Pear & Brie Toasts with Honey Balsamic Drizzle

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A recipe for Pear & Brie Toasts with a simple honey balsamic drizzle. Perfect for a fall or winter pot luck.

As the cooler temperatures start to take their toll a simple bowl of chips and guac is not cutting it anymore as an appetizer amongst our group of friends. We are all craving something warm and comforting, but we also don’t want something super heavy such as meatballs or cheese dip. We just aren’t there yet.

In our house we are still holding out on turning on the heat, and most weekends are still spent outside, albeit on house projects as opposed to camping of hiking as I would like. While we aren’t jumping in pools anymore we are not ready to give up our outdoor time to the impending northeast winter. It’s still fall and we plan on living it up regardless of how cold it might be when we get up in the morning.

That’s what’s nice about these little toasts. The warm crunchy bread is covered in buttery, melty cheese and topped with a single slice of fresh cool pear, and a nice balsamic honey drizzle to add some sweetness. Now that is balance people. You’ve got a little bit of everything there to please everyone as well as give a nice little nod to the season’s flavors. This is an appetizer that would be great to serve throughout fall and winter since pears tend to be in season well into the cool months.

Pear & Brie Toasts with Honey Balsamic Drizzle

Author: JC

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 12 mins

Total time: 22 mins

Serves: 10 Servings

Ingredients

1 baguette, sliced at an angle
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 large triangle of brie cheese, rind removed & sliced to fit the toast
3 teaspoons honey
3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 large pear, sliced
Baby arugula for garnish (opitional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the oil and thyme in a small bowl. Lay the baguette slices on a sheet tray and brush with the oil mixture.
Place in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until the bread begins to turn golden. Add a slice of cheese to each toast and return to the oven for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese just begins to melt. Remove from heat and move to a serving tray.
Meanwhile combine honey, and balsamic vinegar until well blended.
Place a pear slice on each toast and drizzle with honey balsamic mixture, garnish and serve.

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Remembering my Wedding

By Jessica

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I don’t have pictures yet, but the day that Chuck and I got married is very special to me and there are a number of things that I do not want to forget. I have a lot of thoughts, and not a lot of ability to make them cohesive right now so this is just going to be a bulleted list.

I cried the day before and leading up to it, but was somehow able to hold it together during the actual ceremony. My mind seemed to run through thoughts quickly but also move so slow.
I helped the girls finalize their flowers, I just loved that I got to do this, since I originally wanted to do all the flowers myself. It’s funny how things work out.
I loved my make up & Hair from Brittany at Saratoga Debut. It was totally weird feeling since I’m not one to really wear make up, but I really loved the way I looked.
Waiting to come up stairs was the worst; I had that whole butterflies in the stomach feeling, and I kept crying. (thank god for fake eyelashes)
I don’t remember walking down the isle. Not one single thing from the time I saw Chuck’s face until when I kissed my dad on the cheek is remembered.
I couldn’t get the right words out for part of it. We were supposed to say we will for parts, but all I could manage was yes. I don’t know why this was but it got the point across.
Chuck kept smiling at me, at our minister Snake. It was that smile that made me fall in love and I kept thinking that.
Snake was the most serious I have ever seen him. He did great.
Chuck wouldn’t turn his hand so I could put the ring on. The only snaffoo (spell?) of the entire day. I’ll take it.
Our first kiss was perfect.
My Maid of Honor’s speech made me cry, and Shecky’s speech made me cry of laughter…poor Chuck.
My brother smiled more than I think I have ever seen him smile and my sister danced for the whole entire night! I was so happy that my siblings had a good time. As the only kids I was afriad they would be bored.
I saw family members cut loose like never before. I mean seriously my step can dance!!
I felt so much love I can’t even describe it. The whole place was just gushing with the stuff.
Planning may have been a struggle, but it was well worth it. I loved every minute of it. I’m even a little glad Chuck talked me into the whole big wedding thing. It was an experience I will never forget.
Getting back to the hotel room and taking a shower was the best feeling ever.
Realizing Chuck was asleep mid sentence was adorable.
Ordering room service for breakfast while thumbing through our cards was awesome.
Being called by new last name is crazy.

