"pears" news and stories

Deliciously juicy crisp apples and pears – just some of the fruits we associate with autumn – make especially tasty cheese pairings. Their crunchy texture and sweet taste enhance the flavors of many cheeses, ranging from spicy creamy blues, like Vaquero, to nutty Alpine cheeses, including Gruyère and Pleasant Ridge Reserve. Since this blend of tastes and textures works so well, it would seem as if the cheese options were limitless. However, after eating a large number of cheeses, we discovered that the ones which work best are those with complex flavor profiles that do not overwhelm the palate.

Gnocchi waiting to be cooked. Photo: Marco Fedele, Flickr.

• Carl Cianci of Peppercorn's Grill shares the secrets behind perfecting airy gnocchi and offers a recipe.
• The story of Margaret Sapir and Mitch Rapoport, and how they jumped from corporate America to the world of bread-making, whipping up the increasingly popular Pain de Campagne.
• In pies and teamed with sweet wine, pears serve as the base of wonderful desserts.
• Restaurants: White Horse Country Pub has balanced history-heavy walls with a "creative" menu of classic pub fare, while Panda Palace mixes uncommon dishes with traditional entrees for a tasty and inexpensive dinner.
• Recipes: Everyday Stir-Fry, Portobello and Goat Cheese Sandwich, Corn and Tomato Salad, Roquefort Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Pears.

Now this is something to wake up to. Linda Nguyen, the intrepid force behind the Australian blog butter sugar flour, whipped up this beautiful plate of French toast with spiced pears. The bread has that even golden-brown skin that is a hallmark of the best French toast, and the pears give it a lusty, buttery twist. The shallow pool of maple syrup is a nice, realistic flourish; you can practically taste the syrup-saturated toast, and feel it the sugary burn it leaves in the back of your throat. A very good morning, indeed.

[Via butter sugar flour]

Where have I been? The last time I saw a picture of Susan Powter, she looked like a shorn, tough soccer mom of sorts. Every time I go by my recipe book collection, I see her like this. (Why do I have her diet book? An old roommate had a few of her books, and I fell for the split pea soup recipe. So, when I saw the book for a buck, I bought it.) Now ... the woman has some sexy locks, tats, dark eye makeup, and an insatiable love of pears, it seems.

Above you can check out a super-strange ode to fruit, performed by Powter herself, as she bites into the fruit's juicy flesh and grumbles over the people who buy pre-sliced fruit in packaging.

Do you love pears as much as Susan?

[via Serious Eats]

Picking pears this fall? Choosing pears is not like picking peaches or plums. Unlike most fruits, pears are best when picked hard and unripe. They improve in both texture and flavor after they are picked, and they ripen from the inside out.