Our gourmet club met tonight with a breakfast food theme: mimosas, bloody Mary’s, bacon, cheese grits, eggs Benedict, yogurt parfait, potatoes and roasted pears in caramel sauce.

It happened to fall on the first snow of the year (A big one! 8 inches!) and we joked we should have come in our pajamas since most of us had spent the day in them!

Here’s what I made for dessert. It was a hit!

Roasted Pears with Caramel Sauce

“This golden, glossy delight could not be easier to make. All major varieties of pears – Bartlett, Bosc, red, Anjou – work equally well. However, Bosc roasts up slightly firmer than the others.”

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 4 pears, halved and cored
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted pistachios (or your favorite nuts)
  1. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place butter in a baking pan large enough to hold the pears in a single layer: set in the heating oven until it melts.
  2. Sprinkle sugar over melted butter, then place pears, cut side down, on top. Bake until tender, about 30 minutes.
  3. Remove pan from oven, turn pears over and baste with pan sauce. Return to oven; bake until golden and glossy, about 10 minutes longer.
  4. Let cool slightly. Transfer pears to dessert plates or bowls. Top each with dollop of sour cream, drizzle with caramel pan sauce, sprinkle with nuts and serve.