The hearty cracker as the base makes for a beautiful and rustic dish with my Pickled Pear Bruschetta. The rich mascarpone shallot spread is both delicate enough in flavor to showcase the pear and creamy enough to make this nibble feel substantial. Pickled Pear Bruschetta sets a perfect winter tone and the lush gold color of the pear adds to the golden hue of the menu.
Wasa Crackers (I like the thick multi-grain)
Filling:
1 cup shallots
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup white wine
¼ teaspoon five spice powder
¼ or less freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
dash cayenne
8 ounces mascarpone
Pickled Pears:
1 bosc pear (firm is important, but really any variety will do)
1 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons salt
¼ cup sugar
Mince the shallots. 
Sauté the shallots in butter on medium low until very soft (20-30 minutes). Add the white wine and continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated. Add the five spice, nutmeg, salt and cayenne, stir well and then cook an additional 1-2 minutes. Remove to a bowl. Stir in the mascarpone until well-distributed. 
Slice the pears very thin (a mandoline works best) from the bottom. The round slices will curl into spirals later. Mix vinegar, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add in the pear slices. Let marinate 15 minutes (up to overnight). 
When you’re ready to assemble, break the Wasa toast into small pieces. Top with a teaspoon of the shallot mascarpone mixture. Fold a pear slice in half and then in quarters to create a curl. Arrange on a platter; you may want to garnish with berries or herbs to provide some color contrast. Serve immediately; the shallot cream will make the toasts soft.
Organizational Notes:
When you’re making a mess, go for it. I did several doughs, one after the other in the food processor. Once all the doughs were finished, I moved on to shallots. Since I was making several shallot dishes this week, I used a food processor and did them all at once. Then I reserved some for my other uses. Without cleaning the food processor, I “whisked” the eggs for filling the stilton tart and added in the cream. When I’m preparing a lot of items on the same day I often map out what dishes and tools I’ll need. Then I make a list of jobs in order of how they should enter the food processor, for example. This make cleanup much more efficient.