Blog.EmealsForYou

Recipe of the Week – Pear Tatin

August 24, 2009 at 8:29 am Leave a comment

(From The Dessert Collection at emealsforyou.com)

Pear Tatin

I finally got to see the Julie and Julia movie this weekend.  Regular readers will recall that I couldn’t go last weekend as I was still letting the kidney stone kick my butt.  Feeling better after my last surgery my wife said I should go and off we went.  I can only say one word to describe this movie, YUM!!!.  Not just the food but the whole thing, acting, visuals and the food.  For those “foodies” among us this is the first movie that really shows why we cook, why we are willing to spend the time and effort to get it right and get it to the table.  If you go, watch the way everyone savors every morsel of the food.  Not since the movie Tom Jones has such attention been given to the actual enjoyment of the food.

Cooking is all about, at least for me, watching my guests attack the food with gusto and enjoy it fully.  This is the same if I am cooking for a crowd or just for myself; it’s simply about the pure pleasure of the food.  I drive my wife crazy, she is not a taster, I can’t cook without tasting.  I am constantly chasing her around with a spoonful of this or that, not so she can adjust my flavors, although that does happen on a few occasions, but to watch her reaction to the food.

Back to the Tatin, basically an upside down pie, this is delicious and can be made with pears or apples or a combination of both.  On our  emealsforyou.com website we have a Pear Tart Tatin listed which differs from this in that it is closer to an upside down cake.  This tatin is listed as an Apple Tatin under the dessert category.  As Julia says in the movie, “you must have courage and conviction” when flipping the tart onto the serving plate,  Do this in the kitchen and simply re-arrange the tatin prior to bringing it to the table.  No matter what it looks like, the taste is simply “divine”.

Apple Tatin

Prepare half a Never Fail Pie Crust, set in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, peel and quarter the apples. Place in bowl with zest, lemon juice and ½ cup of the sugar. Set aside. Soften 3 Tb of the butter and spread over inside of a heavy cast iron frying pan (You may use cake or pie pan). Sprinkle a ¼ of an inch of sugar into the bottom of the pan, arrange the apples (this will become the top) in a pattern. Sprinkle with sugar and a tablespoon of the melted butter. Repeat until all the apples, sugar and butter have been added. Roll out dough and place over the top of the apples. Tuck sides and pierce crust in 6 places with a small knife to vent steam.

Place the pan over moderate heat on the top of the stove for 4-5 minutes to thicken the juices. Remove from stove and place in the center of a 425 degree pre-heated oven. Bake for 30 -35 minutes until the crust is golden. Remove from oven and place over moderate to high heat on stove and heat for 5 minutes, shaking the pan the entire time. This will loosen the apples from the pan and evaporate the juices. Place a serving plate over the top of the pan, invert quickly, shaking pan to release apples. Don’t panic if some of the apples stick to the pan, simple remove them carefully and replace on tatin. Sprinkle top with powdered sugar just prior to serving.

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