Blue Cheese Toasts, Spiced Pears and PX honey dressing

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About the Recipe

One of the heroes on the night was the PX Sherry. (from Finnian Sweeney, 6 Finglas Road Dublin 11, )This is Pedro Ximinez Cardenal Cisneros, and I’m in love with it. It’s like Christmas in a glass, or Copita to be exact. Christmas in a Copita, someone should write the book!

Anyway, in this recipe I use the delicious PX whisked with Wild Irish Honey. It’s so delicious I used it later as a drizzle over the Slow Roast Pork Belly.

The Blue Cheese to use is Cashel Blue

PX Honey Dressing

Just mix equal amounts of PX and good runny honey together to make this taste from heaven! (who said I was prone to hyperbole!)

Spiced Pears

Ingredients

• 150ml cider vinegar
• 100ml sherry
• 259g caster sugar
• 3 cloves
• 1/ 2 teasp ground coriander
• 1/ 2 teasp ground allspice
• Zest and juice of one orange
• 4 pears

Method

Put all the spicing ingredients into a pot and dissolve the sugar over a low heat. Add the pears and bring to the boil, then reduce heat and cook until the pears are almost tender. Remove the pears from the heat and allow them to cool in the liquid.

Use the best of crusty bread and slice. Toast the slices on one side. Rub the other side with garlic and spread a little butter on. Then crumble on some of the blue cheese and put under a grill, just to warm it.

Divide the toasts among four serving plates. You can slice up the pears or serve whole. Add some watercress and some toasted spiced walnuts.

Drizzle over with the delicious dressing. Great as a starter or lunch.