Table of Contents

• The Story Behind the Recipe
• Pear Sangria Ingredient Info
• How to Make It
• More Sangria Recipes

• Jump to the Full, Printable Recipe

The Story Behind the Recipe

Mother Nature is toying with me this year. She snapped her fingers and BAM – overnight, literally, it was fall. After a couple of weeks, I resigned myself to the fact that the summer weather was gone for good and then BAM! Suddenly it was back up to 80 degrees. Dang, Mother Nature! Enough with the weather whiplash!

But then I cooled off (and chilled out) with some of this Ginger Pear White Sangria. A cool sipper perfectly appropriate for weather that’s on the warmer side, but full of fall fruit and warm autumn spices.

I forgive you, Mother Nature. I forgive you. This time.

I am into sangria. Like, way into sangria. Possibly a little too much into sangria. But sangria man! It’s delicious! Fruity, festive, fun to drink with friends.

Sangria. Is there anything it can’t do? Change the weather, I guess.

Yes, I love sangria. And I love fall flavors. And pumpkin sangria is NOT happening. I’ve been giving in to the temptation to pumpkin-up most all the things, but If I ever go there, you have permission to smack me. Verbally, at least.

Pear Sangria Ingredient Info

• White wine – Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon blanc are excellent in this pear sangria.
• Pears – I like Bartlett because they’re nice and crisp and hold up well, but any pear will do.
• Ginger – Sliced fresh ginger goes so well with the pear flavors!
• Lemon
• Cloves – For a spicy kick
• Rum – White or light rum
• Brandy
• Ginger ale or ginger beer – We’ve got two other types of alcohol on board – rum, because I pretty much always add rum to my sangria. Great reason, right? And also a splash of brandy. Because brandy and pears are natural buds. So it works.

How to Make It

Add the fruit, ginger, and spices to a pitcher, than top it with the wine, brandy, and rum. Allow it to mingle and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

Then, pour it into glasses, pull out a few pieces of pears, and top with ginger beer. YUM.

Oh, and this is optional but highly recommended, try the a subtle little gingered sugar rim before you pour the sangria into your glasses. It adds a little touch of spicy sweetness and it’s delicious!

More Sangria Recipes

• Apple Cider Sangria
• Cranberry Apple Sangria
• Spiced White Wine Sangria
• Strawberry Sangria
• The Best Traditional Red Sangria
• Summer Sangria
• Watermelon Sangria
• Mason Jar Sangria
• Margarita Sangria

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Pear Sangria

Sweet Autumn pears and zippy ginger join up in this light white sangria that couldn't be more perfect for the season.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 197kcal

Author Kare

Ingredients

For the sangria:

• 750 ml white wine 1 bottle; I like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc in this sangria
• 3 pears cored and cut into thin wedges [I like Bartlett because they're crisp and hold up well, but any pear will do!]
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger sliced thinly
• 1 medium lemon
• 9 whole cloves
• 1/2 cup white rum
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 36 ounces ginger beer or ginger ale 3 bottles

For rimming the glasses:

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Instructions

• Add the pears and ginger to a large pitcher. Cut three slices out of the middle of the lemon. Place the ends of the lemon in a zipper bag or airtight container and place in the refrigerator; you’ll use those pieces to garnish the rims of the glasses later on. Stick three cloves into the flesh of each lemon slice and add to the pitcher.
• Pour the wine,  rum, and brandy over the fruit in the pitcher. Seal tightly or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, up to 8.
• Have your glasses washed and ready. Place the sugar and ground ginger in a small bowl and mix together with a fork. Pour sugar mixture into a small saucer and spread it to the edges. Wet the rims of the glasses with lemon juice by dragging the cut sides of the lemon ends around the rims of the glasses, then invert the glasses into the sugar, pushing and turning until coated. Turn glasses right side up and set aside.
• Strain the sangria mixture through a sieve and into a second large pitcher. Add the pear slices back into the pitcher and the lemon slices if desired; discard ginger slices and any other sediment.
• Add a few slices of pears to each glass, then fill halfway with sangria mixture. Fill the rest of the way with ginger beer. Add straws, if desired, and serve.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 0.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.03g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 14mg | Potassium: 110mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 23IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Pear Sangria appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

But my fall readiness – or lack thereof – was not supposed to be my point here. What is my point? This jam is my point! Gingered Pear-Plum Chia Seed Jam is perfect for this strange little time of limbo between summer and fall.

Summer = plums. Fall = pears. And together, they are glorious, so I guess I can get on board this moody weather train and embrace the chill that’s pervaded the fronts and backs of our otherwise hot days. Especially if I get to eat this jam at the same time.

It started with some overly ripe pears and yet another pound of plums in our weekly CSA box.

A little ginger, some maple syrup, a buncha chia seeds, and voila!

Okay, so let’s talk a bit about chia seed jam, shall we? Have you gone there yet? I have, and do, and I’m not sure I’ll go back. These crazy nutrient-rich gems soak up to 10 times their weight in liquid, so they are perfect for things like healthy puddings and jams. No need for added pectin, no need for granulated sugar. This jam recipe relies heavily on the sweetness of the fruit itself (the juiciest ripe pears help there), and then a little all-natural sweetener like pure maple syrup or honey. And not even that much.

