roasted pear salad

Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese from The Barefoot Contessa's latest book.

The recipe is simple. Preheat the oven to 375; get a bunch of pears (Anjou pears, ripe but firm) one for every two guests you'll have. Cut the pears in half, scoop out the middle, cut a sliver off the back of the pear so it'll sit flat in a baking dish. Toss the pears with lemon juice so they don't turn brown. Arrange them, core side up, in a baking dish (or a few baking dishes, depending on how many pears you're roasting.) Now mix together 3 oz. crumbled blue cheese (like Stilton), 1/4 cup dried cranberries, and 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts halves (using more of each in equal proportion for more pears; this recipe is for 3 pears) and stuff the pears with a ball of the mixture, just like you see in the picture above. Finally, mix together 1/2 cup apple cider, 3 Tbs port (I skipped the port, but if you have it, use it), and 1/3 cup light brown sugar--then pour over and around the pears. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until tender. Set aside and let come to room temperature.

Then just take a bunch of arugula, dress with lemon juice, olive oil, and some of the basting liquid from the pears. Mound on plates and place a pear on top; easy and beautiful. People will love it.