Los Angeles Times - 09.11.2019

Caramel Pear Crisp

1 ¼ hours. Serves 8 to 12.

Crisp

(^1) cup old-fashioned or
quick-cooking oats
1 cup sliced or slivered almonds
½cup granulated sugar
½teaspoon ground cardamom
½teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted
butter, cut into small cubes
Caramel Pears
¼cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
(^1) tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½teaspoon ground cardamom
¼teaspoon kosher salt
(^4) firm Bartlett pears (2 ½
pounds), peeled, halved and
cored
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
1 Make the crisp: Mix the oats,
almonds, sugar, cardamom and
salt in a large bowl. Add the butter
and smash flat with your fingers,
rubbing the pieces into the dry
ingredients so that the mixture
resembles coarse meal with peb-
bly clumps. Refrigerate until
ready to use.
2 Meanwhile, prepare the pears:
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Com-
bine the sugar, butter, lemon juice,
cardamom and salt in an 11- o r
12-inch ovenproof skillet. Bring to a
boil over medium-high heat, stir-
ring to evenly melt the butter and
sugar. Add the pears in a single
layer and cook, flipping once, until
lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
While cooking, the pan liquid
should be dark golden brown. If it’s
lighter, turn up the heat; if darker,
reduce the heat. Arrange the pears
artfully in a single layer.
3 Scatter one-third of the crisp
mixture evenly over the pears to
coat. Scatter the remaining on a
parchment-paper-lined baking
sheet in an even layer. Put both the
skillet and baking sheet in the
oven.
4 Bake the crisp bits, stirring once,
until dark golden brown, 15 to 20
minutes. Transfer the sheet to a
wire rack to cool completely. Con-
tinue baking the pears until the top
is golden brown, the pears tender
and the edges caramelized, 15 to 20
minutes more. Transfer the pear
crisp to a rack to cool slightly.
Serve warm with ice cream and
more of the crunchy bits scattered
on top.
Make aheadThe crisp mixture can
be refrigerated in an airtight container
for up to three days before use.
Mariah TaugerLos Angeles Times
F2 LATIMES.COM
11 a.m.
Find parking on Columbia Way
and walk to the Columbia Memo-
rial Space Center at 12400 Colum-
bia Way, tucked into a residential
area and across the street from a
24 Hour Fitness.
Despite its unassuming exteri-
or, this small museum is a cosmic
trove of goodness. It’s only $5 and
is well worth the stroll through
two floors of exhibits and dis-
plays. It’s not exactly a state-of-
the-art venue, but the charm is its
simplicity. Visitors are greeted by
an interactive bottle rocket dis-
play and two large artifacts, a
Rocketdyne J-2 engine and an
Apollo command module that are
like works of art.
The museum is on the former
campus where these mind-blow-
ing machines were made in the
race to put the first man on the
moon. Downey was once known as
the “cradle of the cosmic age”
because of its role in nurturing
pioneering technology for space
exploration.
Visitors can explore a day in
the life of a worker as well as learn
the stories behind the scenes of
the Apollo missions, from the
tragedy of Apollo 1 to the success
of Apollo 11.
Check out columbiaspace
science.orgfor special events
celebrating the 50th anniversary
of Apollo 11, which succeeded in
putting the first man on the
moon. (The Apollo capsule will be
decorated with holiday lights Dec.
5 through Jan. 2.)
There are several interactive
activities for kids, or kids at heart,
and there’s a wall of sticky notes
asking visitors what “Apollo”
means to them. The answers
include the Greek god, memories
of a person who was suffering with
chicken pox when Apollo 1 1
landed, and sentiments of inspira-
tion that the sky’s the limit. Note:
The museum is closed on Sun-
days and Mondays.
Noon
Drive to Paramount Plaza: Go
south along Columbia Way as it
turns into Clark Avenue, turn
right on Somerset Boulevard,
then left on Downey Avenue to
pass Progress Park, where there’s
a farmers market every Friday. Or
follow Clark all the way to Alondra
Boulevard to take in all the busi-
nesses that keep the community
running.
12:15 p.m.
Arrive at Horchateria Rio
Luna at 15729 Downey Ave., a little
gem hidden in the back corner of
Paramount Plaza. The horchata
is perfectly sweet, and the churros
are crunchy on the outside and
soft on the inside, just as they
should be. Try them with guava
drizzle for an extra treat. The
seasonal menu is also fun. Order
the pumpkin horchata frappe if
you like pumpkin spice lattes. The
conchas are sugary and satisfying.
As you sit back and enjoy the
lively Latin music, admire work
from local artists, along with
tributes to Frida Kahlo, reflec-
tions on Mexican heritage and
explorations of the supernatural.
Flip through a free copy of the
Paramount Pulse Beat to get a
glimpse of local happenings in
English and Spanish.
1 p.m.
Drive or walk to nearby Pa-
ramount Iceland at 8041 Jackson
St. Grab your sweater, head in-
side, and purchase a skate session
and rent some skates. Skate
around for a bit and rest on the
bleachers when you need a break
or just want to sit and chat. The
first Zamboni sits unassumingly
in the back left corner with a few
informational placards. Its wood-
en structure has a quaint appeal,
but, back in 1949, it was the leading
technology for ice sports.
Frank Zamboni’s machine cut
ice resurfacing time from over an
hour to just about 10 minutes. The
cherry red Zamboni Model C11 is
also showcased. This one was built
on top of a Jeep and served the
University of Denver for 30 years. If
you’re lucky, you’ll see the latest
and greatest Zamboni 560ac at
work on the ice in between ses-
sions. Browse the other placards
throughout the facility to educate
yourself on figure skating history.
Note: Public session hours vary by
day, so check before making your
way over.
2:15 p.m.
Did you work up an appetite?
Good. Walk north on California
Avenue and turn left onto Monroe
Street. It looks like the street cuts
off, but have faith and walk be-
tween the buildings to find Maya
Teriyaki House at 16212 Pa-
ramount Blvd. Wrap up your after-
noon at this hole in the wall. Get
the bento box, which comes with
chicken, rice, salad, miso soup and
a few pieces of California roll. It’s
enough food for another meal, or
two or three, all for $11.99. It’s a
Japanese restaurant that plays a
local Latin music radio station.
Maya isn’t exactly known for its
cheerful service, but the teriyaki is
tasty and it’s a nice spot to unwind
after your active afternoon.

