Pear Winter Salad with Whipped Goat Cheese

Whipped Goat cheese

4oz log of goat cheese

~3oz of cream cheese, best at room temp for whipping (a brick is 8oz, I used a little less than half the brick)

1 tsp honey

Pinch of salt

Salad

Frissee salad leaves, or any other kind of fun colorful artisanal salad leaves (about 1 small container)

2 Barnett pears (or whatever pears they have), thinly sliced 

1/4 cup pecans (if they are raw pecans, make sure to toast them! and not burn them lolool)

1 thinly sliced shallot (to get these thinly sliced, cut shallot lengthwise and turn shallot cut side down to get more balance while cutting)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup olive oil

~2tsp white wine vinegar

1tsp honey

Salt and pepper

Other additions to salad to maybe add

Dried cranberries

Really crispy bacon bits

1. Make whipped goat cheese. In a food processor or any kind of blender, add all ingredients into the blender. Whip until light and fluffy and completely incorporated. If it keeps getting stuck, I added about 1 tbsp of water to get the ingredients incorporated. You can make this ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator overnight. If you do this, make sure you give a big stir of it before you plate. 

2. Make cinnamon pears. In a bowl, combine 1 tbsp on olive oil, 1 tsp of cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Depending on the size of your pears, use more or less cinnamon to your liking. The cinnamon should cover the pears generously. Heat up skillet, add a touch of oil and cook the pears till golden brown and pears are cooked through. Set aside and let cool down.

3. If you are including the bacon bits, cook the bacon in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 min depending on the oven, and then roughly chop up strips afterwards. TIP: you NEED crispy bacon bits. If you are making these in a skillet, you need to cook

3. Make white wine vinegar salad dressing. Since the whipped goat cheese also serves as a "dressing" this white wine vinegar dressing should be very lightly dressed on the leaves. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil, 2 tbsps white wine vinegar, a squeeze of honey (probably around 2 tsp), and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk together to incorporate and pour little by little over salad leaves till you just coat the leaves lightly. 

4. On a large plate, smear goat cheese whip underneath, top with leaves all nice and fluffy, add nuts, shallots and optional cranberries and bacon, and top with the pears!

Enjoy!