Parsnip & Pear Soup with Almond-Vanilla Oil

Our family LOVES soup.  Especially this time of year!  And I love trying different recipes out.

This Thanksgiving we were introduced to another delicious one...I highly recommend it!  Plus, it's vegetarian, which may be of interest to some of you.  Enjoy!

Parsnip & Pear Soup with Almond-Vanilla Oil
from New York Magazine

for the almond-vanilla oil:
1/2 cup almond oil
1/4 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

for the soup:
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup shallots, diced
4 cups parsnips, diced
1 cup celery root, diced
6 sprigs rosemary
2 cups pears, diced
2 cups dry white wine
9 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
pear vinegar (or white balsamic)
kosher salt

to make the oil:
Place oil and vanilla bean in a small pot over medium heat.  Bring to soft boil.  Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.  Cover and set aside for 24 hours.

to make the soup:
Melt butter over medium-low heat in a medium saucepan.  Add shallots and sweat for 2-3 minutes.  Add parsnip, celery root and 4 sprigs rosemary.  Continue to sweat for 5-6 minutes.  Add pear and cook another 5 minutes.

Add wine and increase heat to high.  Cook until there is about one cup of liquid.  Add stock and bring to boil, then reduce to simmer and cook for 45 minutes.  Remove soup from heat and stir in cream.

Remove rosemary and transfer soup to blender.  Blend on high until smooth.  Place remaining rosemary sprigs in a sieve and strain soup over it.

Season to taste with vinegar and salt and reheat gently.  Divide among 8 bowls, and drizzle with almond-vanilla oil.

One more day...

Happy Labor Day!  How are you enjoying your last day of summer vacation?  Pool?  Beach?  BBQ?

Or, are you one of those last-minute Moms who will be hitting the malls today, searching for school supplies and the perfect first-day-of-school outfit?  No matter how you're spending your day, meal planning and packing lunches/snacks will definitely be on your mind.

Last week I posted a great crockpot recipe to help make things easier for you.  Today, I'm featuring an item that's perfect for a snack or quick breakfast.  Mom, child or otherwise - this is a delicious treat!  And yes, it's another recipe that has helped me use up the massive quantity of pears from my tree.

Throw this in your child's lunchbox, or serve it with a glass of milk before sending him/her off to the bus stop.  Then relax and enjoy one yourself with a big cup of coffee or tea...and breathe :)

Pear & Ginger Muffins
slightly adapted from Recipe Girl

1 3/4 cups AP flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed - plus a little extra set aside
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2/3 cup fat free sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups pears, peeled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line two muffin tins with liners (16 in total).

Place pears in a food processor and pulse until just chopped.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and ginger.  In another bowl, mix sour cream, oil, honey and eggs together.  Add oil mixture to flour mixture, folding until just incorporated (do not overmix).

Add chopped pears, then divide evenly into muffin cups.  Sprinkle each with a little brown sugar, then bake for about 20 minutes.  Remove and cool.

A partridge (and a million pears) in a pear tree (What's Baking?)

My pear tree is multiplying.  RAPIDLY.  It would take a village to be able to burn through all of them.  Frank has filled huge leaf bags from Home Depot with them.  There's just no way to keep up!

Still, I love it.  It's a nice thing to have, and when I first see them budding, it reminds me that summer is in full swing.  It makes me happy.  So when Jade from The Mess Pot  proclaimed "Celebrate Summer" as our What's Baking theme this month, I knew I had to use my beloved pears.

It's been quite the week here in NJ.  First, an earthquake (we're not used to them in these here parts, so a 6.0 pretty much "shook me up")...then a 24 hour hurricane (another rarity in NJ) with tornado warnings mixed in.  Can you say xanax?  Or wine?

Good thing this pairs well with the wine...not sure about the xanax, but probably that, too.

This recipe is delicious, easy and decadent.  And at this rate, I could invite the whole county over for it :)

Thanks for hosting, Jade!

Cinnamon-Mascarpone Baked Pears

from Just A Pinch

2 medium pears

2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons butter

1/4 cup apple juice (or white grape juice)

6 tablespoons mascarpone cheese

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Slice pears in half lengthwise, core, and place inside up in baking pan.  Spoon 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon butter into each pear half.  Pour juice into baking dish and bake for about 25 minutes.  

Combine cheese, sugar and cinnamon.  Top each pear half with cheese mixture and serve warm.

Linked to:  Sweet Tooth Friday

No guilt? Sweet.

Sweet tooth, anyone?  Yeah, I've got one too.  Some nights are MUCH worse than others...

I love fruit, and I try to find new ways to enjoy it so I don't get bored.  It beats stuffing your mouth with chocolate or ice cream.  At least that's what I try to convince myself :)

If you've got a lot of ripe pears to use up (or apples, or both!) try this out.  It's easy, delicious, and guilt-free!

Baked Pear Slices
4 medium pears, cored and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons brown sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a baking sheet (or two, if you need more room) with cooking spray.

In a bowl, mix cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar together.  Add the pears to the bowl and toss gently to coat. Lay them on baking sheet(s) and cook for about 30-40 minutes, or until browned.

Serves 2
WW Points+ = 2

Et tu, Anjou?

Frank was going to Costco and asked what I wanted.  For some reason, pears were the first thing that came to my mind.  I was craving a nice, juicy pear.  Yep, that sounded good.


Well, I had a nice juicy pear, but unfortunately, by the next day the rest of them became waaaaaay too juicy and overripe.  Which led me to this:

SO good.  Easy, too.  I brought this to my best friend's house and the kids gobbled it up!

I'll have another pear recipe for you soon - if you shop at Costco you know there are a LOT of pears in one bag :)

Easy Pear Tart

adapted from Apple Pie, Patis & Pate

2 eggs
1/4 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 cup granulated sugar (I used Splenda)
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups AP flour
2 pounds Anjou pears (about 5 or 6)

butter for dotting the tart
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cloves 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with a rack in the upper third of the oven.  Grease a 9-inch round baking pan with butter, then dust with flour.  Peel the pears, cut in half lengthwise, and core to remove the seeds.  Slice the pear halves into thin slivers.


Beat the eggs and milk in a bowl. Add the sugar and a pinch of salt and continue beating until well blended.
Add the flour to the eggs and milk. Mix to form a thick cake batter.

Add the pears to the batter and mix gently until the slices are evenly coated. Pour the batter in the greased and dusted cake pan.  Top evenly with small pieces of butter and ground cloves.

Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the top is well-browned.  Let the pear tart cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before unmolding.  Serve warm or at room temperature.