The Time is Ripe for Pears: Miami

On our all-too-short tour stop in sunny Miami, we enjoyed friendly people, lots of great food, and of course, the sunshine! We dropped in at the Whole Foods Market in Coral Gables to sample ripe Bartlett, Starkrimson, and Bosc pears. Watch this fun video to see what our fans had to say about our pears: In the evening, we went to Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink in the design district for a decadent spread: four courses of pear desserts! We were on a sugar high for hours. And it wasn’t an ordinary sugar kick – we were treated to dishes by renowned pastry chef Hedy Goldsmith, a fellow pear fanatic. Watch this video to learn how she uses pears in her dishes:   Hedy also shared the recipe for her Pear Panini with Membrillo and Manchego. Inspired by Spain, this Continue reading

The Time is Ripe for Pears: Atlanta

We headed down South last week to visit Atlanta, home of the CNN Center, the world’s largest aquarium (!), and TONS of streets named “Peachtree.” Unfortunately, we didn’t find a single Peartree Street, but we met lots of welcoming and friendly pear fans! Watch this video to see how much Atlanta Kroger shoppers loved our pear-fectly ripe Bartlett, Starkrimson, and Bosc pears! We also enjoyed a delicious meal at Ecco Restaurant, where Chef Craig Richards told us what he finds most interesting about pears. You’ll have to watch this clip to find out! Chef Richards also shared his recipe for Pear and Buffalo Mozzarella Ravioli. Click here to see the entire recipe—believe me, you won’t want to overlook this! (Thanks to Broderick of Savory Exposure for the ravioli photo!) To top off an excellent tour stop, we had lunch at Continue reading

Balsamic-Glazed Pear and Goat Cheese Crostini

Last weekend, I attended the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference. This is always one of my favorite shows – not only is it held in sunny, friendly Monterey, California, but the show floor is filled with tasty treats, from tomato tarts to berry smoothies. Conference attendees share new trends and updates, such as the recent news that McDonald’s is adding fruit and veggies to Happy Meals. This year, we participated in the conference’s inaugural recipe contest. Although we didn’t win the grand prize, our visitors loved the sweet-and-savory combination of our appetizer. Try the recipe at home – it’s a simple way to impress your guests! Balsamic-Glazed Pear and Goat Cheese Crostini Ingredients 2 USA Pears 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon butter 1 teaspoon honey 24 baguette rounds, toasted ½ cup spreadable goat cheese ½ cup slivered almonds, toasted* Continue reading

Savvy & Peras USA hit Mexico City

Back in December, I posted a video about our upcoming promotion with The Wannabes Starring Savvy.  Shoppers in Mexico can find USA Pear and Savvy displays in grocery stores, as well as participate in contests to win prizes. Savvy just wrapped up a visit to Mexico City and two concerts sponsored by USA Pears.  Audiences were treated to awesome performances, a meet and greet with the band, the chance to win Savvy posters and t-shirts, and gift bags full of USA Pear goodies! Since not all of us were lucky enough to be there in person, here’s a look at the fun! Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn

Pear Excellence

This Tuesday, the five regional finalists of our Canadian culinary student contest competed for the national grand prize – the Pear Excellence title and $5,000. The kitchen heated up as the finalists chopped, sautéed, peeled, roasted, and battered USA Pears and other ingredients to present their dishes before a panel of 8 esteemed culinary judges. The judges praised all the contestants, calling Melissa Drutz’s Pear and Potato Nests “innovative” and Amy Bonchuk’s Sauteed Amaretto Pears with Cheddar Bothwell Cookies “outside the box” and a great cheese pairing. In the end, the judges named Martha MacDonald the grand prize winner for her Savory Pear Appetizer plate, which included pear cranberry fennel coulis and pork, local blue cheese, and fried sage leaves in a roasted Green Anjou pear. Greg MacIver of LaSalle College won the People’s Choice award for his Pear Crab Continue reading

Powered by Pears

Last weekend, Ray Crittenden, Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager at the Pear Bureau, participated in the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k with his son, Matthew. The race, which is held in Richmond, Virginia, is one of the biggest road races in the country! Ray and Matthew not only finished the race in good time, but walked an extra three miles to and from their car, racking up NINE miles of walking on Saturday! Nice work, guys! Just goes to show what you can do when you’re powered by pears… Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn

Pears and Cheese

March seems to be the unofficial month of cheese. And as you know, pears and cheese happen to go together like peanut butter and jelly, like milk and Oreos, like…well, you get the picture. We’ve been at three events in the month of March alone, sampling fresh pears along with a variety of Oregon cheeses. The Portland Boys and Girls Club held their annual Showcase of Wine and Cheese early this month, where we sliced succulent Taylor’s Gold pears, crisp Bosc pears, and juicy Anjous. Mid-month, we traveled down to Willamette Valley Vineyards to slice up pears at their Wine, Pear & Cheese Jubilee, and last weekend, we went way down south to the famed Rogue Creamery for the Oregon Cheese Festival. People had a great time sampling pears (the state fruit!) along with a variety of crumbly, creamy, rich Continue reading

National Chocolate Cake Day

It’s National Chocolate Cake Day! What are you waiting for?! If you haven’t yet celebrated, don’t worry. I’ve dug up three delectable chocolate cakes that just so happen to include the lovely, complementary, ever-so-sweet pear. Get to baking! First up, Smitten Kitchen’s rustic Bittersweet Chocolate and Pear Cake. You know you want to dig into that. Next, we have an Upside-Down Pear Chocolate Cake from the cookbook Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More. (This cookbook is delightful—we gave away a copy last year in an e-newsletter contest!) And behind door number three, the symmetrical, gluten-free Flourless Chocolate and Pear Cake at BBC Good Food. The measurements are metric, since it’s a British recipe, but you can find some help with that online. So, celebrate! Today you can have your cake and eat it, too! Facebook Twitter Google+ Continue reading

Pears in the White House

President and First Lady Obama held their third state dinner this week, hosting Hu Jintao, President of China. They pulled out all the stops—Michelle worked with event planners to schedule some of the nation’s best jazz musicians to entertain, and decorators decked out the Blue and Red Rooms with a custom motif. Most impressively, Michelle knows how to plan a seasonal, carefully sourced menu. Their first course: “D’Anjou Pear Salad with Farmstead Goat Cheese, Fennel, Black Walnuts, and White Balsamic.” I was happy the White House chose to kick things off with a pear salad, of course, and what a salad it is! Anjou (or D’Anjou) pears are in season through the spring, and they’re a great complement to any winter salad. Available in green or red, the pears are sweet, yet firm, with a hint of citrus flavor. If Continue reading

National Hot Tea Month

That’s right—January is National Hot Tea Month! And there couldn’t be a more fitting time. It’s warmed up a bit here recently, but I’m still drinking cups of hot tea at my desk all day just to stay warm. If you like to get a bit more creative in the kitchen, check out the following recipes for inspiration. Back in August, we put five food bloggers to the test. Their task? To pair USA Pears with Tazo tea in an original (and tasty!) recipe. Here are the results: Pears in Sweet Tea Syrup by Coconut & Lime OK, so this isn’t technically “hot” tea, but you get the idea. As Rachel of Coconut & Lime says, “[This is] the quintessential summer drink.” File this one away for summer, I say! Cinnamon Pear Dumplings with Ginger Tea Syrup by Eat, Live, Continue reading