I'm not a huge fan of pears. It's a texture thing. But my husband is addicted so I am slowly developing a taste for them. This week provided me a nice opportunity to expand my appreciation for them. I used Bartlett and Bosc in combination. Both of them were mostly ripe with a nice perfume while I was preparing them.

Full disclosure--I also made a spiced mascarpone topping but it was not perfect so I am not posting the recipe. If you want to try it yourself, I just beat up some softened mascarpone with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and a splash of cream. Where I went wrong was adding too much cinnamon so, back to the drawing board with this one.

The pears were fabulous, though. The orange zest and liquor, suggested, of course, by the Flavor Bible, really complimented them.

Sautéed Pears

5 ripe pears (I used 3 Barlett and 2 Bosc) peeled, cored and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup orange liquor like Drambuie or Gran Marnier
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
grated zest of 1 orange
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Put 2 tablespoons of the butter into a 12” skillet over medium heat. When the butter begins to brown, add the pears and cook until softened and starting to brown, about 3 minutes.
Add the sugar, nutmeg, liquor and orange zest. Cook about 1 minute more until the liquid is slightly reduced.
Add the last tablespoon of butter, swirling the pan to emulsify the sauce.

Put the pears into 4 small bowls, top with good vanilla ice cream.