FOUR HOURS IN PARAMOUNT

Walk amid

birthplaces

of ingenuity THE FIRST ZAMBONI ice resurfacing
machine is housed at Paramount Iceland.

HORCHATAdrinks and Mexican sweets attract Lilia Valencia, left, and Maricela Vega to Horchateria Rio Luna in Paramount.

Photographs by Ana VenegasFor The Times

VISITORAaron Pineda, 10, launches a rocket at an interactive

display at the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey.

JAE CHUNG,owner of Maya Teriyaki House,

ladles miso soup, part of a generous bento box.

By Victoria Hernandez

When you say you are going to
spend the afternoon in Pa-
ramount, you might have to cor-
rect your friends from thinking
you are doing a tour of Paramount
Pictures’ studios.
The city is nestled between
Compton and Bellflower, with the
rap-famous street Rosecrans Ave-
nue running through the northern
half while Alondra Boulevard (see
rapper-singer Buddy’s “Harlan
and Alondra” album) cuts through
the south.
Paramount is a fairly quiet city
and a respite from the overstimu-
lation of DTLA or Hollywood.
(While nearby Compton has been
immortalized in part for its ties
with pop culture icons N.W.A, the
Williams sisters and Ava Du-
Vernay, Paramount finds itself in
the history books for a different
reason: as the site where the first
Zamboni was created and rests to
this day.)
On this tour, we also include
the Columbia Memorial Space
Center in nearby Downey to give
you a full four-hour experience.
Take some time to slow down,
soak in some Americana and re-
mind yourself that the sky’s the
limit.

What every fruit crisp needs is more crisp. Also pears. Apples

are nice, but pears are pleasure. When you bite into a perfectly ripe

one, you work your jaws just enough to fully enjoy the reward of

fruit fat with honeyed juices.

But ripe pears are elusive. They’re rarely sold in that state and, if

they are, they bruise easily. If you buy hard ones and wait patiently

for them to ripen, they will. All at the same time. To celebrate the

immediate joy of sweet, tender pears, I created a crisp that’s ready

to serve in a little over an hour. It’s perfect for surprise guests or an

impatient craving for a warm, from-scratch dessert.

Bartlett pears start on the stovetop in bubbling buttery sugar,

softening a touch before baking under a cloak of cardamom-

scented oats and almonds. As the fruit and crisp topping bake

together, the sugars in both caramelize around the edges of the pan

and take on the gooey stretchiness of a caramel apple coating.

Since I already made this dessert to satisfy our age’s habit of

getting what we want immediately, I figured it should also give us

more of what everyone wants. Extra crisp mix bakes in a separate

pan and gets granola-crunchy. The crumbles baked onto the pears

crackle on top while softening to a comforting chew where they

meet the fruit’s juices. When served with ice cream and a shower of

the extra crunchies, this dessert delivers as much — maybe even

more — pleasure as a ripe pear.

THE SATURDAY COOK

A crisp with more

of the crispy stuff

By Genevieve Ko