Cranberry Pear Pie

Chapter 25: Dragon Marriage


It had been two months since Svend and Mirabel went to visit Mirabel’s family. Svend was helping at the local blacksmith and Mirabel was making herself at home in the family kitchen. They were staying in a little cottage nearby to keep up their “newlywed” persona, but in reality they just switched to their dragon form and went hunting. Dragons need significantly more food than humans and it was hard to consume enough in human form without drawing attention.

Svend thought things were going swimmingly. He and Mirabel were getting along very well, despite his insistence on using pet names and sneaking cheek kisses, and her family seemed to be accepting his presence. Except her dad. He was still holding out his approval. Probably just waiting for Svend to mess something up so he could lord it over the rest of the family. He would now acknowledge Svend with soft grunts so that was better than the cold shoulder Svend was still getting one month in.

Mirabel also thought things were going well, she knew her dad would come around eventually once he decided for himself she was truly happy. And she was happy, she could finally admit to herself that she thoroughly enjoyed being a dragon. Even more of a shock was that she was enjoying Svend in her life more than she ever thought she could. This time they had spent pretending at love made her ache for the real thing, and with Svend too. If only she could figure out how to make the shift from pretend to real.

One night at dinner with the family, Mirabel looked over at Svend making jokes and playing with her siblings and decided to take things into her own hands. She turned to her mother and declared, loud enough for Svend to conveniently overhear, “Oh Mother, it is such a shame you weren’t able to attend our wedding! I was thinking it might be fun to throw a second wedding here, so all of you can participate. After all, if we are going to be living nearby, we really should throw a party for the village to get to know Svend!” Mirabel glanced coyly at Svend to see how he would take this proclamation.

Svend was dumbstruck. He was hoping Mirabel would someday want to make their fake marriage a reality, but he never thought it would happen this quickly! As he sat there with his jaw hanging open like a fish, Ella, Mirabel’s mother, just about exploded with joy.

“Oh how wonderful! I was so sad I didn’t get to be part of your wedding but it has been such fun having the two of you around I didn’t want to push anything. The village will be so excited! We haven’t had a good wedding celebration in years! There was that one for Bel, but everyone knew their marriage wouldn’t last so there wasn’t exactly a fountain of enthusiasm for the couple. But the villagers love the two of you! Since Svend has been so helpful at the blacksmith’s and in helping build those homes. Everyone will be so happy! Oh, what a delight! We must begin planning immediately!” Ella finally paused long enough to take a breath. Mirabel was still looking at Svend, who was just barely recovering from his shock.

Svend jumped up and swept Mirabel up into a hug and swirled her around, giving her a full proper kiss at the end, right in front of everyone. Mirabel, blushing more than ever, took that as his consent and happily snuggled down on the couch with him to listen to the whirlwind of planning her mother had already begun.

Svend sat contently next to his soon-to-be real wife. After an hour or two had passed with no signs of stopping the wedding planning, he decided that sustenance was required. He gently extracted himself from his precious Mirabel and declared he was going to make everyone a treat to celebrate this wonderful occasion. This is the treat that he made.



Recipe: Cranberry Pear Pie


The pie crust recipe is inspired by this recipe: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/perfect-pie-crust


Crust:

  • 3 ⅓ cup flour

  • 1 tsp salt

  • ½ tsp baking powder

  • ½ cup cream cheese

  • ½ cup butter

  • ½ cup-1 cup ice cold water


Filling:

  • 1 cup cranberry sauce (see recipe here)

  • 1 cup cream cheese

  • 1 can of pears , drained

  • 1 tbsp cinnamon

  • 1 tsp vanilla

  • 1 tbsp cornstarch


Method:

  1. Combine all ingredients except water in a large bowl.

  2. Use your hands to break up the cream cheese and butter until it is all pea sized and incorporated.

  3. Make a well in the center and add the ice water, a little at a time.

  4. Mix with your hands until it all comes together in a dough.

  5. Roll into a ball, cover or place in a bag and refrigerate for a couple hours.

  6. Take the pie crust out and split it into two balls of dough.

  7. Take one ball and roll it out the size of your pie pan.

  8. Line with parchment paper and add pie weights or beans or rice or whatever

  9. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Until the edge is just starting to brown.

  10. Soften the cream cheese by microwaving it for 30 seconds.

  11. Mix with the cranberry sauce. If you can’t get the mixture smooth, blend it together. (I used an immersion blender)

  12. Drain the pears and mix with cinnamon, vanilla, and cornstarch.

  13. Place all of the pear mixture in the bottom of the partially cooked pie crust.

  14. Cover with the cranberry cream cheese mixture.

  15. Roll out the other half of the dough and place on top, crimping the sides and cutting a couple lines in the top for steam.

  16. Bake at 375 degrees for about 45-60 mins. Remove when the top crust is a nice golden brown.