Fall Desserts

Now doesn't that look pretty, and really, really tasty? They weren't. Poached pears - my first attempt. Got these really nice pears at the Farmer's Market and decided to try something new. Basically, you pare the pear (HA!), put them into a heavy saucepan and let a sugary-cinnamon syrup boil up around them for a few minutes. Then you let them cool as you baste with more syrup. I have to say, they make a really pretty presentation (and it would've been prettier if I hadn't accidentally knocked the one stem off), but they just weren't all that. Maybe it was the pears themselves - weren't that sweet. Oh well - I may try again if I find some better pears.
My apple dumplings on the other hand were YUM! (Sorry I don't have a picture, they were consumed before I could get the camera out!) Again, a produce purchasing error transforms itself into heavy calories - I had some apples that were just too mushy to eat normally. Was going to make some applesauce for the kids, but I've always wanted to try apple dumplings, so I gave it a go. Basically, pare and core the apple, plop it down on some pastry dough, fill the core hole with cinnamon and sugar, seal up the dough and bake. Oh, yes, there's a sugary/cinnamon syrup involved in this one too. Pour the syrup into the bottom of the baking pan, and it boils the whole baking time. Oh, my, these things were good. Better than pie - and I do love apple pie. And no wonder. I happened to be looking around for some nutritional information on apple dumplings - and the one from the Cheesecake Factory has over 1200 calories and something like 50 grams of fat. In one dumpling. Mine weren't quite that rich - but they still fall into the category of: seldom-made treat for special occasions only. On that happy note - off to the Farmer's Market! I only have a few weeks left - the last week is the week of October 9th. I am going to really miss getting all that fresh produce, grown in local soils!