Poached Pears with Mascarpone Cheese, Walnuts and Cherries

I wanted to make a dessert with pears and Mascarpone cheese over the holidays but never quite got the time. I finally got the inspiration last night when Gerry hosted two of his work colleagues, Kevin and Elaine, who were here from Sudbury, England. Gerry made his speciality lasagna the night before and whipped up a salad before they came. I got bread and dessert duty and got home in time to throw some focaccia ingredients in the breadmaker and to ruminate about dessert. Fortunately, we had all the ingredients on hand for some experimentation. I used Asian pears but would try something more flavorful next time.

I removed the skin and core from the pears and sliced them thickly. With another kind of pear I might leave them halved; these I wanted to soften as they were crisp and grainy. I simmered the pears for 10 minutes in a syrup of 1-1/2 cups water, 1 cup dry white wine, 1 tablespoon of Black Cherry Balsamic vinegar (from LeRoux Kitchen) and about 8 cardamom seed pods.

I removed the sliced pears to a dish with a slotted spoon and set them aside to cool. I boiled the syrup with a bit more Black Cherry Balsamic until it was greatly reduced to about 1/4 cup. I let the syrup cool for about ten minutes and then mixed it with about 1/2 cup of black cherry preserves and set it aside.

I used an immersion blender to whip the Mascarpone with about 1 T. of whipping cream. At this point, I would have flavored the cream but I was unsure what to use. In the future, I might use black walnut extract when I have it on hand.

I chopped about 1/2 cup of walnuts and set them aside. I assembled everything after dinner when the coffee was brewing. I arranged some slices of the pears on the side of the plate with a spoonful of the cherries and syrup. I placed a generous dollop of the cheese on top of the pears and sprinkled with chopped walnuts.

You could arrange these ahead of time and have the plates waiting in the frig.

Note: Mascarpone cheese, unopened, lasts forever in the frig. You can have it on hand and try your own combinations for dessert. Disclaimer! I forgot to take a photo and found something similar through Google.

Pasta Frittata

Gerry made this amazing frittata for breakfast on New Year's Day using leftover fettucine we had the night before. I make my own pasta and this pasta is wonderfully fresh. I served the fettucini with a sauce made from baby portabello mushrooms sauteed until crisp, some cream, lots of Asiago and Parmesan cheese, one whisked egg, sea salt and fresh pepper. We had about 4 cups of leftover pasta topped with about 1/4 cup of sauce. Just enough for some extra flavor.

The recipe is adapted from The Italian Slow Cooker by Michele Scicolone.

10 large eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup chopped pepper
4 ounces chopped ham
8 ounces cooked pasta with sauce
butter
4 ounces shaved Parmesan cheese

Whisk the eggs, 1/2 c. cheese and salt and pepper until blended. Stir in the peppers and ham. Add the pasta and toss well.

Generously butter the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of the slow cooker. Pour in the egg mixture. Scatter the shaved cheese on top but don't touch the sides of the crock pot with the cheese. Cover and cook on high for 60-75 minutes.

With large spatulas, you can remove the whole frittata onto a serving platter.

The recipe calls for any kind of combinations of vegetables and meats such as roasted bell peppers (drained), salami, prosciutto, fontina or mozzarella cheeses and thawed frozen peas. I can imagine using all kinds of dinner leftovers. Experiment!