I did the math, and if each jar of jam has 15 servings, each serving only has about a half a teaspoon of maple syrup. For real!

This recipe makes enough for two sizable jars – one for your fridge, one for your freezer, say. If you want to preserve a bunch of summer-slash-fall bounty, just double, triple, quadruple, hundredize (?!) the recipe for gobs of healthy freezer jam to remind you of the summer/fall limbo time – and how blissful it actually really was – all winter long. (Note that I would not recommend canning this jam traditionally, such as hot water bath canning, because I don’t know enough about how chia seeds affect the pH level of the jam, which is crucial for safe canning.)

Oh, and if you’re new to chia seeds, you should be able to find them in most well-stocked grocery stores. I’ve found the best prices at Trader Joe’s, but when I’m not feeling a trip to the grocery store, I just order these chia seeds off of Amazon and they’re in my hot little hands before I know it.

(more…)

The post Gingered Pear-Plum Chia Seed Jam appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

But you know what? This Cranberry, Pear, & Brie Grilled Cheese one seriously mouth-watering hot mess. Melty, sweet-with-the-salty, ooey, buttery, crunchy, gooey … yeah, it’s worth an extra napkin or two.

Right out of the gate, I’m just going to straight-up acknowledge the problems I had photographing this bad boy.

It all started out okay. I mean, I couldn’t help but snap a photo when I noticed the cheese start to creep out from between two slices of warm sourdough and hit the skillet, bubbling ferociously. Not the greatest photo, but look at the melty! Just look!

I was having so much fun poking and prodding and drooling over and taking pics of this sandwich in the frying pan that when it was finally ready for its (lack of) beauty shot, all of the sudden I had less than five minutes to snap it before I was going to have to quickly stuff it in my face and run out of the house to pick up my daughter.

So I took some dissatisfying, hurried photos and gave up. I grabbed the sandwich, took a honkin’ bite, set it down, and gathered my keys and purse and phone. And then I went back to it and was like, hey. It looks a lot better!

So I took a couple more pics, and yeah, still a mess, but a slightly nicer hot mess. And if you think you see a giant bite out of the middle up there, well, you’re right about that, too.

Regardless, please tell me you have some leftover cranberry sauce so that you, too, can have a hot mess sandwich all up in your grill, too. Pun totally intended.

More Grilled Cheese Recipes

• How to Make Grilled Cheese – learn the key to a perfect grilled cheese.
• White Pizza Grilled Cheese
• Artichoke Arugula Pesto Grilled Cheese
• Spinach & Artichoke Grilled Cheese
• Chipotle Butternut Squash & Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese
• Cranberry, Pear, & Brie Grilled Cheese
• Balsamic Strawberry & Brie Grilled Cheese Sliders
• More grilled cheese sandwich recipes

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Cranberry, Pear, & Brie Grilled Cheese

Now THIS is a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. Melty, savory brie melts over sweet pears and mingles with tart cranberry sauce. It’s not the prettiest sandwich in town, but it might just be the tastiest.

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 2 sandwiches

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 4 slices sourdough bread
• 2 tablespoons butter softened
• 4 ounces Brie cheese sliced about 1/4-inch thick
• 1 large ripe pear cored and sliced about 1/4-inch thick (I’ve used both bartlett and anjou, both good)
• 1/2 cup cranberry sauce

Instructions

• Warm a large skillet over medium-low heat.
• Butter each slice of bread on one side. Lay two slices, buttered side down, in the skillet. Carefully lay the pear slices evenly on both slices of bread the bread in the skillet, cover with a single layer of brie, and carefully spoon the cranberry sauce over the top of each. Top with remaining slices of bread, butter side up.
• Cook, occasionally pressing gently with the back of a spatula to help the ingredients meld together, flipping occasionally, until sandwich is golden brown and the cheese is melted and oozing a bit out of the sides.
• Slice each sandwich in half and serve.

More melty-gooey-good grilled cheese recipes:

• How to Make a Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich – because basic is never bad! Here’s how to do it just right.
• White Pizza Grilled Cheese – for-real deliciousness.
• Artichoke Arugula Pesto Grilled Cheese – yesss.
• Spinach & Artichoke Grilled Cheese – like the classic dip, only better. Proof that’s possible!
• Chipotle Butternut Squash & Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese – spicy!
• Balsamic Strawberry & Brie Grilled Cheese Sliders tasty AND cute.
• And even more grilled cheese sandwich recipes – 32 melty, gooey, savory, fruity, and just plain over-the-top grilled cheese sandwiches.

The post Brie & Pear Grilled Cheese with Cranberry Sauce appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

I know I need to mix it up – and I will, I promise, especially after we get settled into our new place and I can get back to developing recipes – but for now, I give you … yep, you guessed it. Bacon.

(more…)

The post Gorgonzola, Pear, & Kale Pizza with Optional Bacon appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

In this case, I went with the perfect sweet plus a little salty, tart plus creamy duo of Bosc pear slices and brie cheese (and no meat for my guy, because this ended up falling into the “so good who cares about meat?” category). Sprinkled with some fresh jalapeno for a bit of bite, these quesadillas are a winner.

