Don't drink and blog

...Or do. But don't say I didn't warn you.

(If you do, you HAVE to try the Sam Adam's winter sampler. The chocolate bock is to die for. I wish it had more than two in the box.... then again, maybe it's a blessing in disguise)

Otherwise you might start giggling uncontrollably at random produce like I did for a while.

But seriously, how freakin' cute is that butternut squash?!? I bought three and can't wait to use them. They're so tiny and cute I could eat them right up.

Anyways the other day J.D. was off from work so I wanted to surprise him with Swedish Pancakes (pannkakor) for breakfast (recipe linked). His family is from Sweden. Mine being from France, we had quite the back-and-forth over the difference between crêpes and Swedish pancakes. Basically, they're the same thing. Personally I find that the French crêpes are a little heartier, while the Swedish 'cakes are thinner due to a runnier batter.

We had quite the Swedish day. I made the pancakes for breakfast with some lingonberry jam we bought at IKEA a few weeks ago. We then had Swedish meatballs (those Swedes are so creative with their dish names, huh?), roasted rosemary potatoes and salad for dinner. But let's get back to breakfast first:

I had two with lingonberry jam, Greek yogurt and chia seeds.

But for the real twist. The next day I had my Swedish pancakes in a French preparation for dessert. In the traditional crêpe dessert style I folded in the sides to make a square, filled it with NUTELLA, berries and of course, French vanilla ice cream. I mean, I like the Swedes and all, but don't mess with the French and their cooking ;)

Speaking of French cuisine.... I attempted a Poire Tarte Tatin this aftenoon (pear tart with homemade pie crust and caramel sauce). It was involved and kind of tricky to master the technique -- ok maybe I'll get it the next time -- but I think it tastes pretty amazing. Pear is one of my favorite flavors. The caramel did harden up quite a bit, so in order to remove the tart from the pie dish, I had to cut it in half and flip it right-side-up.

But trust me, it's worth it! This is sooooo good:

Pear Tarte Tatin

• 2 cans pears
• 2/3 c sugar
• 3/4 stick of butter (room temperature)

*If you prefer to make your own crust instead of using store-bought, follow the recipe at the bottom.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Put sugar and 3 tbsp. water in a pot and let caramelize. (How to caramelize? Let sugar melt into water on a very low flame. Once melted, turn up the flame a bit, don't stir, but tilt the pot and move it around from time to time. Once the syrup has a pale honey color, you can stop, it's caramelized. If you want a darker caramel, just be careful that you don't let it burn.) Add butter to caramel and stir until it melts. Take off heat and pour caramel into a buttered pie dish.

Cut each pear half into three even pieces. Place pears in pie dish, so that they are squeezed tightly together. You want to do this step as quickly as possible, so that the caramel doesn't harden too much. If you want, you can begin slicing pears while you are making the caramel. Just be careful to check caramel, so that it doesn't burn. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes. During this time you can prepare the crust, then roll it out so that it is a drop larger than your pie dish, and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. Even if you are using a pre-made crust, you still want to spread it out to the right size, and then refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Take tatin out of oven, and let pears cool off a bit. Once cooled, place crust on top, tuck the edges into the dish, and bake for 30 minutes or until crust has browned. Remove from oven and let cool. Then, place a serving dish on top of the tarte and carefully flip over, so that the pears are facing up.

Pie Crust Recipe:

• 1 1/3 c flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 stick chilled butter
• 1 T sugar
• Pinch of salt

Mix salt, sugar, and flour. Cut chilled butter into small pieces and mix into flour with finger tips. Stop working batter once it looks like sand. Make a well and pour in eggs. Incorporate into flour using your fingers and a spatula.

Once homogenous, form a ball, place on a floured surface and knead for 10 seconds. Reshape into a ball, roll out with a rolling pin, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.