The next few weeks will begin a series of recipes leading up to Thanksgiving. They are a collection of brand new dishes that I just completed during the fall festival, at Silver Dollar City.
As recipes go I really hated to part with the 5 classes I’ve been teaching for fall. I loved every class. Sometimes when you write recipes/dishes there are some you like, and those which will be used over and over. The next 4-5 weeks will feature at least 4 of these.
Pears happen to be one of my favorite fruits. Over the past few weeks I’ve heard lots of comments about this precious fruit. Let’s see if I can shine the light on a few interesting facts:
….The Greek poet, Homer, refers to the pear as: ‘The gift of the Gods’.
…..Pears have a long storage life.
…..The pear is the 5th most popular fruit in the world.
…..The origin of the fruit was in China and Asia Minor.
…..Today the bulk of the pear production can be found in Oregon and
Washington, in the United States.
…..Pears were transferred to these two states via the original trail of
Lewis & Clark.
…..Washington State is the largest producer in the U.S. with Oregon
State claiming it as their state fruit. In Oregon it is also the number
one tree fruit.
…..The bulk of the pears shipped from the Northeast are Bartlett’s.
…..The Pear has been highly regarded for centuries. They certainly didn’t mention the ‘apple’ in the ’12 Days of Christmas’.
When pears are purchased as gifts they are usually delivered wrapped in tissue paper. The skin is thinner than an apple and tends to damage easily. When I am selecting mine, at the store, I put a plastic bag over my hand and place the pears into another sack. Why, because our fingernails cut into the fruit and from there they will begin to spoil.
As I stated last week, in the next week I’ll be canning my favorite product, pear honey. I can hardly wait. Here’s a tip for recipe hounds.
When you are looking for recipes for a specific product look into the region where they are the most predominant. Example: In Michigan there is a huge population of rhubarb production. In Minnesota, wild rice, in the Northwest, pears! This is where you will find the most interesting recipes. My friend, Irene, makes a rhubarb juice/punch, in her state of Minnesota. I’ve certainly never heard of it in Missouri.
Enjoy my pear crisp and consider switching it out to apple, of course.
I’m road tripping this week and can hardly wait to pack my bags!
Happy trails ya’ll. Simply yours, The Covered Dish. www.thecovereddish.com
Pear Crisp
Fruit Layer
6 pears, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup broken walnut halves
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon dry cinnamon
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons cinnamon syrup*
Topping
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup quick oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Gather an 8 x 8 baking pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
For the fruit layer prepare the fruit, cherries and walnuts in a bowl. Sprinkle the flour, dry cinnamon, brown sugar and cinnamon syrup together and combine with the fruit. Pour into the bottom of a sprayed 8 x 8 baking dish.
Topping: Combine sugar, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together. Using a pastry cutter cut cold butter into the mixture, until it is evenly crumbled. Stir in the chopped walnuts.
Place in oven and bake at 350 degrees until topping is golden and the pears are tender. This usually takes ‘around’ 30-40 minutes. Time will vary depending upon how ripe the pears are.
*Cinnamon syrup can be purchased at specialty stores. If you cannot acquire it add 1 additional teaspoon of cinnamon to the fruit bottom and 2 additional tablespoons of dark brown sugar. Dark brown sugar simply has more molasses than light brown sugar, rendering a deeper flavor.
