Endive Boats with Pear, Blue Cheese & Shallot Vinaigrette

This is a classic combination and tastes fresh and bright for being wintry in spirit. When I made these for the Parisian Charm School book celebration, I used an Amish blue cheese that tastes milder than many blue cheeses — I can't remember its name, but it's readily available. A number of people who said they typically don't like blue cheese, said they liked this one—in fact, they were surprised it was blue cheese. If you don't like blue cheese, you can use goat cheese or feta or really anything you like. The candied pepitas and dressing can be made days in advance. Store the pepitas in an air-tight container at room temperature; store the dressing in the fridge. The endive and pear should be sliced closer to serving time.

📝 Ingredients

• 2 to 3 heads endive, separated into leaves
• 1 to 2 pears, thinly sliced into matchsticks
• blue cheese, see notes
• candied pepitas
• orange-shallot vinaigrette
• chives, finely minced

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Arrange endive spears on a platter.
2. 2Fill each one with a pinch of the thinly sliced pears.
3. 3Crumble in some blue cheese.
4. 4Spoon over some of the orange-shallot vinaigrette.
5. 5Crumble the candied pepitas over top.
6. 6Garnish with chives.