Roasted Pear and Stilton Salad

I’ve had the ultimate treat yourself weekend. It began with a spa pedicure on Friday, then a facial on Saturday morning (booked because I caved while at the spa on Friday), and finished with a much needed haircut on Sunday. My bangs no longer look like a mop (!), and I’m feeling fresh and rejuvenated all around. Life is slowly starting to get back to normal and I always find getting back into old routines to be such a help. Sitting down with my cookbooks Saturday evening and choosing this week’s recipe felt so good. I was immediately drawn to this simple pear salad. It’s so easy to bring together but has such wow factor.

I’m also really excited  about some stuff we’ve got in the works on the blog front. Lauren’s first post will be up tomorrow, so if you didn’t get a chance to meet her yet- check out her little interview here! And we’ve got another contributor that you all will get to meet in the coming weeks. Throw in a bunch of exciting new content and I tell you, this is gonna be such a knock out year for CC.

Here’s to a great week!

Roasted Pear Salad slightly adapted from Ina Garten’s Back to Basics
Makes 6 servings

• 3 ripe but firm Anjou pears (I used Bosq)
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
• 3 ounces coarsely crumbled sharp blue cheese such as Stilton
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 3 tablespoons port
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 6 ounces baby arugula
• Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Peel the pears and slice them lengthwise into halves. With a small sharp paring knife and a melon baller, remove the core and seeds from each pear, leaving a round well for the filling. Trim a small slice away from the rounded sides of each pear half so that they will sit in the baking dish without wobbling. Toss the pears with some lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown. Arrange them, core side up, in a baking dish large enough to hold the pears snugly.

Gently toss the crumbled blue cheese, dried cranberries, and walnuts together in a small bowl. Divide the mixture among the pears, mounding it on top of the indentation.

In the same small bowl, combine the apple cider, port, and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture over and around the pears. Bake the pears, basting occasionally with the cider mixture, for 30 minutes, or until tender. Set aside until warm or at room temperature. Note: If you use Bosq pears, they need to bake for 35-40 minutes.

Just before serving, whisk together the olive oil, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of the basting liquid in a large bowl. Divide the arugula among 6 plates and top each with a pear half. Drizzle each pear with some of the basting liquid, sprinkle with salt, and serve warm.