Warm Pear & Sage Crostini with Blue Cheese

While we’re used to seeing poached pears, canned pears or pears in a salad, we wanted to throw out another option that takes an ordinary pear and kicks is up a notch. This topper is fabulous on baguette slices, but would also sit nicely on a sturdy cracker.

• 3 Bartlett pears
• 1 baguette
• 1/4 c. blue cheese, crumbled (we recommend St. Agur Blue)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 TBL butter, divided
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 6 sage leaves, roughly chopped

While preheating oven to 375˚, slice baguette into 1/4″ thick slices (make about 15-20 slices, set aside remaining baguette). Using 1 TBL of butter, spread a bit on each baguette slice and arrange them on a baking sheet. Also, use this time to core, peel and chop pears into about 1/4″ square pieces.

When oven is preheated, add baguette slices and toast for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them so they don’t get too toasty.

Melt 3 tsp. butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add in the pear pieces and salt. Stir together and cook until pear squares are soft (8-11 minutes). Stir in sage and remove from heat.

Top toasted baguette slices with pear mix, sprinkle with a little pepper and top with blue cheese. Serve immediately.