Recipe of the Week: Sweet & Savory Pear Kugel

 

Drooling and driving. It has many causes. Maybe you're driving by a bakery in the pre-dawn hours when all the fresh goodies are coming out of the ovens. Perhaps you pass a billboard with a gigantic juicy hamburger, several feet tall, staring back at you with its glistening onions and pickles. Or, perhaps you hear something delicious on the radio. Certainly this is one of the less common causes of drooling and driving, but it happened to us just the other day! Flipping stations, we heard the word "pears" (seriously, we're attuned to that sort of thing) and stopped. It was our local NPR affilate and on the eve of Hanukkah, a guest was sharing her favorite holiday recipes. Well, this lady had such a way with words, we could practically taste the dense pear and prune sweetened bread and savory sauted onions as she described her go-to recipe for kugel. Don't worry, we didn't try to write it down as we drove. We arrived safely home, looked it up on the Web and now share it with you. Happy Hanukkah and happy eating!

Sweet & Savory Pear Kugel

You need:

• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 pounds ripe Bosc pears
• 2 small onions (about 1/2 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
• salt to taste
• 1/2 loaf thick white bread, about 7 ounces
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 8 tablespoons butter or pareve margarine, melted
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups pitted prunes
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• juice of one lemon
• 1 cup+ water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease 9-inch springform pan with 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil
3. Peel the pears and cut all but one of them into 1-inch cubes
4. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat
5. Lightly saute the onions until translucent; remove from heat, salt lightly, cool slightly
6. Soak the bread for a few seconds in lukewarm water and squeeze dry
7. Put bread in large bowl and mix with 1/4 cup of the sugar and butter/margarine; stir in the eggs, onions and half of the diced pears
8. Pour batter in springform pan and bake for 2 hours
9. While kugel is baking, cook the compote - in a heavy saucepan combine 1 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar, prunes, cinnamon, lemon juice and remaining pears, set on medium-high heat and cook uncovered for 30 minutes
10. Finely grate the remaining pear and stir into the cooked compote
11. When kugel is finished baking, remove from the oven and set on rack to cook for about 20 minutes
12. Remove kugel from pan onto serving platter, spoon half of compote over kugel, serve the remaining compote on the side.

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Recipe of the Week: Ultimate* Cranberry Sauce



The holiday season. It's a time for folks to gather together in peace and harmony. Well, the same is true of fruit. No, really! A couple of weeks ago on this very page (screen) we shared the story of the delightful union of the cranberry and the pear. Today we revisit these fine fruits to find they've forged a fantastic new friendship. The pear, the cranberry, the apple and the orange are all coming together for Thanksgiving and the result is an irresistable combination you'll love to invite to your table every year! (Also, there are pecans. Boy do we love pecans, and their role in this dish is one of the best we've seen outside of a pie-setting.)

*not to take anything away from the Cran-Peary Sauce recipe, but this one is pretty amazing.

Ultimate Cranberry Sauce

You need:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries
• 1 orange, peeled and pureed
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 pear, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 cup chopped dried mixed fruit
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, boil water and sugar until the sugar dissolves
2. Reduce the heat to simmer and stir in the cranberries, pureed orange, apple, pear, dried fruit, pecans, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg
3. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring ocassionally, until the cranberries burst
4. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature

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Recipe of the Week: Savory Apple Stuffing

Anybody can pour a box of prepared dried bread cubes into a pot of boiling water and later call it stuffing. But you're not anybody! Your family deserves better, and so does your turkey!
Maybe you're wondering why this turkey is emitting what appear to be golden rays of light. Well, it's because somebody filled it with the amazing savory cornbread and apple stuffing from this week's recipe. Sure, it's not as easy to make as that instant stuff - but just think how impressed your family will be when they gather around your golden-glowing bird!  And when they taste it? Well, don't be surprised if they start glowing, too!

Savory Apple Stuffing

You need:

• 1 (9x9) pan cornbread, crumbled
• 4 cups herb-seasoned dry bread stuffing mix
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cups apple juice
• 2 cups chopped apples
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Butter one 3 quart casserole dish
3. In a large bowl, combine the cornbread, stuffing mix, parsley, salt and ginger
4. In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter and saute the celery and onion for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender
5. Add sauted celery and onion to the cornbread mixture and mix well
6. Stir in the apple, pecans, apple juice and beaten eggs
7. Toss lightly then spoon into the prepared casserole dish
8. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. If you are baking the stuffing with meat, cook until the meat is completely done all the way through.

Looking for more great fruit recipes? Click here!

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Recipe of the Week: Cran-pear-y Sauce

When the pear first spied the fetching, ripe cranberries it was love at first sight. Sure, they might sound like an odd  pear-ing, but when these two fall flavors combine you'll agree they were meant to be. In fact, they're such a great couple, we recommend inviting them to your Thanksgiving dinner. In addition to being delightfully warm and possessing great taste theywon't overstay their welcome -  in fact, we're pretty sure they'll be gone before dessert.

Cran-pear-y Sauce

You need:

• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large ripe pears, peeled and quartered
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, combine water, sugar and cinnamon
2. Add pears and bring to a boil over medium heat
3. Stir in cranberries
4. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally
5. Serve warm
6. Makes two servings

Looking for more great fruit recipes? Click here!
_____________________________________________________

Always have fresh fruit on hand - join Ruma's Royal Fruit Club or purchase a monthly plan for a friend! Shipping is FREE!