KITCHEN ADVENTURES: PEAR AND BRIE. Before we get to the adventures, a quick beer review: I’m sipping a Lagunitas “Little Sumpin’ Extra” ale, and the overwhelming smell and flavor is of… walnut husks. Green walnut husks. I am unconvinced that this will become a regular beer for me.

Anyway, some sandwiches! Basically, I did a bunch of variations on one basic toasted cheese sandwich containing pear, Brie, balsamic vinegar, and some form of sweet onion. The basic procedure was to set the oven to 375, halve a small ciabatta roll, fill the role with sliced pear, onion, and cheese, wrap the roll in aluminum foil and bake for 15 mins.

The variations: #1–I sauteed the onion slices in butter to caramelize them, then drizzled the pear and onions with balsamic.

#2–I roasted the onion slices in balsamic before making the sandwich.

#3–I didn’t pre-cook the onions in any way, but sliced them thinly, drizzled with balsamic, and topped the brie with a bit of cayenne.

I liked the third variation the best (and it’s also the easiest and quickest), but in fact they were all good. I think the flavors didn’t quite meld in the first variation, but I’m not sure why. I feel like one more ingredient would make this sandwich perfect–even the third variation had a tad bit too much roll proportional to filling. I wonder if sliced apples would work? Sorrel leaves?? Or just an extra layer of pear….