Gorgonzola Pears And Walnuts On Baguette Recipes

GORGONZOLA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Arrange the baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush the top of each one with olive oil or melted butter. Place a slice of pear onto each piece of bread, then crumble some of the cheese over the top. Sprinkle with walnuts.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the pears are browned and the cheese has started to melt.

WALNUT-GORGONZOLA BAGUETTES

Steps:

• In large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the yeast. Add warm water. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; let stand about 1 hour or until bubbly.
• Stir in salt and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. On lightly floured surface, knead dough 5 to 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy (dough will be soft). Grease large bowl with shortening or cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Sprinkle walnuts and cheese over dough. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap; let rise in warm place 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until double in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
• Grease large cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray. On lightly floured surface, knead dough until nuts and cheese are worked into dough. Sprinkle top of dough with flour. Divide dough in half. Gently shape each half into a narrow loaf, about 12 inches long. Place about 4 inches apart on cookie sheet. Using spray bottle with fine mist, spray loaves with cool water. Let rise uncovered in warm place about 1 hour or until double in size.
• Place 8-inch or 9-inch square pan on bottom rack in oven; add hot water to pan until about 1/2 inch from top of pan. Heat oven to 425°F.
• Carefully cut 1/4-inch-deep slashes diagonally across loaves at 2-inch intervals with sharp serrated knife. Spray tops of loaves with cool water. Place loaves in oven and spray again.
• Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until loaves are deep golden with crisp crust and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

GORGONZOLA AND PEAR AGNOLOTTI WITH SAGE & WALNUT BROWN BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Add the flour and eggs to the bowl of a food processor. Blend for 30 seconds until the mixture is sandy but holds together when pressed between your fingers. Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface. It will be crumbly, but once you start kneading, it will all come together. Gather the dough and begin to knead with the heel of your hand until it's supple and shiny, 1 to 2 minutes. If the dough feels too dry and not springy enough, add a touch of water and continue to knead until it reaches the right consistency. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Add the pink peppercorns to a small saute pan over medium heat. Toast the peppercorns until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer into a spice grinder and blend. Set aside.
• Heat a large, high-sided saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and the pear and saute, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer the sauteed pear to a small sheet tray to cool.
• Add the garlic and stick of butter into the same pan and gently melt over medium heat. Add the walnuts and sage. Cook the butter, swirling occasionally, until the milk solids have separated, and the butter is nutty and browned, but not burned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the apple cider vinegar, then remove the garlic and discard.
• Stir together the mascarpone and Gorgonzola dolce in a large bowl, beating well with a rubber spatula until fully combined. Add the cooled sauteed pears and 1/4 teaspoon of the toasted pink peppercorns and gently stir to combine. Season to taste with salt. Set up a pastry bag with a large round tip. Fill the bag with the mascarpone and Gorgonzola filling, then set aside.
• To roll out the pasta, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time (keeping the others covered with plastic wrap so they don't dry out), flatten the dough with your palm. Feed the dough through your pasta roller on the widest setting. Fold the dough on either end to create an envelope, then feed through the pasta roller a second time. Fold the dough into an envelope again, decrease the pasta roller setting to make it thinner and run the dough through again. Repeat this process of folding and running through the pasta roller two times before decreasing the thickness of the roller, finishing with the thinnest setting.
• Lay the sheets of pasta on a parchment paper-lined sheet tray and cover with a damp towel while you repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
• To fill and shape the agnolotti, lay a pasta sheet on a floured board with one of the long edges closest to you. Brush the edge closest to you with water. Pipe a line of filling down the center of the dough. Fold over the top portion of the dough to meet the edge that's been brushed with water. Pinch the dough on either side of each mound of filling to seal the dough and to ensure there are no air pockets. Using a fluted pasta wheel, trim the edge of the dough where it's folded to create a clean edge. Pinch the line of filling into 1-inch mounds. Cut between each mound of filling and pinch the sides. Transfer the agnolotti to a sheet tray dusted with flour and repeat with the remaining dough sheets and filling.
• Set up a large pot of boiling water and season generously with kosher salt. Add the agnolotti and cook for 2 to 3 minutes; they will cook quickly.
• Transfer the agnolotti directly into the brown butter sage sauce and toss gently to ensure they're fully covered. To serve, plate and garnish with more ground pink peppercorns, Parmigiano-Reggiano and pecorino.

GORGONZOLA, PEARS AND WALNUTS ON BAGUETTE

Steps:

• Cut each baguette in half lengthwise and then in half widthwise (you will now have 4 top and 4 bottom slices). Distribute pear slices evenly over the 4 bottom slices of bread. Crumble walnut pieces evenly over the pears. Crumble gorgonzola evenly over the pear-walnut combination. Place top half of bread on each of the bottom halves. Wrap in foil and place in 350°F. oven for 3-5 minutes or until cheese melts.

GRILLED PEARS WITH GORGONZOLA, WALNUTS & VINAIGRETTE SALAD

Steps:

• Clean and oil your grill grate. Turn on and heat to medium high heat.
• Cut pears in half and scoop out the cores. Slice a piece off the skin side so it will lay flat without rolling. Brush with a light oil (see Recipe #369334). Place pears cut-side down on the grill. Cover and cook until heated through and nice grill marks appear, about 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, toast walnuts in small pan over medium heat on stovetop until toasted, about 5 minutes. Pour walnuts in small bowl and while still warm add gargonzola and mix so cheese melts. Add honey. Stir lightly to incorporate.
• Toss arugula or other greens very lightly with vinaigrette. Divide onto four plates.
• When pears are nicely grilled on cut side turn over and divide gorgonzola mixture among pears. Grill for a couple minutes more. Remove pears and place ½ pear on each of the four plates. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Serve warm.