You know when you read something or see something and it ignites a spark or a little fire inside?
When it comes to food – my insides are filled with little sparklers of inspiration.
Just a glimmer of an idea and I’m crazy on my canvas of creativity.
This time the ignition came in the form of dynamite.
I was reading an article about pie and wine pairing – of course I was – and realized I simply must create a cranberry and pear flavor combination pie. Why isn’t this a “thing?” the article asked.
Good question.
I think it needs to be a thing now! I mean, RIGHT now!
And, by the way, if you’re wondering which wine to pair with a slice of this tasty puppy:
Moscato d’Asti
Cranberry Pear Butter Pie
Crust:
8 Tbs. ice cold butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 large egg
1 Tbs. white vinegar
2-5 Tbs. ice cold water
Combine all the ingredients into the bowl of a large food processor, except for the water. Pulse until crumbly, making sure the butter stays cold (meaning, don’t use too much energy and heat the processor – cold butter = flaky crust). Slowly add the water, 1 Tbs. at a time, until things are crumby, but not too sticky – you may not need at 5 Tbs. water.
Transfer the crumble mess onto a large sheet of plastic wrap.
Pulling up the sides of the wrap, form the crumbs into a dough disc.
Wrap tightly and freeze for 30 minutes.
Filling:
2 cups fresh cranberries
2/3 cup white sugar
1 cup Pear Butter**
1 large pear, thinly sliced
2 Tbs. butter
Heat the cranberries and sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly until the berries release their juices, about 5 minutes. Stir in the pear butter and cook an additional 3-5 minutes. Set aside.
In another pot, melt the butter and sauté the pear slices until golden brown.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Remove the dough from the freezer and roll out into a crust large enough for a 9″ pie plate between 2 sheets of parchment paper.
Transfer to the pie plate and decoratively flute or crimp the edges.
Fill with the cranberry Pear Butter filling and then layer the sautéed pears atop.
Bake for 30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
Allow to cool completely before slicing.
AND, be sure to serve with a wonderful glass of Moscato d’Asti.
This is how you do it right!
3 lbs. ripe pears, peeled, cored and diced
3 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
Stir all ingredients together in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 50 minutes, covering so that the lid is slightly open, and stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on the mixture so that the bottom does not burn. Once it has reduced slightly and thickened, remove from heat and transfer to a food processor. Pulse until smooth. (Or you can skip this step and keep the pear butter chunky.)
Transfer to canning jars or a heat-proof container, seal, and refrigerate until ready to use. Keep for up to a week.
If your pear butter is too thin, feel free to run the mixture through a strainer to remove extra liquid. Alternately, let the mixture simmer on the stove longer to reduce more.
