Pear Pandowdy — Something Sweet to End a Sunday Like This

October 2022. Fall in Memphis, and I am 63, walking the neighborhood in my light jacket, watching the leaves turn on the oaks and maples that line Deadrick Avenue. The smoker is happy in fall — the cooler air holds the smoke lower, keeps it closer to the meat, and the results are always a shade better in October than in July, as if the season itself is a seasoning.

Walter Jr. came by with the grandchildren, bringing the noise and energy that grandchildren bring, the house expanding to hold them the way a good pot expands to hold a good stew. Trey at the smoker, learning, absorbing, his hands getting steadier each visit, the fire recognizing him the way fire recognizes those who are meant to tend it.

Smoked turkey wings this week — big, meaty, brined and rubbed and smoked at 275 for three hours until the skin crackled and the meat pulled clean. Turkey wings are the working class of BBQ: cheap, underrated, and transformed by smoke into something extraordinary. Uncle Clyde served them on Fridays at his stand, and I serve them on Saturdays in my backyard, and the tradition bridges the gap between then and now.

Sunday at Mt. Zion, the choir sang and I sat in my pew and let the music hold me. The bass notes I used to add are quieter now — my voice is aging, the way everything ages — but the listening is its own participation, and the church holds me the way the church has held this community for a hundred years: faithfully, unconditionally, with room for everyone who shows up. I show up. That is enough.

After Trey’s last bite of turkey wing and the grandchildren’s noise finally settled into that good, full quiet, I wanted to put something on the table that felt like the day — unhurried, honest, made without pretense. Sweet potato pie is what my mother would have pulled from the oven on a Sunday like this, but I had pears on the counter going soft and a memory of my grandmother making pandowdy in a cast iron pan, pressing the crust down into the bubbling fruit the way she pressed everything important: firmly, without drama, with love. That was enough reason.

Pear Pandowdy

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 6 medium ripe pears, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• For the dough:
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup ice water
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream or whole milk, for brushing
• 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar, for finishing

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly butter a 10-inch cast iron skillet or a 2-quart baking dish and set aside.
2. Make the filling. In a large bowl, toss the sliced pears with the brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, lemon juice, and vanilla until evenly coated. Pour the filling into the prepared skillet and dot the top with the small pieces of butter.
3. Make the dough. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter cubes and work them in with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time, stirring gently, until the dough just comes together. Do not overwork it.
4. Top the filling. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to roughly the size of your skillet — it does not need to be perfect; a rustic, uneven shape is part of the pandowdy’s character. Lay the dough over the pears, tucking the edges loosely down around the fruit.
5. Bake the first round. Brush the dough with heavy cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for 25 minutes, until the crust begins to turn golden.
6. Dowdy the crust. Remove the skillet from the oven. Using the back of a large spoon, press and break the crust down into the fruit filling in several places — this is the defining step of a pandowdy, pushing the pastry into the juices so it absorbs and caramelizes. Return to the oven and bake an additional 18 to 20 minutes, until the crust is deep golden and the fruit is bubbling and tender.
7. Rest and serve. Let the pandowdy cool for at least 10 minutes before spooning into bowls. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream or a pour of cold heavy cream if you like.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 45g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 160mg