Dayrecipe Food Community

Betty Caldwell was Gourmet’s production director for many years. She has an avid interest in cooking and gave us this recipe, which became an instant holiday classic.

Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr (includes making pastry)

Makes 8 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 large firm-ripe bosc pears (2 lb total)
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pastry dough

DIRECTIONS Peel and halve pears, the core (preferably with a melon-ball cutter). Heat butter in a 9- to 10-inch well-seasoned cast-iron skilletover moderate heat until foam subsides, then stir in sugar (sugar will not be dissolved). Arrange pears, cut sides up, in skillet with wide parts at rim of skillet. Sprinkle pears with cinnamon and cook, undisturbed, until sugar turns a deep golden caramel. (This can take as little as 10 minutes or as much as 25, depending on pears, skillets, and stove.) Cool pears completely in skillet.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and trim to a 9 1/2- to 10 1/2-inch round. Arrange pastry over caramelized pears, tucking edge around pears inside rim of skillet. Bake tart until pastry is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cook on rack 5 minutes.

Invert a rimmed serving plate (slightly larger than skillet) over skillet and, using pot holders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert tart onto plate. Serve tart warm or at room temperature.

Assemble the strudels a day ahead, and bake them up to six hours before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• filling
• 1 1/2pounds fresh figs, stemmed, each cut into 6 wedges (about 5 cups)
• 1 1/2pounds firm but ripe pears (about 3 large), peeled, cored, cut into1/2-inch pieces (about 3 1/2 cups)
• 1/2cup sugar
• 1/2cup frozen cranberry-raspberry concentrate, thawed
• 1 1/2teaspoons grated lemon peelstrudels
• 6tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
• 4tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 10frozen phyllo sheets, thawed
• 3/4cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, meltedginger cream

DIRECTIONS For filling:
Preheat oven to 450°F. Generously butter large baking sheet. Place figs and pear pieces in single layer on prepared sheet. Sprinkle with sugar. Roast until tender and beginning to brown around edges, about 20 minutes. Transfer fruit and any juices from sheet to medium bowl. Cool. Stir in cranberry-raspberry concentrate and lemon. Chill until cold.

For strudels:
Butter another large baking sheet. Mix breadcrumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in small bowl. Place kitchen towel on work surface. Place 1 phyllo sheet atop towel with short end toward edge of work surface (cover remaining phyllo with plastic wrap, then damp kitchen towel). Brush phyllo sheet with some melted butter; sprinkle with 1/8 of breadcrumb mixture. Top with second phyllo sheet. Brush with some melted butter; sprinkle with 1/8 of breadcrumb mixture. Repeat with 2 more phyllo sheets, brushing each with melted butter and sprinkling each with 1/8 of breadcrumb mixture. Top with fifth phyllo sheet; brush with some melted butter (do not sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture).

Using slotted spoon, place half of fig mixture along 1 short side of phyllo stack; spread in 3-inch-wide strip, leaving 1-inch plain border on long sides. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon over fig mixture. Fold long sides of phyllo in over filling; brush folded sides with melted butter. Starting at filled short side, roll up phyllo, enclosing filling completely. Brush all over with melted butter. Place strudel, seam side down, on baking sheet. Repeat assembly process to make second strudel. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap; chill.)

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Brush strudels lightly with melted butter. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Using serrated knife, cut each strudel on diagonal into 4 pieces; discard ends. Place 1 piece on each of 8 plates. Dollop Ginger Cream alongside. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 6 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 3large eggs
• 2/3cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2cup extra-light olive oil
• 1/3cup whole milk
• 1teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2cups plus 1 tablespoon self-rising flour
• 2large pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 1/3cups dried tart or bing cherries17-ounce tube almond paste
• 1teaspoon ground cinnamon
• powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 8-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 1/2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line pan bottom with parchment paper; spray parchment. Using electric mixer, beat 2 eggs, 2/3 cup sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. Add 1 1/2 cups flour; beat just until combined. Stir in pears and cherries. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Smooth top.

Crumble almond paste into medium bowl; add cinnamon, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 tablespoon flour. Using electric mixer, beat mixture just until blended. Spoon atop cake batter. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out with small moist crumbs attached, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Run knife around pan to loosen cake. Remove pan sides. Peel off paper. Transfer cake to plate; sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Cover; let stand at room temperature.)

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 10 min

Makes 4 cheese-course servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 2firm-ripe pears
• 3to 4 oz firm blue cheese (about 2/3 cup), crumbled
• 3to 4 soft dried figs, stemmed and finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)

DIRECTIONS Cut each pear lengthwise into 10 (1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick) slices (5 from one side, then 5 more from the opposite side), avoiding core and discarding rounded outermost slices.

Layer 4 pear slices with cheese and fig on each of 4 plates, beginning with largest pear slices, and ending with smallest.

Sprinkle any remaining cheese and fig around napoleons.

Makes 12 servings

INGREDIENTS

• filling
• 6tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 4pounds firm but ripe anjou pears, peeled, cored, quartered, cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
• 4pounds golden delicious apples, peeled, cored, quartered, cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
• 3/4cup sugar
• 2tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2cup whipping cream
• 1/2cup apple juicetopping
• 2cups all purpose flour
• 2tablespoons sugar
• 1tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4teaspoon salt
• 10tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1cup (packed) shreddedextra-sharp cheddar cheese
  (about 4 ounces)
• 2/3cup whole milk
• 1large egg

DIRECTIONS For filling:Preheat oven to 375°F. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add half of pears and half of apples. Sauté until fruit is soft, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Transfer fruit to large bowl. Repeat with remaining 3 tablespoons butter and remaining pears and apples. Mix sugar, flour and ground cinnamon into fruit. Stir in whipping cream and apple juice. Transfer filling to 15×10x2-inch glass baking dish. (Filling can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bake filling at 375°F for 10 minutes before adding topping.)

For topping: Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Add chilled butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cheese. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and chill.) Beat milk and egg in small bowl to blend. Mix into flour mixture with wooden spoon (dough will be stiff).

Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto filling, spacing evenly. Bake cobbler until filling is bubbling and tester inserted into topping comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Serve warm.