Caramelized Pears with Blue Cheese and Ginger Gastrique

Ingredients

• 2 ounces cheese blue crumbled
• 2  bosc pears cored peeled cut into 4 wedges
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar 
• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 0.3 cup champagne vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon ginger fresh minced
• 0.5 teaspoon thyme leaves fresh chopped
• 0.5 cup granulated sugar 
• 0.5 teaspoon juice of lemon fresh
• 1 Dash cracked pepper black
• 0.3 teaspoon salt 
• 0.5 cup water 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• sauce pan
• sieve

Directions

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan over high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 8 minutes), stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves.
2. Drain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, reserving cooking liquid; discard solids. Cool.
3. Melt brown sugar and butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook 2 minutes. Stir in chopped thyme, juice, and salt.
4. Add pears, cut-side down, to pan. Reduce heat to low; cook 2 minutes or until tender, turning once.
5. Arrange 2 pear wedges on each of 4 plates; drizzle pears evenly with pan juices.
6. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over each serving; top each serving with 2 tablespoons reserved cooking liquid.
7. Sprinkle with black pepper.
8. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.