Pear Salad with Romaine and Stilton

When I was a kid, I loved both kinds of pears — the ones that came in cans and the fresh ones that grew on trees. I'm not entirely certain I realized they were the same fruit. Sort of.

Now that I am older, I still have a secret, shameful fondness for the canned stuff. But what really thrills me are the fresh fruit in all their varieties: Bartlett, Anjou, Bosc, Starkrimson, Comice and more.

This time of year, it's pearadise.

In cooking, pears are like tinsel on the Christmas tree. They don't really stand out by themselves, in most cases — they are the added something extra that brings the whole dish together and makes it seem more special.

Sweet and succulent, pears are generally not going to be part of a main course. They're not an entrée kind of fruit. But they bring an irresistible flavor and compelling texture to many desserts and breakfasts.

So of course, when I made an assortment of pear-related dishes, I began with a salad.

Pears are a natural ingredient for salads. Softer than apples, but just as sweet, they provide a delicious counterpoint to the acidity of a dressing, along with a textural contrast to the crisp lettuce.

But best of all is the way pears go with cheese. The embarrassingly easy recipe I made uses Stilton, which is the king of cheeses. Unfortunately, as befits a king, it is also one of the more expensive cheeses.

If you don't want to pay the big bucks for the Stilton, you can achieve very nearly the same flavor combination by using another blue cheese (blue cheese goes with pear like caramel goes with vanilla). Try a Roquefort or a Gorgonzola and you won't be disappointed.

For that matter, you can just use the cheap blue-cheese crumbles. Your mouth will love you for it.

The most gorgeous and elegant way to prepare pears has to be to poach them in port for a dessert that will not be soon forgotten.

I'm not kidding about that. I had a pear that had been poached in port six years ago, and I still think about it today.

The appeal of this sophisticated dessert is not just the color, which is a deep and satisfying shade of ruby. The process of making it, which is very nearly as simple as the pear salad, also imbues the pear with a hearty flavor, slightly sweet, that is heightened by the use of a few aromatics: orange peel, lemon peel, cinnamon and clove.

Prepared like this, the pear is great on its own. But if you want to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream — purely for the sake of contrast, you understand — no one will complain.

If you want to try making a baked dessert with pears, you can try a cobbler.

With a cobbler, the baked part is only on top, which makes it easier to prepare. And the top part of a Drop-Biscuit Pear and Dried Cherry Cobbler is so foolproof that even a first-time baker is assured of a successful result.

The other secret to this recipe is its use of dried cherries. Dried cherries are like raisins, only a hundred times better because they're cherries. They create tiny little explosions of flavor in your mouth. But even so, they do not overpower the relatively subtle taste of the pears. The two flavors complement; they do not compete.

And they go beautifully with the drop-biscuit topping. It's like jam with the buttery biscuits, only better.

Prepared like this, the cobbler is great on its own. But if you want to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream — well, you know.

Yield: 4 servings1 cup port wine¾ cup granulated sugar3 (2-inch) strips orange peel1 (2-inch) strip lemon peel1 stick cinnamon1 whole clove4 firm, ripe Bosc pearsIce cream for serving, optionalCombine wine, sugar, orange peels, lemon peel, cinnamon, clove and 2 cups water in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and set aside.Cut 1/4 inch from pear bottoms to make a flat surface. Peel pears and nestle them in the bottom of pan containing wine mixture.Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, until a knife slides into pears with ease, 50 to 60 minutes.Remove from heat; let cool in pan. The pears will continue to take on color as they cool in the liquid.To serve, transfer pears, cut-side down, to 4 plates and drizzle some of the sauce from the pan over pears. Serve with ice cream if desired.<i>Adapted from “The New York Times International Cook Book,” by Craig Claiborne</i>

Yield: 4 servings<i>sherry vinaigrette</i>1 cup olive oil1/3 cup sherry vinegar or wine vinegar1 teaspoon Dijon mustard1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon pepper<i>salad</i>1 head Romaine lettuce2 pears, roughly chopped¼ pound Stilton or other blue cheese, crumbled¾ cup walnuts, toasted½ cup sherry vinaigretteTo make sherry vinaigrette, combine in a jar olive oil, sherry vinegar or wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and shake vigorously. Store in refrigerator.Tear the Romaine lettuce into pieces and put in a bowl. Add the pears, cheese and walnuts, and dress with the vinaigrette.<i>Source: The New York Times</i>

Yield: 8 servings6 medium Bosc pears, peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch pieces1 cup dried tart cherries2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon1 1/8 teaspoons kosher salt, dividedPinch of ground cloves2 teaspoons baking powder¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided¾ cup (1½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into piecesVanilla ice cream, for servingPreheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss pears, cherries, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of the flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon of the salt and cloves in a large bowl. Transfer to a 13-by-9-inch baking dish.Whisk remaining 2 cups flour, baking powder, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 cup of the granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Rub in butter with your fingers until a coarse meal forms. Gradually mix in 1/3 cup hot water until a soft, wet dough forms (a few lumps are OK). Drop clumps of dough over filling; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.Bake until filling is bubbling and top is golden brown and cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Allow to cool. Serve with ice cream.<i>Source: Bon Appétit</i>

The most gorgeous and elegant way to prepare pears has to be to poach them in port for an unforgettable dessert. The process of making it is very simple.