Belgian Endive Spears w/ Blue Cheese, Apples, and Walnuts

Brian and I made these one Thanksgiving for an appetizer and everyone enjoyed them. Leftovers do not keep well. Later I found a very similar Italian recipe called Barchette di Indivia al Gorgonzola (Endive Boats with Gorgonzola and Walnut Mousse) at http://www.rusticocooking.com/. Although a little more time consuming, and it doesn't use apples, the recipe looks very similar. I've included this recipe which follows the one I made.

16 Belgian endive leaves (2-3 heads), rinsed and dried or wiped with a damp cloth
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 apple (or pear)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/3 cup roughly chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Olive oil for baking sheet
3 tablespoons apple juice
2 green onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Peel and dice apple, and gently toss with lemon juice. 

Lightly oil baking sheet.  In a small bowl, toss walnuts with one tablespoon of maple syrup.  Spread coated walnuts evenly on the baking sheet.  Bake walnuts for 10 minutes and stir 5 minute into baking.  Remove from oven and cool. 

Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon maple syrup and apple juice in a small saucepan.  Heat until the syrup is mixed in.  Remove from heat and cool. 

In a bowl, combine the apple, blue cheese and walnuts. 

Spoon 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of mixture into the broad base of each endive leaf, leaving the leaf tip end clear for picking up.  Arrange the filled endive spears on a platter and drizzle the apple juice and maple syrup mixture over the filling of each.  Top with green onions.

Barchette di Indivia al Gorgonzola
(Endive Boats with Gorgonzola and Walnut Mousse)

Select a mild, buttery Gorgonzola for this rich appetizer, and cut off its rind to ensure the mousse won't be bitter.

Mousse:
1/2 pound mild Gorgonzola, rind removed, cut into large pieces
1/2 cup shelled walnut halves
1/2 cup heavy cream, plus extra if needed
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 large Belgian endives, separated into spears
shelled walnut halves, for garnish
1/4 cup honey, for garnish

In a food processor, combine the Gorgonzola, the walnut halves, the cream, and the pepper until smooth; add more cream if needed to thin it out. The mousse should be as thick as jam. Refrigerate 30 minutes (or up to 2 days) to firm it up; this makes piping easier.

Arrange the endive spears on a platter with the tips facing in toward the center. Spoon the Gorgonzola mousse into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.

Pipe the Gorgonzola mousse on the bottom half of each endive spear in a pretty rosette pattern. Top each rosette of Gorgonzola mousse with a walnut half. Drizzle the Gorgonzola mousse lightly with the honey and serve within 15 minutes.

Serves 12