Pear & Gorgonzola Tart

"Oh hells YES," is what I thought when I saw Giada's show today.
Pears, Gorgonzola, and prosciutto are awesome - especially together, and the tart she made looked divine.
The next party I have will probably be dedicated solely to tart/flatbread type appetizers since I'm amassing so many recipe variations that I'm dying to try.

1 store bought pie shell - I'd suggest the Pillsbury kind myself, or make your own (see recipe below)
4 ounces cream cheese
2 ounces Gorgonzola
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
Pinch salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
3 small pears, cored and sliced
2 ounces prosciutto, cut into thin strips

Bake the pie shell in a square or round tart pan according to package instructions. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, combine the cream cheese, Gorgonzola, thyme, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Using a hand blender, whip the cheeses together.

In a large, heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the pears and cook until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes.

When the tart crust has cooled slightly, gently spread the whipped cheese mixture evenly over the bottom of the tart. Place the pear slices in a decorative pattern over the cheese mixture. Sprinkle the thin strips of prosciutto over the pears.

Cut into squares or wedges and serve.

Pie/Tart crust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1 to 2 tablespoons ice water, or more as needed

To make the dough in a food processor, combine the flour, salt, and butter in the processor and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube and pulse quickly 5 or 6 times, or until the dough comes together and starts to pull away from the sides of the container. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

To make the dough by hand, combine the flour, salt, and butter in a medium bowl, and mix with a pastry blender or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time and mix until the dough comes together and is no longer dry, being careful not to overmix. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface according to the recipe, fit it into the pan, and allow to rest again in the refrigerator before baking. I really love the tart pans with the scalloped edges and the pop out bottom. You'll need to prebake this though so it's ready for the tart filling.