In for re-pears: more ideas for this versatile fruit

I thought I would try to find even more ways to enjoy the fresh pears we've had this season. While there is a certain amount of joy of biting into a fully ripe and juicy pear, sometimes you want to try something a little different.

First I heated my oven's broiler to high and then prepared a cookie sheet. Then I took a couple of slices of a round sourdough loaf and cut them in half so I didn't have a massive slab of bread for the final product. I popped them into the toaster and gave them a light browning. I had a piece of Swiss chard that I sliced into thinner slices and placed them on the bread. This was followed by reasonably thin slices of pear. I topped it with a thin slice of St. Agur blue cheese, which is a very soft version of blue cheese. Crumbled blue cheese might work well, if you keep it from rolling off the top. Otherwise, a thin slice of standard blue cheese will have to do. I then placed the slices on the baking sheet and popped them into the oven. My broiler cranks out some serious heat on its high setting, so I had to watch it to make sure the edges of the bread didn't burn, as well as the cheese. I pulled out the pan just as the cheese fully melted and oozed down the sides of the pear. I placed the pieces on a plate and then topped it with an aged balsamic vinegar, though you could use a balsamic glaze, or even a pear infused white vinegar. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of blue cheese, they didn't taste bad at all. I suppose you could substitute a thin slice of sharp cheddar cheese for the blue, or some other strongly flavored cheese.

You could also take thinly sliced baguette and gently toast it with the broiler, give each a dab of the thick balsamic, a thin slice of pear, a thin slice of prosciutto ham and then toss back into the broiler to heat through.

Don't have any balsamic floating around? You could also make a thick glaze of, say, apricot jam mixed with a bit of honey. I'd start with a small saucepan and about a half cup of the jam over medium heat. As the jam gets hot, stir in a tablespoon of honey (or more as you desire) and heat through. Spoon the hot jam mixture as needed in the recipe that calls for balsamic.

PUFF PASTRY PEAR TART

• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
• 3 ripe pears, peeled, cored and halved
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 large egg yolk mixed with
• 1 teaspoon water
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup pear jelly
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Roll out pastry into a 12-by-12-inch rectangle. Fold up a thin amount of the edges to form a border. Place on baking pan. Lightly cover and place in the refrigerator until needed. Cut each pear half into 4 to 6 wedges, depending on how big the pear is. Toss with sugar and juice. Mix egg with water in a bowl. Remove pastry from refrigerator and lightly brush border with egg mixture. Arrange pears in a flat layer, rounded parts all facing the same way, on pastry, overlapping slightly. Dot with butter. Place in oven and bake until pastry is golden brown and pears are tender, which could be up to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Heat jelly with honey and 1 tablespoon of water in a pan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until a simmer is reached. Remove from heat and brush warm tart with glaze. Serve right away.

PEAR AND BLUE SALAD

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup chopped romaine
• 2 large ripe pears, halved, cored, and diced
• 1 cup crumbled blue cheese
• Croutons

In a small bowl, mix together the lemon juice, mustard, shallot, and thyme. Gradually whisk in oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss romaine in a large bowl with half of the dressing to coat. Add pear and blue cheese and croutons. Toss gently. Serve with remaining dressing mixture on the side.