Eric Molinsky hosts the podcast Imaginary Worlds, a bi-weekly broadcast about science fiction and fantasy. My friend and fellow Kickstarter Creator in Residence  Fran Wilde introduced me to Eric for an episode titled "Fantastical Feasts." He and his helper Stephanie came over to record a food demo where we used the sound effects of cooking in the episode.

I chose to cook pears and sausage in oil from the Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (!!!), who was later interviewed in the same episode. When Locke joined the Gentlemen Bastards gang, his welcome dinner is a double portion of pears and sausage in oil. You can substitute the sausages with fresh chorizo or longaniza. Slightly under ripe pears are preferred because they roast up like potatoes.

It isn’t mentioned in the book but I added arugula and szechuan peppercorn to the dish. They both have unique peppery qualities that I think would resonate with Locke. When the Thiefmaker punishes Locke at Shades Hill, he forces him to drink fire oil, a sensation that he remembers later on as he drinks a ginger scald.

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel and core the pears.

Heat a cast iron pan on high heat.

Add the oil to the pan and sear the sausages for a minute on each side.

Add the pears to the pan and cook for another minute.

Turn off the stove and transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 10 to 12 minutes.

Turn off the oven.

Place the arugula in a heat-safe bowl or platter.

Transfer the pears and sausage to the arugula platter.

Put the pan juices back on the stove on low heat.

Whisk the flour into the juices. If there aren’t any sausage juices, add a pat of butter.

Whisk the broth and peppercorn into the juices to make a gravy.

Strain the gravy and serve alongside the pears and sausages.