Home ยป Meatless Monday: Arugula with Roasted Pears and Blue Cheese

Meatless Monday: Arugula with Roasted Pears and Blue Cheese

pearbluecheesearugulasalad1

I have had a sore throat for a week and a half now. It’s kind of ridiculous. Now, I’m thinking I have thrush — I guess I’ll find out for sure when I go to the dentist today. I just can’t figure out what is going on. WebMD is making me slightly neurotic…and feeling like a hypochondriac.

What Mr. Prevention has figured out is that since this sore throat started, I have been snoring like a banshee. On Friday night, I snored him out of the bedroom. Literally. I woke up at 4am to roll over, and I found no Mr. Prevention next to me. He had retreated to our guest bedroom, pillows and all. Poor guy.

pearbluecheesearugulasalad2

On Saturday night, I decided to be a nice wife and give the master bed to Mr. Prevention. It was a small gesture of thanks for putting up with my sickness induced roars. If there’s one thing I know about my husband…it’s to allow him his beauty sleep.

Rather than sleeping in the guest bedroom in the basement, I blew up the air mattress in another room and invited Miss Lily to sleep with me. Generally, her snoring can keep me up but according to Mr. P we were in competition to see who could out snore the other seconds after our heads hit the pillow. I slept well, and judging by how dry my throat was when I got up, I snored plenty all night long. Miss Lily greeted me at 8:06am with a good morning kiss and wanted to cuddle a few minutes. Cuddly  bulldogs are the best…

pearbluecheesearugulasalad3

Last night, I joined Mr. P back in our bedroom — the dog need not get used to sharing a bed. Her Aunt Kristen — my best friend — always shares the air mattress with Lily when she’s in town. Sleeping with people shall continue to be reserved for special occasions and willing visitors only! Lily runs the show, but when it comes to sleep…I have my needs, too!

Speaking of Kristen, she has been emailing recipes ever since she got hooked on Pinterest a few months back. The most recent recipe link was to a Lemon Coconut Cake. Her email read: “This is the definition of our worlds colliding!!! Perhaps it should be made while we’re together….”

Kristen, I agree. Let’s make this salad and then that cake. I know you’ll love this salad as much as I’d love that cake 😉

pearbluecheesearugulasalad4

[print_this]

Arugula with Roasted Pears and Blue Cheese heavily adapted from Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home: Every Day Recipes You’ll Make Over and Over Again via Reservations Not Required

2 ripe Anjou pears
3 Tbsp blue cheese, crumbled
3 Tbsp dried cranberries
3 Tbsp walnut halves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp port
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
5 oz baby arugula

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Peel the pears and slice them lengthwise into halves. With a paring knife remove the core and seeds from each pear, leaving a round well for the filling. Trim a small slice away from the rounded sides of each pear half so that they won’t tip. Arrange the pears in an 8×8-inch baking dish.

In a small bowl, combine the blue cheese, cranberries and walnuts. Distribute the mixture between the 4 pear wells.

In the same small bowl, combine the vinegar, port, and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture over and around the pears. Bake the pears for 12-15 minutes, or until tender. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the vinegar mixture and whisk in the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss the dressing with the arugula and divide salad among 4 plates. Top each plate with a pear half and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

Nutrition Information (per serving): 269 calories; 18.5 g. fat; 5 mg. cholesterol; 205 mg. sodium; 22 g. carbohydrate; 3.0 g. fiber; 3.3 g. protein; 17.0 g. sugar

Result: While the pear was the star of the show, the dressing was sensational, as well. The robust port wine along with the brown sugar and rich olive oil was the perfect addition to the tangy arugula and sweet and creamy pear. Simple to make, too! I like my pears to have a bit of a bite, but you can cook the pears longer if you wish. Enjoy!

[/print_this]

 T’was a good weekend! Back to it!

Be well,

sig4

Share With Your Friends!

8 Comments

  1. Amy B @ Second City Randomness
    March 25, 2013 / 7:05 am

    Awww… I really hope you kick the issue you’re having! The bf currently has a nasty cold. It’s not making my nights at his place peaceful…

  2. The Candid RD
    March 25, 2013 / 7:58 am

    Oh gosh, snoring is my least favorite thing ever! I would have kicked you out too, haha. Whenever Nick snores I give him a nudge and he rolls over and stops. It’s typically that easy…unless he’s had a few drinks, then it never stops.
    Anyway, I hope your throat gets better and you don’t have thrush!! Yuck, not fun.

    Great recipe. I’m starting to love arugula and it’s definitely a great thing to have around for spring and summer (and blue cheese too, of course).

  3. bmk112302
    March 25, 2013 / 10:34 am

    Hope you start feeling better. Thanks for citing me for the recipe! It reminds me I need to make this again soon. I love this recipe, its especially fun for dinner parties!

  4. Dana @ Conscious Kitchen Blog
    March 25, 2013 / 10:51 am

    Yum! This recipe looks delicious. I’m a huge fan of anything with blue cheese and am always looking for new salad ideas. I think this is going to be a staple this summer. Hope your throat feels better soon!

  5. Lizzie
    March 25, 2013 / 10:54 am

    Wow, this looks wondeful! Fancy, but easy ๐Ÿ˜‰

  6. Colleen
    March 25, 2013 / 11:33 am

    I love this idea. Blue cheese makes any salad better, in my opinion. Great meal to start off the week!

  7. Kristen @ Swanky Dietitian
    March 25, 2013 / 10:15 pm

    I hope you get to feeling better soon! I swear it’s going around! I had a sore throat all weekend. It’s the worst!
    This salad looks delicious! It is all my favorite things combined!!

  8. Pingback: Easter | Trying for Baby S.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get my newest recipes
Follow Me