Pastry wrapped pears (get your chef on).

I love participating in the Get Your Chef On challenges. So far I've competed in the lemon, coconut, and apple challenges; it's always fun to be challenged to use an ingredient in a new or unusual way, but what I really enjoy is seeing what everyone else comes up with. When I saw that this rounds theme was pears I had no idea what I would make. Honestly, I don't know if I had ever cooked with pears before (I don't know why - they are delicious poached, in tarts, and even in jams). I turned to Pinterest for inspiration, and I was not disappointed!

 

This dish was inspired by the beautiful picture in the recipe for Pera in Crusta. The only problem, is that the recipe is in Italian. With the help of Google translate, I was able to get an idea of what it said. I adjusted the recipe (the original calls for brandy, and what's the point of cooking with alcohol if you can't have a few sips while you're doing it?!), gave it a try, and was delighted with the results. This is an impressive looking recipe that is actually very easy to put together (15 minutes of prep work, tops), and can even be put together ahead of time. The only changes I will make next time are 1) add a little cinnamon to the honey and butter mixture, 2) cut the pie crust into thinner strips so that it wraps around more times, and 3) not flare the edges before putting it into the oven (I think they will flare on their own while baking). 

Four for one (treasury, but not Tuesday).

I'm bringing you these treasuries early this week because there's something very special on Tuesday. January 22nd is the day we all unveil our creations for Get Your Chef On: Pears, and I can't wait to show you what Ive whipped up.

The first treasury is one that I created in honor of Punxsutawney Phil and his shadow. The other three are fantastic treasuries that feature some of the items from my shop. Enjoy the eye candy!

Groundhog Day

Music is my Valentine by WavicleWays

It's Amazing What You Can Accomplish! by Tiffany Heater

Spillover by Tiffany Heater

  I link up to these parties.

Grilled cheese fail (testing Pinterest).

I'm sure you've all seen some variation of the above image on Pinterest or elsewhere online by now. It's always captioned with something along the lines of, "Turn your toaster on its side to make easy grilled cheese!" Now, I saw this, and thought, "wow, genius! Why didn't I ever think of that?"It looks so simple. The only drawback I noticed at first was that there was no excuse to use copious amounts of butter like I do when I fry my grilled cheese (and I suppose that could be thought of as a good thing, it's just that I sort of have a love affair with butter).

Crockpot dulce de leche (testing Pinterest).

I've seen so many versions of this slow cooker Dulce de Leche on Pinterest, and I finally had to give it a try. I actually made this a few months ago (it just took me a really long time to get around to editing the photos), and I as I sit writing this post I'm wishing I had some to indulge in right now (there would be a can of condensed milk in my crock pot right now, if it wasn't already full of beef). 

Going back in time (writer's workshop).

I have been a spectator of the writer's workshop over at Mama's Losin' It for a while now, and I'm finally taking the plunge and becoming a participant. I actually linked up last week too, but that was just because my post happened to fit one of the prompts, not because I had planned it. This week I chose prompt #5)  Find a photo of yourself taken 10 years ago and display it on your blog along with a current photo. How have you changed since the day that photo was taken?

10 years ago I was a junior in high school, fall 2002; Showing off my new baby journal Christmas morning, 2012

San Diego love (treasury Tuesday).

I've been really enjoying making treasuries recently. It's inspiring to see all of the fabulous creativity that is on Etsy; the first two of these are entirely made up of items from San Diego. What a fabulous city this is!

San Diego: black and white

What's new San Diego?

Love is in the air ♥

I link up to these parties.

Apple cider cookies with Heath Bits (recipe).

These cookies are very serious contenders for my absolute-favorite-cookie-ever-in-the-world! The texture is perfect, chewy, with just a little crunch on the edges, but it's the flavor that really makes these. It's unlike any other cookie I've ever tried. The apple cider mix has warm cinnamon and nutmeg spices balanced by the refreshing tartness of the apples, and the Heath Bits are like little golden nuggets for your tastebuds. 

Credit for these cookies goes to The Cooking Photographer via Scrambled Henfruit. I don't think I would have ever though of putting apple cider mix into cookie dough on my own. Their recipes call for stuffing Kraft Caramels into the middle of the cookies. I tried the recipe this way the first time, and it is amazing, there are just 2 problems; 1) I can almost never find those little cubes of goodness in my local grocery store, and 2) it's a lot of work individually stuffing caramels into each cookie, and let's be honest, I'm lazy when it comes to baking. When I made the cookies again, I was going to simply leave out the caramels, when I opened the cupboard and a bag of Heath Bits fell out (see, there are good reasons to overstuff/not organize your cupboards sometimes!). I have to say, I think the cookies are actually better with the Heath Bits than with the caramels. The Heath Bits are evenly distributed throughout the dough instead of just being being in the middle. Plus, as much as I love caramel, I'll still take toffee over caramel every time.