Holiday - This is a holiday favorite
This is usually a Christmas dish. We never knew what to do with those Harry and David pears before we found this recipe. This isn't hard to make, but it is massively rich.
Gorgonzolla Pear Dumplings
Gorgonzolla Pear Dumplings
(from Family Circle, 26 Dec 85)
Gorgonzolla Pastry
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
6 oz gorgonzolla cheese
Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Add shortening and cheese. Mix with pastry blender (or your fingers) until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 6 tbsp ice water; mix lightly with fork until the pastry holds together. Shape into a ball. Refrigerate at least one hour.
Gorgonzolla Dumplings
the pastry from above
4 large, firm ripe pears
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese at room temperature
3 oz gorgonzolla cheese at room temperature
1 egg yolk
1 egg plus 1 tbsp water
1. Prepare pastry. Grease cookie sheet.
2. Peel pears. Scoop out core from bottom of each with a melon ball cutter, leaving stem intact and making a 1 inch diameter cavity.
3. Mash cream cheese and gorgonzolla in a small bowl until well blended. Stir in egg yolk. Fill pear cavities with cheese mixture.
4. Divide pastry into four equal parts. For each piece:
Roll out on lightly floured surface into an 8 or 9 inch square. Place pear in center of pastry. From each side of square, cut out triangle with about a 4 inch base centered on the side, leaving about 1 1/2 inches betwen point of triangle and bottom of pear. Draw corners up over top of pear; pinch together around stem. Pinch seams together to seal. Pull down top edges of pastry slightly to make ruffled border. Place on prepared sheet.
Brush egg wash over pastry. Refrigerate from one to four hours.
5. Bake pears in preheated moderate (375¡) oven for 30 to 40 minutes until pastry is golden. Serve warm with a fork and knife.