Pear-Raspberry Pie

There's something about a pie. It's homey. Nostalgic. Comforting. The cozy interior of Hoosier Mama Pie Company is tiny: a couple of tables and chairs, an old sea-foam green dresser serving as a checkout counter, and a display case full of pie. But it's where I want to go when my spirits need lifting. I made my husband take me there after some careless knife handling necessitated a trip to the emergency room a few years ago. I sat there with my mom, sharing buttery pie and hot coffee after I found out I had lost a baby, only 8 weeks into my first pregnancy, almost exactly two years ago.

Paula Haney's new cookbook, The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie, is a veritable encyclopedia of pie knowledge. Step-by-step photos of important, hard-to-describe processes (pie crust, anyone?), funny stories, and page after page of fantastic recipes. Pear-raspberry was the first one to jump out at me, because the window for both fruits at the farmers market is happening right now. I know it won't come as a shock to you that I love to cook, and that time in the kitchen is relaxing and very rewarding for me, but making a pie is a special sort of culinary meditation. Mix the dough. Wait. Roll out the dough and shape it into a crust. Peel and slice the fruit. Toss. Wait. Bake for a long time. Wait. Wait. Slice and eat. It's almost a full day from start to finish, and so worth it. Every step is magic. And then, of course, there's pie for breakfast the next day: one of the highest pleasures in this life.



Pear-Raspberry Pie

from The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie



Make sure to use soft, really ripe pears. I didn't, and while the flavor was still amazing, the pears were a little crunchy. This recipe is printed as is from the cookbook. I'm not going to print any other recipes from this book, and I'm not including the crust recipe, because I think you should just go buy it. It's awesome. Go.

1 9-inch double-crust pie dough (preferably from page 24 of the cookbook linked above)
5 cups ripe pears, peeled, cored, and chopped into bite-size pieces
2 cups raspberries
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch kosher salt

Place the pears, raspberries, and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Do not mix. Place the sugar, cornstarch, ginger, and salt in a small bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the fruit, until most of the mixture is absorbed. Take care not to break up the raspberries. Sprinkle Crust Dust (a mixture of equal parts flour and sugar, designed to absorb some of the fruit juice and ensure a not-soggy bottom crust) into the empty pie shell. Pile the fruit into the shell and smooth the top with a spatula. Finish the pie with a lattice top, and freeze for at least 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the lattice with Pie Wash (equal parts cream and whole milk) - be amazed at how easily you can brush a slightly frozen pie crust without smashing it - and sprinkle liberally with coarse-grained sugar. Bake for 60-80 minutes, rotating 180 degrees every 20 minutes, until the crust is dark golden brown and the juices are bubbling thickly. Cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.

Pear Crisp for One

Before long, peach and berry season will be here, but now the fruit that's available is still apples and pears.  They may be looking a bit tired, and they've lost the novelty they held in the late fall. But chopped up and tossed with sugar and spice, topped with oats and crystallized ginger, and baked, they're still hitting the spot for me.



What seasonal fruit or vegetable are you most looking forward to this spring?



Pear Crisp for One

1 pear, peeled, cored, and cubed
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For the topping:
1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon finely minced crystallized ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter an 8-ounce ramekin. In a small bowl, toss pears, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and lemon juice together. Place mixture into the ramekin and dot the top with the cold butter. In another small bowl, combine oats, flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and melted butter, and stir together until it's crumbly but starting to hold together. Sprinkle oat mixture on top of pears, and bake for 25-30 minutes, until pears are tender and topping is crispy and golden. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Pears in Red Wine

This year, my valentine brought me a vase of red tulips and two round red pears.



When we were in Boston last fall, I picked up a lovely little cookbook called "Roast Figs Sugar Snow," by Diana Henry. It's filled with beautiful photos, romantic descriptions of wintertime ingredients, and brilliant, comforting recipes from the world's colder climes, this is truly a cookbook to curl up with and enjoy.

"The glory of cooked pears is that the spoon still meets resistance as it slices the flesh, unctuous and satisfying, cutting through the network of softened membranes and fibers. And how that flesh absorbs the flavors around it! That much-derided dish of garnet beauties, pears in red wine, when cooked properly - slowly, then left to sit around in its syrup to intensify both flavor and color - is unrivaled in its capacity to be simple and luscious."  YES.





