Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Peel the pears and slice them lengthwise
into halves. With a small, sharp paring
knife and a melon baller, remove the core
and seeds from each pear, laving a round
well for the filling. Trim a small slice
away from the rounded sides of each pear
half so that they will sit in the baking
dish without wobbling. Toss the pears
with lemon juice to prevent them from
turning brown. Arrange them, core side
up, in a baking dish large enough to hold
the pears snugly.
Gently toss the crumbled blue cheese,
dried cranberries, and walnuts together
in a small bowl. Divide the mixture among
the pears, mounding it on top of the indentation.
In the same small bowl, combine the apple
cider, port, and brown sugar, stirring
to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture
over and around the pears. Bake the pears,
basting occasionally with the cider mixture,
for 30 minutes, or until tender. Set aside
until warm or at room temperature.
Just before serving, whisk together the
olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 1/4
cup of the basting liquid in a large bowl.
add the arugula and toss well. Divide
the arugula among 6 plates and top each
with a pear half. Drizzle each pear with
some of the basting liquid, sprinkle with
salt, and serve.
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