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Food And Nutrition

How to Grill Pears (Recipe and Variations)

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Grilled pears are great alongside grilled pork or sausages, but they’re even better when served with ice cream, whipped cream, or frozen yogurt for dessert. The smokiness of the grill highlights pears’ natural sweetness to fabulous effect.

Depending on how you’re going to serve them, plan on cooking one pear per person. However, half a pear can suffice, too, especially if you’re going to serve them for dessert with ice cream after a big meal.

Ingredients

  • 4 whole pears
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil, or another neutral-flavored oil
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar, optional

Methods

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Cut the pears in half lengthwise and use a melon baller to scoop out the seeds. Drizzle the pear halves with oil and use a pastry brush to spread it over the pear flesh.

  3. Prepare a gas or charcoal grill to medium hot heat. You should be able to hold your hand about 1 inch above the cooking grate for 2 to 3 seconds before pulling it away from the intensity of the heat. Apply additional oil to grill grates.

  4. Put the pears, cut-side down, on the grill. Cover and cook until they’re grill-marked, heated through and tender, about 10 minutes. You can turn them to grill-mark them on the other side or continue cooking them for even more tender fruit.

  5. If you want to use the brown sugar, sprinkle it on the pear after cooking one side, and let the sugar melt into the pears while the second side cooks. Finish with a sprinkle of kosher salt.

Tips

  • Any variety of pear works just fine on the grill, even notoriously juicy Bartletts. However, choose one that’s still firm and not overly soft and ripe.
  • Instead of using oil, drizzle the pears with melted butter before grilling.
  • Serve the grilled pears hot or warm as a side dish or with ice cream or whipped cream for dessert. Let the pears cool slightly so the ice cream doesn’t melt quickly. You may also want to consider serving these lovelies with some homemade buttermilk ice cream.
  • Instead of halving the pears, you can also slice them into 1 1/2-inch rounds. If you slice them too thinly, the pears will get mushy. Grill each side of the round for approximately 2 minutes each.
  • Make sure the cooking grate on the grill is clean and well-oiled.
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Food And Nutrition

Blue Cheese Deviled Eggs

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Deviled eggs are a favorite snack in my household. They are so flavorful and it’s easy to make them in a variety of ways. Sometimes I’ll set up a deviled egg bar where friends can garnish their eggs with a variety of toppings like capers, sundried tomatoes, fresh herbs, smoked salmon, crumbled cheeses, etc. These deviled eggs are a perfect combo of salty and spicy and are sure to impress any guests.

Serves 24

Ingredients:

  • 1 dozen hard boiled eggs, peeled
  • ¼ cup mayo
  • 3 tablespoons chunky blue cheese dressing
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons buffalo sauce (depending on how spicy you like it)
  • 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Crumbled blue cheese, for garnish
  • Chopped celery leaves, for garnish

Instructions:

Halve each boiled egg. Place the whites on a platter and place the yolks in a food processor. Process the yolks until they look like coarse sand, then transfer to a mixing bowl (you can also mash the yolks with a fork if you don’t have a food processor).

Combine the egg yolks with mayo, blue cheese dressing, buffalo sauce and chopped celery. Season with salt and pepper and stir again.

Scoop the yolk mixture into a piping bag (or resealable sandwich bag) and pipe into each egg white. Garnish with crumbled blue cheese and chopped celery leaves. Serve immediately or keep cold until ready to serve.

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Food And Nutrition

Easy no-yeast pizza

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Freshly baked pizza tastes great, and this pizza dough without yeast requires no waiting around for the dough to rise. Just mix it up and you’re ready to go. Try it with your favourite toppings.

Ingredients

For the sauce

  • 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp dried mixed herbs, plus extra for topping
  • 2 pinches caster sugar
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 200g/7oz mozzarella (or any other cheese), torn into pieces, for topping
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dough

  • 300g/10½oz self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 300g/10½oz natural yoghurt
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Food And Nutrition

Traditional toad in the hole

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Toad in the hole is classic comfort food at its best. Serve with plenty of gravy and simple steamed vegetables.

Ingredients

  • 115g/4oz plain flour
  • large pinch of salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 large free-range eggs
  • 300ml/½ pint milk
  • 2 tbsp/30g fresh thyme leaves
  • 8 good quality pork, beef or vegetarian sausages
  • 2 tbsp/30g Dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp/30g of beef dripping or white vegetable fat for vegetarians
  • knob of butter, to serve

Method

  1. To make the batter, sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the salt and pepper.

  2. Make a well in the centre of the flour and crack in the eggs. Using a wooden spoon, gradually beat the eggs into the flour then slowly beat in the milk until the batter is the consistency of double cream.

  3. Strain and push any remaining lumps through a sieve. Stir in the thyme. Cover and leave to stand for 30 minutes, or ideally 3-4 hours.

  4. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

  5. Heat a large non-stick pan and cook the sausages over a medium heat until golden-brown all over. (If you do not have a non-stick pan add a little oil.) Turn off the heat and brush the sausages with the mustard. Set aside.

  6. Place the dripping or white vegetable fat into an ovenproof dish and heat in the oven for five minutes or until the dripping is hot and hazy.

  7. Add the sausages to the hot dish and pour in the batter. Immediately return the dish to the oven and cook for 35-40 minutes until well-risen and golden-brown.

  8. Serve seasoned with black pepper and a large knob of butter.

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