Dream Pears 7″ x 7″ Acrylic on Fabriano Paper by Suzanne Edminster
Dear Readers and Cooks,
I am pleased to introduce my first guest post on “The Kale Chronicles.” My real-life best friend Suzanne Edminster is a painter who lives in Santa Rosa who teaches popular classes in acrylic painting techniques which you can find on her website, SaltworkStudio. What not everybody knows about Suzanne is that she is a talented hostess who can pull together delicious meals with skill and grace. Just for you, she painted the painting and wrote out the recipe. Enjoy.
Sonoma Pears Poached in White Wine and Blueberries
On an autumn night in Santa Rosa I was contemplating a bag of small Bartlett pears that had been carried too long in the car and were starting to bruise. I was longing for a sweet, elegant way to cook pears without messing with pie crust, cobbler or crumble. I developed this recipe as one that could, in the best of all possible worlds, be cooked with fruit from our garden, though I draw the line at keeping goats for cheese– four chickens are demanding enough.
We have two young pear trees in our urban backyard orchard, both Red D’Anjou. This was a mistake; we were given one of the two trees and was assured it was a Bartlett. Neither is bearing yet, as we’ve had to take young fruit off too-young branches to avoid breakage. Scott, my husband, planted 9 kinds of blueberry bushes in a raised bed, but between chickens, squirrels, raccoons and other poachers, we got a total of about five blueberries from the plants this year, although they are bearing well. Next year, bird netting goes over all and the humans of the house can eat the harvest. Eventually I’ll try this recipe with our own blueberries (self-frozen if need be) and our own pears.
At the end of the summer we had overbought on white wine and had not yet laid in the stock of red. My mother used to serve red warm cinnamon pears—yes, I think she used cinnamon drop candy on them and to make the sauce!– and I really wanted the pears to turn that glorious holiday crimson. What could I do to give the wine a color? We had small frozen organic blueberries that we keep on hand for cereal. I adapted Stacy Slinkard’s recipe for Red Wine Poached Pears that I found in About.com at http://wine.about.com/od/howwineismade/r/poachedpears.htm. The result was delicious, and the color of both sauce and pears, a deep red-purple, divine. Surprisingly, the blueberries held their shape through the longish poaching time. I used fresh lime juice from our lime trees rather than lemon, and I chose soft new Sonoma goat cheese to offset the brilliant sweetness of the pears in the sauce. Scott and I agreed that the white, tangy bite of goat cheese was perfection on the warm red pears. A bonus of this recipe is that the whole house smelled of pear-pourri!
Sonoma Pears Poached in White Wine and Blueberries
Ingredients:
4-6 halved, cored pears (peeling is optional and top stems can be left on)
1½ cups of white wine (your choice)
½ cup of granulated sugar
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon or lime juice, with optional zest
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ to 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Soft plain or new goat cheese
Combine all the ingredients, except pears and goat cheese, and bring to a boil. Let the sugar and wine combine, then add the pears face-down and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, turning once after about 10 minutes. Pears should be tender and easily poked through with a fork, but don’t overcook them. Remove pears and boil the wine/pear sauce until reduced by half. Serve pears warm in bowls with a small dollop of soft goat cheese in the middle of each half. Pour warm sauce over all. It’s excellent cold as well.
Painting Note: This slightly cosmic pear painting shows both the pinkish red of the sauce and the purple of the blueberries. It’s 7” x 7”, acrylic on paper. The pink-purple ranges from Alizarin Crimson to Fluorescent Magenta. You can see more of my paintings at www.saltworkstudio.net . Or visit my blog at http://saltworkstudio.wordpress.com/
thekalechronicles 
I can see a delicious Blog collaboration in your future! Thank you for highlighting your friend’s many talents.
Yep, she paints, she cooks — also teaches school and raises chickens.
Wowie – your real life best friend is very talented. Great art, great recipe! And teaches…and raises chicken. She is my hero! Thanks to both of you for this great post.
Yes, indeed she is, Jane. I’ll pass on the compliment to her. Or you can visit her blog and comment yourself. Cheers! — Sharyn
I’m anti-heroic really… just like to do lots of stuff. My husband, Scott, has my back. This helps sooooo much.
I’ve known Sharyn since we were about 15! Amazing.
We bonded over striped pajamas with feet, poetry, and having a room of our own (instead of a shared dormitory with eight other girls). I saw Suzanne’s stuff on one of the two beds and said, “I’ll take my chances.” Glad I did.
The recipe and art are wonderful, and so is reading of your friendship in the comments!
Thanks, Nancy, Friends are treasures — old ones and new ones.
I adore this painting!!
I’ll be sure to tell Suzanne. Thanks for subscribing.
Thanks, Process Diary! It was fun to do.
Another innovative creation! Sounds delicious!!
I want to try it with frozen raspberries, Lauren.
Yes, I thought of raspberries or blackberries or even boysenberries. A white wine seems to be more versatile than red when you are adding additional fruit to the poaching liquid.
Or currants (not dried). You could use currant jelly and some of that liqueur — Cassis, that’s it! I’m thinking winter versions here when fresh fruit is scarce except for citrus (it’s chilly today in sunny California).