Cheeky's Pear Pie, Dinners for Two, and Sensibility

Today was crazy jam-packed.  I feel like I say that, or at the very least think that, every day.  I think the pace I am keeping is catching up with me because my back is KILLING me.  My lower back in particular which I quite fabulously broke in gymnastics about a million years ago.  So, I decided I would finally be a grown-up, accept my lot in life, and *gasp* buy decent flats.  I reluctantly hauled myself to DSW, aka my one true home, turned my throbbing back on the stilettos which were crying out my name, and wandered up and down rows and rows of "sensible" shoes.  UGH.  It almost killed me.   I managed to get out of there with 4 pairs of shoes with a combined heel height of zero.  The experience was only redeemed when I approached the cashier with my expired rewards points and managed to convince her that I am in fact a very good customer and maybe just this once could they accept them?  She says, "You must be a good customer to have that much in reward certificates and wait...  You have an Elite Card?  We don't even issue those without a yearly sale total of REDACTED."  In other news, once I figure out how, you can find a gallery-worthy assortment of size 9 stilettos on eBay.  They all come with my own tears and love notes written to the shoes in the box.

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You know what will dull my separation anxiety?  Cheeky's Pear Pie.  My friend D ((I'm using initials for people so they aren't google-able to this corner of weirdness)) has a little boy who fell in love with a pear cobbler I brought to their house.  He kept asking if he could have more pear pie and his nickname is Cheeky, sooooo, Cheeky's Pear Pie was born.  

Double Pear Pie

What you need for just one pie:

2 to 2 1/2 cups sliced fresh pears

2 cups sugar, divided

2 ounces butter

3/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 325.  Take a square baking dish and put 2 ounces of butter in it.  Stick it in the oven and let it melt.  

Dice up the pears ((you don't need to peel them)) and place them in a small bowl with 1 cup of sugar.

I used fancy pears because I am fancy.

Mix together the dry ingredients, including the additional cup of sugar.  

Whisk together the milk and the egg and then slowly add them to the dry ingredient mixture to make a batter.  Don't over-mix.  

Battery

By now, the butter should be melted in the oven.  Take the pan from the oven and pour the batter on top of the melted butter.  DO NOT STIR.  Seriously, leave it alone.  I know it looks weird.  It's fine.

Don't stir me!

Pour the pears with the sugar on top and again, pay attention, DO NOT STIR.  It will look like this:

Unstirred and unshaken

Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes or until the top is golden brown.  I swear to God, it turns out looking like picture number one.  The crust on this is absolutely glorious.  Serve with ice cream, preferably cinnamon ice cream if you know what's good.  

Serves probably 6 or 4 and one Cheeky.

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Tonight I delivered a Mexican dinner for two, but it turns out that Person #2 was being ordained to officiate at a wedding or something really confusing like that, so I was invited to stay to eat.   It turned out really well...  Sopapilla cheesecake is my new drug of choice.  If you are nice, I might post the recipe tomorrow.  I recommend being nice.