Fall Sky & Fall Pear & Red Onion Gratin

I've said it before, but I'll say it again, fall is my favorite season.  There are many reasons I can think of to enjoy it, one of them being, the evening sky we are presented with when the wispy clouds find there way into our skies above.

No words necessary.  Just the beauty to view.

Another favorite of fall for me, is all of the harvest foods waiting to be prepared and enjoyed.  I was scanning the internet for some fresh, new Thanksgiving Day recipes to try out for this year and I came across this delicious looking Pear and Onion Gratin and wanted to share it with you.  It involves fall pears and sweet red onions.  Need I say more?

I can see this dish accompanying a pork roast tenderloin for a nice harvest meal.

Photo by Eating Well

Fall Inspired Pear and Red Onion Gratin

8 servings

Ingredients
1 large red onion
3 ripe Bosc pears
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 cup coarse dry breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat (see Note)
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preparation
1. Fill a large bowl three-quarters full with water; add a handful of ice cubes. Cut onion into 16 wedges, place in a strainer and lower into the water. Let stand for 20 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 400°F.

3. Halve and core each pear; cut each half into 6 slices. Drain the onion wedges well and place them in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish along with the pear slices, 1 tablespoon oil, thyme, salt and a grinding of pepper; toss to combine. Cover with foil.

4. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring twice.

5. Meanwhile, combine breadcrumbs and cheese in a small bowl. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil; stir to combine. Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the gratin, return to the oven and roast until the breadcrumbs are well browned, 20 to 30 minutes more. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipes you might enjoy:

Maple Chili Glazed Pork Medallions
Grilled Thai Tenderloin Cutlets

Happy Thursday!

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Cheese Tortellini with Butternut Squash Sauce

There are some days that I just want an easy, low key dinner....aka, something easy to heat up.  If you follow me on Twitter, you then know I was at CostCo yesterday.  I was sure to find something there.

Cheese tortellini is what I came up with.....just boil!  Can't get much more low key than that, right?

I was just going to use some typical marinara sauce with the tortellini, until I stumbled upon this!  Dave's Gourmet Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce.  I had never seen it before and I thought it sounded so good for a rainy Friday night.

After reading the ingredients, I knew it would be a sure thing.  Anything with butter in the line-up is good in my book.  I just hoped the kids would go for it.

So I simmered the sauce,

boiled the tortellini,

plated it all up and shredded some fresh parmesan cheese over the top and was done.

This was super good!  I will definitely prepare this meal again.  The result, is a fresh tasting, creamy butternut squash sauce with a ton of flavor.  Sweet and savory at the same time.  I was really able to taste the red bell pepper, it added just enough spice to the mix but not too much to where my kids wouldn't like it.

Bryce, who complains about ANY pasta I make, even enjoyed it.  I think his comment was, "this is the best pasta ever!"  Paige was cranky - tired from staying out a little past her bed time from the night before when we attended the Fair Appreciation Dinner, she complained about everything at dinner, except her bread and butter.  Paige, being my pasta lover, will give this dish another try and I'm sure, love it as well.

This was the perfect autumnal meal !

Tonight's SF Giant's playoff game #6 .  We'll be staying in to watch the game.  It's rainy here in northern CA so something hearty and warm for dinner sounds good. 

What are you doing tonight?

Happy Saturday!
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