Gingerbread Waffles with Pear Sauce

I have yet to make the pear sauce...next time. The waffles were amazing, even with ordinary maple syrup. I might be making these on a very regular basis.

"These homey waffles add up to an awfully good reason to get up in the morning. The pear sauce is easy and delicious, but for a quick substitute try applesauce, sautéed apples or pears, or maple syrup."

Make about 6 large waffles, to serve 3-6

For the pear sauce:

4 ripe pears, peeled, cored and diced

¼ cup wildflower or other medium-color honey

juice of ½ lemon

For the waffles:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbs baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground dried ginger

1 cup milk

1/3 cup molasses

¼ cup canola oil or corn oil

1 egg

1. Make the sauce: Place the pears, honey, and ¼ cup water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the neat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, or until the fruit is soft. Add the lemon juice and mash with a potato masher. Transfer to a serving bowl.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger in a medium bowl. Add the milk, molasses, oil, and egg, and stir until well combined. Cook in a waffle iron, for about 90 seconds. (The cooking time will vary with your waffle iron and with your preference for doneness.) Serve immediately, with the pear sauce.

Tortilla

Got the recipe from this blog

Flour Tortillas

Adapted from Saveur Cooks Authentic American

I’d always thought I was more of a corn-tortilla girl than a flour one, but this recipe has solidly converted me. Once you get a feel for the dough and settle into the rhythm of rolling and cooking it, you might never want to buy tortillas again.

4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 ¼ tsp salt
6 Tbs vegetable shortening (preferably a non-hydrogenated type, such as Spectrum)

In a small saucepan, bring about 2 cups of water to a boil.

In a large bowl, stir the flour and salt together with a whisk. Mix in the shortening with your fingers until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Stir in enough boiling water (about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups) that the dough holds together; you will want to begin by stirring with a spoon, since the water is scorching hot, but you should finish by working the dough with your hands.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth, 2-5 minutes. Do not overwork it. Form the dough into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

Set a well-seasoned 9" cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Place the ball of dough on a lightly floured surface, and cut it into 6 wedges. Cut each wedge into 3 smaller wedges, for a total of 18 wedges. Use a rolling pin to roll out a wedge into a very thin circle—as thin as you can make it, like a sheet of fabric—roughly 7 ½ to 8 inches in diameter. When the skillet is hot but not smoking, cook the tortilla until slightly puffed, about 20-30 seconds. Flip, then cook for 20-30 seconds more, or until flecked with golden or brown (whichever you prefer) spots. Place on a cooling rack. Repeat the process with the other 17 wedges. Allow each tortilla to cool completely before stacking them.

Freshly made tortillas are soft and perfectly delicious at room temperature, but to reheat them, you can warm them briefly in a low oven. These keep well in the fridge, wrapped in paper towels and sealed in a plastic bag, and they also freeze nicely.

Yield: 18 tortillas