We got 3 lbs of pears this week! If you're wondering what to do with them, may I suggest the following recipe, adapted from Pam Anderson's USA Weekend column recipe.

1 tablespoon butter per pear

1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar per pear

however many pears you want, halved and cored (and peeled, if you want). 1 pear per person.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the butter in a baking pan large enough to hold the pears in a single layer, but small enough to hold them relatively tightly, and put the pan in the oven to melt the butter. Be sure to choose a relatively deep pan (mine was 1 to 1.5 inches deep).

Sprinkle the sugar over the melted butter. (Don't freak about how much sugar you're using because there will probably be extra caramel sauce after you finish that you can use later.) Place the pears, cut side down, on top of the sugar and butter. Bake about 30 minutes, basting with caramel once or twice. Be careful because the caramel sauce is HOT.

When pears are just getting tender, turn them over and baste again with the pan juices. Bigger pears take longer, smaller pears take less time. Use your judgement. Return to oven for an additional 10 or so minutes.

Let cool slightly. (This is important!) Move pears to bowls and drizzle with caramel sauce. The original recipe suggests a dollop of sour cream, but I would opt instead for a bit of ice cream or whipped cream.

After you finish eating, but when the caramel is still warm, transfer to a container (I've read that glass is best) and put in the fridge for up to a week. You can reheat it and serve it over ice cream, yum.