Meal Plan 10.4.15

By Jessica

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This is a meal plan based on the real recipes that I cook at home during the week. We are settling back into normalcy now that the wedding is over, and tackling numerous house projects that we want to get done before winter. This week’s plan takes full advantage of fall harvests that are coming in all around us right now. I hope you are enjoying it as much as we are!

Monday – Late Summer Vegetable Beef Stew

Tuesday – Orecchetti with Bacon Clams & Kale

Wednesday – Crock Pot Roast Chicken with Braised Cabbage and Carrots

Thursday – Apple Pork Chops with rice & Steamed Broccoli

Friday – Detox Chicken Soup w/ Leftover Chicken

Our Honeymoon in Wine Country, NY

By Jessica

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I’ve been a married lady all of about 2 weeks now. The whole idea of being married is still settling in on me. Wedding pictures are forthcoming I promise, but today I want to talk about the honeymoon.

We stayed at the Savanna House on Seneca lake, in the honeymoon sweet. It was absolutely delightful. The whole thing was the size of a small apartment decorated in the shabby chic style that really reminds me of NY, Finger Lakes style. When we entered the room there were lavender scented candles alight, and tranquil music playing. It was absolutely perfect! What’s better is that the masseuse arrived about 2 minutes after we did, starting this honeymoon off right. We ended the night pretty early with a bottle of cider that was a wedding gift, cheese crackers and veggies that I had brought for snacks throughout the week.

After a hearty breakfast at a local diner we ventured to Pulteney Square and then did the Keuka Lake Wine tour. We finished off the day by ordering an obscene amount of Chinese food and a nice long bath.

In case you are wondering these are the wineries we visited: Bully Hill, Keuka Vineyards, Heron Hill, Dr. Frank’s Wine Cellars, Deep Root, & Yates Cellars.

The next day we ventured to Watkins Glen for breakfast at Glen Mountain Bakery and a short hike that deserves its own post (coming soon).

Lunch was burgers at the Village Marina. Which put us into a food coma enough to take a nap. Since most winerys close at 6 and we woke up at 5:30 we decided to hang out in our sweet, read and find a nice place for dinner. We decided on Nonna’s Trattoria in Geneva. It was classic Italian food, that was delicious, another food coma ensued.

The following day we chose a few wineries along Seneca Lake, and Cayuga Lake to hit as we made our way back to pick the Brody Monster.

The wineries that we visited on this part of the trip included: HJ Wiemer Winery, Pompous Ass Winery, Red Newt, Wagner Winery, Lamoreaux Landing, and Sheldrake Point.

With puppy in tow we finally made it back to our favorite camping spot for a few days to finalize the week.

I couldn’t ask for a more perfect honeymoon. I think Chuck enjoyed it as well. It was simple, easy, and perfectly romantic, as well as very us. We also ended up coming home with about 2 cases of wine, so I think we did alright.

If your interetested to see what else NY wine country has to offer check out my Wine Country Bucket List.

Recently

By Jessica

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Well I don’t think that for once I actually need to say what a whirl wind this month was. I think you guys got the jist of it lately, but I’m going to give you a run down of all the awesome events that transpired in September.

It started off busy with wedding preparation and planning.

We did make time on labor day to go canoeing and enjoy a little relaxing time together.

The following weekend we celebrated a friends 30th birthday with a huge surprise party that was a ton of fun!

Then is was the week of the big day. There was a lot of last minute preparation happening, followed by partying…obviously.

The honeymoon immediately followed, don’t worry a recap is forthcoming.

My September was pretty darn great, how was yours?

Pear & Brie Toasts with Honey Balsamic Drizzle

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