Poached Pears & Walnuts with Walnut Lemon Thyme Cream

Alright, I know this sounds fancy & weird & like something you're not going to make, & I understand where you're coming from. But in my defense, I got these Sekel Pears at Costco (ie: I had a billion of them), so I tried to find a dessert recipe that would do the last couple left in the bowl some justice.

This looks kind of swanky, but really it was pretty simple & even a little rustic.

Here's what I came up with: Peel the skin off of some pears, depending on how many you have, how big they are & how many people you plan to feed, and place in a small, snug roasting dish of some sort. A side note here: I just realized that it would have been good to remove the core of the pears, so that you don't have to wrestle with it, I didn't... but you should.

Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, bring a poaching liquid to a simmer, consisting of some wine - red or white, whatever you're willing to part with. I opted to save my wine for dinner so I used a Sam Adams! Then, flavor this with whatever you have on hand. I squeezed in an orange, some zest, brown sugar, cinnamon & honey. I mean really, don't freak out here. Just rifle through your cupboards and throw in anything that might work. Taste it as you go and see what it needs.

Sprinkle some walnuts, or pecans or whatever you have, over the top of the pears and then pour the liquid over them so that it covers the pears. Throw it into a 350 oven for 20 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, see what you have in the creamy department. I had some plain yogurt and some goat cheese that I whirled into a food processor with some vanilla, sugar, lemon thyme, and some ground up walnuts. (I think that was all, but who knows)...

Serve with the warm pears and you will look like some kind of freaky chef-ish type, but really, you just worked with what you had & were willing to part with and came up with a comforting, warm, simple dessert! Go for it...