Pear Recipes

I know this is not syrup but it may be close. I got this recipe from a postcard sent from Arizona. The post card was distributed by Smith-Southwestern, Inc. Their web address is www.smith-southwestern.com

Dairy foods are important at Hanukkah. Some trace the custom to the story of Judith, whose delicious cheesecakes so distracted the Assyrian general Holofernes that she was able to behead him, thus saving the Jews from slaughter.

This ginger-spiked version of haroset makes use of dried cherries, which have recently become widely available. As a family project, this recipe, with its dicing and grating and slicing, gives everyone something to do. Its rich fruit flavors have their roots in Sephardic traditions.

The best prickley pears can be picked after they turn a red color and they are at their sweetest after a light frost hits them. Enjoy.....Ray

This lovely jam sparkles with a rainbow of flavors. While it's perfect on toast and muffins, it's also great on pancakes and waffles.

This extravagant roast mega-chicken is overcome with fruit. Canned pear halves are roasted along with the chicken. The gravy is made by deglazing the pan drippings with cranberry sauce and rosemary.

HELPFUL HINT: To lift baking pan or casserole in and out of cooker, cut a piece of aluminum foil 2 feet long by 1 foot wide; fold it twice lengthwise. Center casserole on strip and use ends of strip to lower cassrole into cooker. Fold ends of foil strip over top of casserole. Use ends of strip to lift casserole out of cooker.

The addition of the diced apple is what I like so much about this salad. It gives it a special taste and crispness. Just don't forget to add it before serving. I keep the apple on the counter so I don't forget. Also, you will find 12 more potato salad recipes in the Epicurean Recipe Archives.

NOTE: Large pearl tapioca requires long, slow cooking to become transparent. And each pearl has a tiny bit of starch in the middle of it that sometimes never completely cooks up which,though edible, looks unpleasant. The crockpot is absolutely perfect for cooking these big pearls--and the little starchy bead completely disappears. Enjoy. E..

Although this recipe calls for peaches, pears work well as a substitute. We made this recipe in an oriental cooking class and used pears and it was really good.

QUATRE-EPICES - "Four-spices" usually include four of five spices and are commonly used to season forcemeats for sausages and terrines. I include all five.

Start with an inexpensive brandy. The pear mellows the liquor.