I am NOT the first person to adore the combination of pears, blue cheese and nuts. I know that enjoying this melange means that I have impeccable taste. I've had it on salad, on bruschetta... so I'm actually surprised that I had not yet had it on a dessert myself until now.

But why not? The second place pie at the Urban Apple Festival had a bleu cheese crumb topping, and it was delectable. And after making no fewer than three apple pies in the last 20 days, I was on a pastry-rolling streak - the perfect time to attempt a new crust. After crimping and trimming crusts to fit in the enormous deep-dish pie plate I bought, it was refreshing to work on a free-form tart - just fold the darn edges up, brush with an egg wash and sprinkle on the turbinado sugar. And most amazingly of all, I followed the original recipe all the way through...because it didn't need anything else!

I daresay that Eric, a photography friend of Matthew's, has given me a great picture of this tart. In the interest of full disclosure, I found the recipe reprinted in Tastes of Italia magazine, the original food pornography for Italian food lovers.

Pear Crostata with Honey, Bleu Cheese and Almonds
Adapted from Tyler Florence on FoodNetwork.com

For the pears
4-5 pears, halved and cored (do not peel)
3-4 tablespoons butter
Fun tip: I tried using a melon baller to core the pears - and it's brilliant!

For the pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest of one lemon
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons ice water, plus more as needed

For the tart
3 tablespoons honey
4 ounces good quality bleu cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 egg, beaten with a drizzle of cold water
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the pears, cut side up, on a baking sheet and dot with butter in the core well. Bake 25-30 minutes, until pears are just tender. Let cool, then slice.

While the pears are in the oven, pulse together flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter chunks and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, then pulse in the egg. Add the water and pulse until moist clumps form. Depending on the humidity where you are, you might need to add an additional teaspoon or two of ice water. Spread a rectangle of plastic wrap on your counter and dump your clumps* there. Gather it into a ball, then flatten the ball into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees.  Sprinkle the counter with flour and roll the dough to a rough 14" round. Transfer to the back of a lightly floured cookie sheet, or, in my case, to a well-seasoned baking stone. Arrange the sliced pears in a spiral pattern, leaving a two-inch border. Drizzle with honey, scatter the bleu cheese (don't miss any bites!) and sprinkle liberally with almonds.

Brush the border with the beaten egg, then fold the edges up to create a rustic crust. Brush the outside with egg and sprinkle on the turbinado sugar. Bake for 30 minutes on a baking sheet, or closer to 40 on a stone. When finished baking, slide a long knife under the tart to loosen it from the pan.* Serve warm or at room temperature, but eat it quick - this tart doesn't keep well.

*My tart suffered a near-fatal wound on its way to serving platter, caused by bad aim in my attempt to slide it from the stone to a plate. Were it not for Eric's ER skills and Matthew's art restoration background, we would have eaten this tart off the counter. Fortunately, they were able to resuscitate the tart, and it didn't show a scar. Must be the med school training. My advice to you is, after one of my favorite non-food sites, BE YE NOT SO STUPID.