Pears and Apples in Hot Buttered Rum Sauce

On this night I was preparing orange chicken (yes, out of a bag…the Trader Joe’s kind that my daughter loves) and I wanted to add a side dish to it.  She dosen’t eat the jasmine rice I serve with it so I was thinking it needed to be a side dish that we could both enjoy…something slightly savory for me and slightly sweet for her.

Of course, I hadn’t been to the grocery store so I looked to see what was available in my much less than amply stocked refrigerator.

Various pears and apples; Butter; Rum?  I thought about it for a minute…..Perfect!

My mom used to cook apples on the stove top all the time, usually as a side for a breakfast meal of ham, rice, and biscuits.  It added the perfect sweetness to the meal (in addition to the jam or syrup we put on the biscuits!).

With Mom being on the East coast, the time difference was not in my favor for getting her sage advice on how to put this thing together.  I decided to wing it.

Much to everyone’s dining satisfaction, this is the recipe I came up with.

Pears and Apples in Hot Buttered Rum Sauce

Two large Asian pears

One Bartlett pear

One gala apple

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 Tbsp brown sugar

About 4 oz clear or spiced rum

1. Peel, core, and slice the pears and apple.
2. In a hot skillet, melt the butter.  Add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar is melted.
3. Add the pears and apples to the butter/sugar mixture, stirring to cover the fruit with the butter and sugar.  Let the fruit saute for a few minutes.
4. After the fruit has cooked for about 3-4 minutes, slowly add the rum while stirring.
5. Let the fruit cook with the rum for another 3-4 minutes or until the most firm slices are tender (but not too soft!).
6. Serve hot!