The Pass Along

Have you ever been at a potluck where you place your fork into an amazing dish and, after tasting it, find that you spend the rest of the party on a mad hunt trying to find the person responsible for bringing it? I, myself, have been known to leap over my fair-share of buffet tables and slither through large crowds like a snake on a mad dash through a jungle, and the only words coming out of my mouth are "Excuse me, were you the one who brought this dish??" Detective work was not required for this recipe, however. This recipe came via Facebook and long-time friend Joann Marks, by way of the daughter of one of her friends! Crazy? Maybe. But with the rise of online social-networking, finding and sharing recipes like this has become a lot easier. I love those recipes that arrive by way of "a friend of a friend of the daughter of the second cousin who used to go to school with my Mom".

Usually I find that when a recipe has passed through that many hands, it's either been changed or it is so tried and true that it leaves no room for mistakes. Here's one of those lovely recipes that's also appropriate for this season. Pears are abundant right now, are likely available at a great price and come in many delicious flavors and colors. Holiday get-togethers have already begun and if you want to bring something delicious and different, give this recipe a try. When those recipe detectives solve the mystery of "Who brought that dish?", just remember to pass it along, because after all, it was one of those recipes you got from a friend! I'm jus' sayin'!


Fresh Pear Pie


Crust: You are welcome to bypass this step and use a store-bought pie crust, just make sure you get the ones in the refrigerator section that you roll out and not a frozen pie crust.

1 C. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 C. finely chopped nuts
1/3 C. shortening (such as Crisco)

Combine all the above while slowly adding 2-3 TBSP of ice cold water. Mix until dough pulls away from bowl. Sprinkle a bit of flour on board and roll dough out and place in pie plate. (set aside)

In a large bowl take 4 fresh pears (un-peeled but cored) slice them and sprinkle 2 tsp. of flour over the top and set aside.

In a saucepan heat the following but do not bring to a boil. Then place to the side.
1/2 C. Dark corn syrup
1/4 C. brown sugar
dash of salt
2 TBSP of butter
1 tsp. lemon juice

Topping:
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1/3 C. flour
1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 C. chopped nuts (optional)
cut butter in small pieces and crumble with your fingers all of the above until it forms small pea like balls. Set aside.


Assembly: Place pears in pie crust. Drizzle syrup all over pears. Sprinkle topping all over pie. Place pie on a cookie sheet and put into a preheated 350' oven. Bake appox 50 minutes until it is bubbling and golden brown. Serve with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream and a dash of cinnamon on the ice cream. This pie is so juicy that you may want to serve it in a bowl like a cobbler just so you don't lose any of those delicious juices.

Additional Ideas: If you have a good apple recipe and you want to try something different, try changing out the apples for pears.