Especially when paired with a perfect fresh salsa or even a tomato salad. Honestly, I’m not really sure what my side-dish concoction was so I’m not ready to post that recipe yet, but basically I took a bunch of heirloom cherry tomatoes, sliced them in half, added some onion, fresh cilantro, lime juice, and jalapeno. Pico di gallo? Tomato salad? Salsa? Pico de salad salsa? I have no idea. It’s pretty tasty, so I’ll share when I know.

But back to my point. If you’ve never tried pears and brie together, please do it soon, even if it’s not in a tortilla. They’re seriously a match made in heaven.

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Pear and Brie Quesadillas

Ripe sweet pears and creamy brie are a match made in heaven - especially when sandwiched inside a crisp, warm tortilla.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 1 quesadilla

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized soft tortilla
• 1/4 of a Bosc pear cut into 5 - 6 slices (or try another type of pear, I'm sure it'll be equally wonderful)
• A few thin slices of brie cheese
• 1/2 small jalapeno pepper seeded and finely diced (optional)

Instructions

• Lay the brie cheese and pear slices on one half of the tortilla.
• Sprinkle with the jalapeno peppers, if using.
• Fold the tortilla in half and cook in your panini press (my favorite method - no oil needed!) or, to cook in a frying pan, heat 1 - 2 teaspoons of vegetable or canola oil over medium heat. Lay the quesadilla in the pan and let cook for a minute or two until the cheese starts melting and the tortilla begins to brown. Flip and cook on the other side until cheese is melted and both sides are browned.
• Remove from panini press or frying pan, cut into wedges, and garnish with salsa, fresh sliced tomatoes, avocado, fresh cilantro, and/or sour cream.

The post Pear and Brie Quesadillas appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

It started with a poor lonely pear, just sitting there in the fruit bowl, neglected. “I outta bake something with that pear,” I said to myself. Except when I talk to myself, I don’t think I use the word “outta.” But then again, I don’t pay all that much attention to myself and exactly what I’m saying.

So I thought about a chocolate pear cake… then I thought about gingerbread… then I thought about pears and gingerbread, then I thought about gingerbread pear muffins, then I thought about an upside down pear gingerbread cake. And it was good. In my head, that is.

Of course, it seems there’s rarely, if ever, a truly original idea these days, and so when I googled “upside down pear gingerbread cake,” whammo – those Epicurious jerkheads had already done it!

So I used their (awesome) recipe, with a couple minor adaptations (like dark molasses and light corn syrup in place of the light molasses). Oh yes. It was good.

The intensity of the dark molasses and spices balance perfectly with the sweetness of the caramelized pear. And it’s awesomely moist. And accompanied with some whipping cream or vanilla bean ice cream? Totally divine, and perfect fall fare.

Here’s the recipe!

Gingerbread Pear Upside Down Cake

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Gingerbread Pear Upside Down Cake Recipe

Warm gingerbread cake is baked in a skillet on top of a sweet mixture of caramelized pears, then flipped over for a beautiful and delicious presentation!

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 8 servings

Author Kare

Ingredients

Bottom (which will ultimately be the top)

• 2 pears – can be somewhat ripe to pretty darn ripe
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar

Cake

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup dark molasses
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup boiling water

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350. Use a 10-inch cast iron skillet, or according to Epicurious, you can use a 12-inch non-stick skillet if you wrap the handle in a double layer of foil.
• Peel pears and cut into quarters. Remove the core portion, and slice each quarter lengthwise into four slices.
• Heat the skillet to medium on the stove top and melt 1/4 cup butter. Cook butter until the foam on top of the butter starts to go away.
• Reduce heat to low, and sprinkle the 3/4 cup packed brown sugar onto the butter. Let the brown sugar sit in the butter, without stirring, for three minutes.
• Carefully lay the pears into a circle in the sugar mixture.
• Leave the pears in the skillet (don’t stir), still over low heat, for a couple more minutes, then remove from heat.
• Time to make the cake batter! Beat the 1/2 cup softened butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and egg in a large bowl.
• Boil the water, and stir in the corn syrup and molasses. Remove from heat.
• Sift the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt over the butter, egg, and sugar mixture, and mix on slow speed just until it begins to blend together.
• Slowly pour the molasses, corn syrup, and water mixture into the batter, while mixing on low speed, just until well blended.
• Pour the cake batter into the skillet, over all that pear and brown sugar goodness. The batter should be runny enough where it evens out naturally, but if it doesn’t, just spread it out evenly.
• Place the skillet in your preheated (350 degrees) oven, and bake 40 to 50 minutes. Insert a toothpick (or actual cake tester if you’re way cooler than me – I use a toothpick or, in especially desperate times, a raw spaghetti noodle, what can I say) into the center. When it comes out clean (no cake batter), it’s done!
• Cool the cake on a rack for 5 minutes. Slip a knive around the edges to loosen for the flipping, and invert onto a cake plate.

The post Gingerbread Pear Upside Down Cake Recipe appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.