Upside Down Pear Tart Food

UPSIDE-DOWN PEAR CRANBERRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Toss the pears, nutmeg and half of the lemon juice together in a bowl.
• Melt the butter with the remaining lemon juice, the salt and 3 tablespoons water in a heavy ovenproof 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the sugar into the skillet and stir to combine. Cook the mixture without stirring, letting it foam and bubble; the butter will separate, which is OK. Watch the mixture carefully while it cooks because once the water evaporates and the sugar begins to change color, things happen quickly. When it becomes the color of light brown sugar, about 10 minutes, remove it from the heat. Stir in the vanilla.
• Being careful not to burn yourself, sprinkle the cranberries and ginger into the caramel. Arrange the pears in the skillet round side-down in concentric circles as nicely as you can, fitting in as many pears as possible.
• Return the skillet to the burner over medium heat and cook until the pears start to soften when you poke them with a knife, 10 to 15 minutes.
• While your pears cook, roll out your Pie Crust on a flour-dusted surface to an 11-inch circle. Cover the crust with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Lay the crust over the pears, tucking it in around the edge of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Bake until the crust is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes.
• Allow the tart to cool until you can handle it, about 10 minutes. Put a plate on top of the tart using heatproof pads and flip it over so the pears are on top. Slice and serve warm with creme fraiche, if using.
• Combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until the butter is evenly distributed but still visible in chunks. While pulsing, add the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is just wet enough to hold together when pinched between your fingers. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, form into a disc and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.

CARMELIZED UPSIDE-DOWN PEAR TART

Steps:

• Peel and halve pears, the core (preferably with a melon-ball cutter). Heat butter in a 9- to 10-inch well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then stir in sugar (sugar will not be dissolved). Arrange pears, cut sides up, in skillet with wide parts at rim of skillet. Sprinkle pears with cinnamon and cook, undisturbed, until sugar turns a deep golden caramel. (This can take as little as 10 minutes or as much as 25, depending on pears, skillets, and stove.) Cool pears completely in skillet.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and trim to a 9 1/2- to 10 1/2-inch round. Arrange pastry over caramelized pears, tucking edge around pears inside rim of skillet. Bake tart until pastry is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cook on rack 5 minutes.
• Invert a rimmed serving plate (slightly larger than skillet) over skillet and, using pot holders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert tart onto plate. Serve tart warm or at room temperature.

PEAR TARTE TATIN WITH SHORTBREAD CRUST

Steps:

• FOR THE CRUST
• In a food processor, combine the butter, flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Pulse until it looks like finely grated Parmigiano cheese. Add the egg yolk and 1 to 2 tablespoons cold water, and pulse, pulse, pulse until the mixture comes together into a ball. If it seems a bit dry, add 1 more tablespoon water and pulse a few more times.
• Dump the mixture out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface and knead it once or twice, until it comes together in a smooth ball. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to an even circle, 11 to 12 inches in diameter. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
• FOR THE FILLING
• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Place the sugar, 3 tablespoons water, the lemon juice, and cinnamon stick in a 10-inch ovenproof, nonstick sauté pan. Bring to medium heat and stir to combine.
• Raise the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil (BTB), brushing down the sides of the pan occasionally with a pastry brush dipped in water. After 7 to 8 minutes the mixture will begin to turn light brown. Swish the pan around gently to promote even cooking and cook the mixture for 1 to 2 more minutes, or until it turns a deeper amber color. Keep your eye on this and don't walk away; the sugar can burn quickly if you're not paying attention.
• Remove the pan from the heat, add 1 tablespoon heavy cream, and whisk to combine. Discard the cinnamon stick.
• Whisk in the butter 2 pats at a time. The mixture will bubble up, but that's okay, just be VERY CAREFUL not to let it splatter and burn you. When all of the butter has been incorporated, begin to arrange the pears in concentric circles as neatly and prettily as you can-remember, you're going to flip it out.
• Return the pan to the stove and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• TO ASSEMBLE THE TART
• Remove the pastry from the fridge, carefully drape it over the top of the pears, and tuck the pastry around the edges of the pan. Bake the tart for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and crispy.
• Let the tart cool for 10 to 15 minutes, then place a serving platter upside down on top of the pastry and CAREFULLY flip the platter and pan over, letting the tart fall gently out of the pan.
• Place the remaining heavy cream in a medium bowl and, using an electric mixer or a whisk and good old-fashioned elbow grease, whisk the heavy cream to soft peaks. Slice the tart and serve garnished with the whipped cream.
• DON'T FEAR THE CARAMEL!
• Making caramel can be a little scary but once you get the hang of it, it's fun. Start by putting sugar in a large saucepan and giving yourself a couple of insurance policies-some acid, like lemon juice, and some water. These two ingredients help the caramel cook without recrystallizing or burning super-quickly.
• Then bring the pan to medium-high heat and let it rip. When you see the sugar start to turn a shade of amber, don't walk away-things can go south very quickly and if the sugar burns, there's no recovery. Once the sugar is one shade past amber and heading toward brown, pour in the heavy cream, reduce the heat to low, and stand back-the mixture will bubble up like crazy. This is why it's really important to use a large saucepan-you don't want it to overflow when you add the cream and the mixture bubbles up. This stuff is molten!!! It can cause a really severe burn if you're not careful.
• Once the bubbles calm down, swirl in the butter a couple pats at a time. Be sure not to add more until each addition is melted. You've made caramel!
• ANNE ALTERNATE
• You can totally use apples here instead of pears. I recommend Granny Smith or any other tart, firm apple. I also recommend using fruit that's not quite ripe because it's going to get really soft as it cooks.

UPSIDE DOWN PEAR TART

Steps:

• Heat sugar over medium heat in a heavy 10 inch skillet with a oven safe handle until the syrup is light brown in color. Remove from heat and add butter and lemon peel. Stir until butter melts.
• Arrange pears in two layers over the hot sugar mixture in skillet filling open spaces with pears slices; sprinkle with lemon juice.
• Roll pastry to a 10-inch round and place over pears.
• Bake at 425°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until pasty is golden brown. Cool in pan for 30 minutes. if there seems to be too much sauce in the pan, pour excess sauce in a 1 pint container and use to serve on tart, invert the tart onto shallow serving dish serve with warm yogurt.