Pear Soup

Ingredients

• 6 pears
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage leaves
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• Gray salt
• Blue Cheese Bruschetta, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat broiler.

Peel, halve and core the pears. In a large bowl, toss pears with lemon juice to prevent oxidization. Melt butter in an ovenproof skillet over medium-low heat, let cook until butter begins to brown. Add sage to butter, allow to caramelize. Add brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Add pears to mixture, and roll them around to coat thoroughly.

Broil pears in skillet, stirring occasionally, until pears are light brown, about 15 minutes.

Puree pears and brown butter mixture in a blender until smooth. Pour into room temperature soup plates and serve with Blue Cheese Bruschetta. If preparing ahead of time, refrigerate and reheat slightly before serving.

Blue Cheese Bruschetta:

• 1 loaf walnut bread or raisin bread
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese, crumbled

Preheat broiler.

Slice loaf into finger-wide slices. Cover each slice with butter, then top with blue cheese. Place bread on cookie sheet and broil, with the door open, until the cheese begins to melt, about 30 seconds.

Yield: 5 to 8 servings