RECIPE FOR PEARS RECIPES

Steps:

• Chop 1 pear and slice remaining two.
• Put chopped pear, oil, vinegar, mustard and honey into a blender and purée.
• Transfer to a small bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons water, more if needed, to thin for a pourable dressing.
• Put spinach, onion, walnuts, goat cheese, sliced pears and dressing into a large bowl and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.
• Three Twists on the Original
  
  Apple Cheddar Spinach Salad
  Replace pears with apples, walnuts with pine nuts and goat cheese with small cubes of sharp cheddar. 
  
  Quinoa Spinach Pear Salad
  Add 1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa to spinach salad mixture.
  
  Fig Spinach Salad
  Replace pears with 3/4 cup dried figs (1/4 cup chopped for dressing, remainder sliced thinly in salad).

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Peel the pears and slice them lengthwise into halves. With a small sharp paring knife and a melon baller, remove the core and seeds from each pear, leaving a round well for the filling. Trim a small slice away from the rounded sides of each pear half so that they will sit in the baking dish without wobbling. Toss the pears with some lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown. Arrange them, core side up, in a baking dish large enough to hold the pears snugly.
• Gently toss the crumbled blue cheese, dried cranberries, and walnuts together in a small bowl. Divide the mixture among the pears, mounding it on top of the indentation.
• In the same small bowl, combine the apple cider, port, and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture over and around the pears. Bake the pears, basting occasionally with the cider mixture, for 30 minutes, or until tender. Set aside until warm or at room temperature.
• Just before serving, whisk together the olive oil, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of the basting liquid in a large bowl. Divide the arugula among 6 plates and top each with a pear half. Drizzle each pear with some of the basting liquid, sprinkle with salt, and serve warm.