My mother made this simple chilled pear salad from canned pears and served it throughout the year. Awhile back I was asked to bring a fruit dish to a large family Christmas gathering on my husband’s side. This pear salad came to mind because although I had always liked it and thought it was pretty with its red, green and gold colors, truthfully I didn’t have much time to prepare anything else and I needed to make about 25 servings. I was actually a little embarrassed that I was not bringing something more substantial, so I was amazed at how much everyone loved this dish. What was a good but common place dish to me was unusual and refreshing to everyone else. Seen through new eyes I now think that this is a wonderful dish to serve at Christmas and is a refreshing contrast to all the heavy foods traditionally served during the holidays. I have made one change to Mom’s recipe; I’ve substituted a swirl of whipped cream in place of the dollop of mayonnaise that she used on top of the pears to make it more kid-friendly.
-Leslie Routh

This recipe is featured on back of the Plantation & Riverboat Christmas card.

Each card design is pre-printed with a specific recipe. We include the recipes as lagniappe so when you send our Christmas cards you are giving a little gift as well. For that reason, we do not publish our recipes on our website.