Baked Pears with Cranberry Sauce

This baked pear recipe from Share My Kitchen was my inspiration one chilly morning a few days before Christmas. I wanted something festive, but still meeting my criteria of coming together fairly quickly. As it turns out, I prefer to sleep a few extra minutes rather than labor over elaborate breakfast offerings. But I also have high standards and want to give our guests something special so they really feel they’ve been pampered.

The original recipe has the pears filled with a mixture of walnuts and blue cheese – delicious I am certain but maybe not quite right for breakfast. I decided to add a little color and holiday flair with a basic cranberry sauce (cranberries boiled in sugar water until soft, with a splash of citrus, a sprinkling of nutmeg, and a pinch of salt). I filled out the plate with a couple slices of nice thick bacon (we had some very enthusiastic bacon lovers that morning!) and fresh orange slices.

The photos from the original recipe are so beautiful, but when I tried to recreate the flipped over presentation it just didn’t work. I did brush the puff pastry with a mixture of egg and cinnamon, however, so the crust was quite lovely (though in my photo it somewhat resembles a baked potato).

They were beyond delicious. The pears were sweet and soft, the puff pastry a cinnamon-y crunch on the outside. The cranberries brought in a tangy edge that just enhanced the other flavors so nicely. And the bacon was, well, bacon. Do I need to say more?

On Saturday and Sunday mornings I sneak out of the house before everyone else awakes and drive into town to cook breakfast for the guests at The Inn at 400 West High. This gorgeous B & B right in the heart of beautiful Charlottesville is owned by my mother-in-law and we get some of the nicest guests! I share some of my breakfast compositions here in my ongoing Breakfast at the Inn series.