Bake the pears, basting each half every 10 minutes with the cider mixture, for 30 minutes, or until the pairs are tender. Set aside to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.