Savory Seared Pears with Blue Cheese + Chives

Around the house we call this dish faux gras. And okay, I admit it -- I've actually never tasted foie gras, so I'm not sure how close this is to the taste and texture of the real thing, but I will tell you that it really is delicious. It's a perfect appetizer served with crostini; it's also great on top of some lightly dressed arugula.

Seared Savory Pears with Blue Cheese + Chives

2 ripe Barlett pears

1 teaspoon champagne vinegar

1/4 teaspoon smoked salt

black pepper (to taste)

1 tablespoon of butter

1 tablespoon Humboldt Fog cheese (or any other light-tasting bleu cheese) 

chopped chives (to garnish)

Slice pears into thirds from top to bottom leaving two good slices with the skin on and a core slice for each pear. Using a sharp knife, score the flesh of the outer pear slices in a diamond pattern. (You want you knife to pierce the flesh, but not to pierce the pear skin.) 

Lightly sprinkle each scored pear half with champagne vinegar -- just a few drops will do. Next, add a pinch of smoked salt and a turn of black pepper to the cut-side of each pear. Heat a medium-sized pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is heated through, add the butter. Once the butter has melted, place pears in the pan cut-side-down, and allow them to cook for three minutes without moving them. (You want the pears to caramelize nicely.) Once you have achieved some good color on the cut-side, flip pears over and heat them through on the other side. This should only take a few minutes. Remove pears from pan. 

To serve, place pears on a plate and garnish each pear half with about 1/4 ounce of crumbled bleu cheese and chopped chives. Serve with crostini or soft french bread. This makes a terrific first course or appetizer.