Pears in Red Wine

2 firm pears, peeled, halved and cored
scant 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup red wine
1 cinnamon stick

Combine the sugar, wine, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Gently place the pears into the wine mixture, and dial back the flame to medium-low. Cover and simmer for ten minutes, turning the pears over halfway through cooking time. Remove from heat and allow to sit in the syrup for at least 20 minutes, or up to a few hours, turning periodically and spooning syrup over the pears. Serve warm or at room temperature by themselves, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and/or a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

Caramelized Pear Gingerbread

My Google calendar looks sort of like a game of Tetris, played by someone who really knows how to play, like my mother-in-law.  (Really, you should see her play - it's unbelievable.)  It feels like it, too.  As soon as I fit something in, something else comes floating down from the top of the screen.  

Another party?!

Are you starting to feel like this, too?  Are you feeling the inevitable stress of the season?  Let's take a tiny step back.  In the midst of frantic shopping, wrapping, mailing, partying, caroling, and decorating, let's just take a moment to pause and enjoy.  Let's bake gingerbread, just for fun.

Here's some good news: this gingerbread has to bake for more than an hour.  And then it has to cool.  So put it together, pop it in the oven, and check some other things off your list while your house fills with the smell of spicy sweet gingerbread.  When it's cooled, put on your favorite Christmas music, make yourself a cup of tea, sit in front of your tree, and enjoy a slice.  It is dense, moist and spicy.  It's got molasses, honey, caramelized pears and pecans, and three kinds of ginger.  And hopefully it's just the thing to scare your inner Grinch away, so that you can really enjoy this wonderful time of year!

Caramelized Pear Gingerbread
Adapted from 101cookbooks.com

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup unsulphured molasses
3/4 honey
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup milk (2%)
1 tablespoon freshly ground ginger root
1/3 cup minced crystallized ginger

3 firm ripe pears, such as Bosc, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped pecan halves
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a medium saucepan, combine butter, water, molasses, honey, and brown sugar.  Place the pan over low heat, and stir frequently until butter is melted and ingredients are well combined.  Remove from heat, and pour mixture in a bowl to cool.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves, and set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large heavy skillet over high heat.  Add pears, and cook about 3 minutes, until beginning to caramelize.  Stir in pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon, and cook a couple more minutes, until pears are soft but still retain their shape.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly coat the inside of a nonstick Bundt pan with cooking spray, and pour pear mixture into the bottom, spreading evenly.  Add eggs to cooled molasses-butter mixture, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add milk and stir to combine.  Fold in dry ingredients, and don't let the lumps get you down - they'll take care of themselves.  Stir in fresh and crystallized gingers, and pour batter gently over the pears in the pan.  Place cake pan on a cookie sheet and bake 75-90 minutes, until top of cake springs back when lightly touched, and cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan, and then gently invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely.  This is pretty tricky, since the cake pan is still hot.  I put the rack upside-down over the cake pan, and then used a kitchen towel to flip it over.  It would be nice to have a friend help you with this, but you can totally do it on your own.

The cake keeps well in the fridge.  Allow it to come back to room temperature before serving, to get the full moisture and texture back.  15 seconds per slice in the microwave works well, too, if you don't have hours and hours to wait (aka if you want to eat it for breakfast).

Maple-Cinnamon Poached Pears

I know it's Wednesday, but that's not too early to start thinking about brunch again, is it?  This thing I made last weekend is a combination of two of my favorite things: fall and breakfast!  Oh cinnamon, how I love you.  Oh, pears.  Oh, cool weather and clear crisp skies and sunshine on bright red leaves!  ...Are you annoyed?  Sorry.  I can't help it!  I hope these ridiculously delicious waffles make up for my unendurable enthusiasm for the changing seasons.

Maple-Cinnamon Poached Pears

These are particularly good with toasted pecans on top of waffles or pancakes! 

4 ripe pears
1/3 cup apple cider
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Cut pears into eighths, and cut out the cores with a paring knife.  Place the pears in a pan over medium heat and pour cider, syrup and cinnamon over.  Stir together and bring to a boil.  Cook for 5-8 minutes, until liquid is thickened and syrupy and pears are soft.