Twice the size of a typical Anjou, Bartlett
or Bosc pear, one juicy Royal Riviera pear is
at least two fruit servings. Photo by
Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

How big are Royal Riviera pears? Helped by a lush rainfall this season, ours weighed about 13.5 ounces each, had a diameter of 3-1/2 inches and had “hips” (measured around the broadest part) of 11-1/4 inches! Grown in Harry & David’s orchards in Southern Oregon, they are transplants of the Doyenne du Comice pears France, grafted onto a sturdier American pear rootstock. The variety surfaced in France in 1849 and came to Oregon’s Rogue River Valley, home of Harry & David (Medford, OR) in 1897. “Doyenne du Comice“ translates to “Top of Show.”

We enjoyed our Royal Rivieras with some of our favorite blue cheeses from Harry & David’s Oregon neighbor, Rogue Creamery (co-owner David Gremmels is one of the greatest American cheesemakers). We had his cheeses in our fridge, but a gift box of this “pear-ing” is available through Harry & David, along with pears-only from $29.95 and up. Should you be so fortunate as to receive too many pears to eat up as hand fruit, the variety is excellent sliced into salads, baked (plain, like baked apples, or in a tart) and poached (one of our favorite desserts).

• To order Royal Riviera pears, visit HarryandDavid.com.
• Read more about the history of Harry & David and Royal Riviera pears.
• Find more of our favorite fruits, plus recipes, in our Gourmet Fruits & Nuts Section.

1. Mix 1.5 cups milk, 2 heaping teaspoons of top quality cocoa powder, 1/4 cup of ground dark chocolate with 60% or higher cacao content (chop and grind a good dark chocolate bar in a spice mill or a food processor) and ground nutmeg and/or cinnamon (fresh-grind using a microplane grater for great flavor).
2. Heat the milk to just below boiling.
3. Whisk in the cocoa powder and ground chocolate.
4. Add nutmeg and cinnamon to taste—we like a lot of each.
5. If you like “Aztec” spice, add some chili powder, too.

• Read our review of Burdick’s hot chocolate, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week.
• Also check out Burdick’s delicious bonbons, another Top Pick.

Rich and spicy! Photo by Melody Lan | THE NIBBLE.

• What’s the difference between cocoa and hot chocolate? Find out at the top of our Hot Chocolate Section.
• Take our hot chocolate trivia quiz.

The Sterno Buffet Kit is ready to party!

Each kit contains a water pan to keep the food temperatures and textures uniform, and Sterno’s gel fuel, which is a safe and reliable heating solution. The kits also include a newly designed folding rack for easy storage along with standard-sized pans so the rack can be used over and over again. Using the buffet kits will ensure you have everything needed to easily and conveniently warm and serve food so you’ll have more time to simply enjoy entertaining. Lasagna, anyone? Chili? Meatballs? Gosh, we’re hungry already!

• To Enter This Gourmet Giveaway: See THE NIBBLE’S Entertaining Guide section and click on the link at the bottom of the page. Enter your email address for the prize drawing by Monday, November 9th at noon Eastern Time. Good luck!