A Fall Treat - Or Not

This dish is titled Blue Quesadilla with Fresh Pear Salsa

This dish is for pear lovers of whom I am not one.  Pears are deceptive - holding one in your hand, hmmm, the skin is fairly smooth, the heft is noticeable.  The "smooth" skin is a lie and the heft is due to the grit with which a pear has been constructed. 

Nevertheless, let us forge onward.  Shall we begin by making the quesadilla part, done in bulk rather than one on one?  I.e. individual Qs. 

Take four blue corn tortillas, brush with oil and put them oil side down on a cookie sheet.  Cut a Carambazola into half inch dice and put on top of Q's.  Spread pear salsa on top of cheese.  Put the "lid" tortilla on top and brush with oil.  Bake at 500 (whoa, mamma!) for 5 to 7 minutes until the cheese is melted and the top tortilla heading for brown. 

Now about this pear salsa...
2 ripe pears, cored and cut into 1/2 in. cubes.  Put in a biggish bowl - you want room to flail around with a big spoon to mix together:
cubed fresh pears
2 dried pear halves, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint or cilantro or both
1 lime, juice of and grate off some zest and throw that in, too.
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
pinch of crushed hot red pepper flakes.

Mix it all up and serve.  This recipe comes from a group called the Sandpipers who founded themselves back in 1931 as a charitable group to help victims of the Great Depression.  They have flourished and one of their charitable efforts these days is a house tour of their mansions up on The Hill (Palos Verdes.)  All visitors to all of the houses will be greeted by the sight of a basketful of surgical booties next to the front door as foot covering for your low rent shoes.  I find this less than welcoming somehow and only did the tour once with a friend who was dying to see inside their various homes.    In a more raucous mood I might add "Stick your booties in your 'blue corn' tortillas.  Plain white aren't good enough for you?"