January 5, 2010

Tarte Tatin for TWD's 2nd Anniversay

I love France. I LOVE French food. I love apples. This special second anniversary Dorie treat was destined to be a winner (or so I thought!) I used a varieties of apples I had on hand (Fuji, Gala, Pink Lady, and Yellow Delicious), quickly peeled them with favorite apple tool (which I highly recommend if you like apple pie, apple sauce, or even apples at all- grab one on Amazon or check out Ross. I got one there for next to nothing last year). I melted the butter, which is probably one of my favorite smells in the world, sprinkled on the sugar, placed the apples on top, and cooked the caramel. Everything was great and so I added the puff pastry on top and placed it in the oven.

When it came out I placed my platter on top and quickly flipped it- only to have a huge rush of caramelly apple juices leak out onto my mom's recently mopped floor (sorry!) Of course my family wasn't derailed by a little mess and we made quick work of the tarte. In retrospect I think I should have cooked the caramel longer and maybe even let the apples sit over a collander (like Alton Brown recommends sometimes) to remove some juice. I'll have to try this method again though, because as Ina would say, Apples, Pastry, Sugar, and Butter- how bad can that be? Speaking of my dearest Ina, I love her quick apple tart. It's a lot like I pictured this recipe turning out and probably one of my top 5 recipes from the last year (not to mention one of the easiest!)

Now in honor of TWD's 2nd Anniversary, I'm linking my favorite ever Dorie treats. Maybe reviewing these links and photos will hold over my sweet tooth... which has absolutely loved TWD. Not likely, though!

Blueberry Pie

White Chocolate and Raspberry Bread Pudding

Split Level Pudding

Apple Pie

French Chocolate Brownies

Florida (Key Lime) Pie

Dimply Peach Cake

La Palette's Strawberry Tart

French Pear Tart

It would appear that I REALLY like pies and tarts (no shock there- I'll take pie over cake any day of the week).

And my very favorite (and first) TWD recipe- Brioche Snails (and again here)- especially the pastry cream inside. Love me some pastry cream. Now just reviewing these recipes has made me feel like I'm long overdue for a marathon or something. See you at the gym!

Last- my Tall Man's favorite ever Dorie treat (still, after a year and a half and many many baked goods later...)- Pecan Honey Sticky Buns

Now I need some advice. For the first time (ever, I think) I'm having a vegetarian over for dinner on Friday and would love some input on your favorite, company worthy meatless dishes. We have our loosely termed "vegetarian night" about once a week but it's usually not more than homemade refried beans and tortillas with fresh salsa. I'd love to hear your knock out vegetarian meals! Besides, with the New Year here, I think more meatless meals are in order! I'd also love to hear your favorite Dorie recipe so far- please let me know!

(Grab the recipe for the Tarte Tatin here! Thanks again Laurie for such a fun group and Dorie for the great recipes!)

29 comments:

  1. Little miss-haps happen to the best of us! Wow, those brioche snails really do look amazing..! I've been away so have only sent your magazine today! Sorry for the delay.Hope you had a happy new year.x

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  2. Aww, I love the walk down TWD Lane. Great job on the tarte too. Looks perfect. Thanks for baking along with me Anne! xo

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  3. My apples were really juicy too. Maybe I should have drained them like you suggested. Fun to look at past recipes.

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  4. I didn't have a cake plate to put this on, so I flipped it out on a parchment lined sheet pan.

    This was wonderful.

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  5. Great post and your tart looks delish! My daughter-in-law is a vegetarian and I made her a spinach pie using puff pastry, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, spinach, egg and onion. We all (non-vegetarians alike) loved it!

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  6. Oh wow - so many delicious sweets in this post! I'd love to make them all! As for a great vegetarian dish, on Thursday I'm posting Ina's Orzo with Roasted Vegetables - it's incredible! The recipe is on the Food Network site; I didn't change a thing. Might not be what you're looking for for your dinner party, but if you're planning more meatless meals in the future, it's a great main or side dish :)

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  7. Love the TWD redux! This is my first week baking with the group, so nice to see what's been baked already. I caramelized my apples till they were really dark and that reduced the volume of caramel by a lot. No spillage when flipping! But you're right--how can you go wrong with butter et al?

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  8. Mmm! I'd pick pie over cake anyday, too! Love your photos.

    Having a giveaway today on my blog.

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  9. I halved the recipe and the small tart fits into a soup plate ;-)

    Great work

    Ulrike @Küchenlatein

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  10. Hm.... draining the apples. Great idea! I'll have to try that next time - glad the floor wasn't ruined. It came out beautifully!

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  11. Your tarte tatin turned out great! So pretty. I love your list of favorites too.

    I made a really great red lentil stew the other day that would be great for a vegetarian meal- http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Curried-Red-Lentil-and-Swiss-Chard-Stew-with-Garbanzo-Beans-233385
    and can second the dish that Meghan is talking about. Ina's Orzo with Roasted Veggies is fabulous. I have made it multiple times.
    If you need more ideas I could send you a couple more links. Let me know!

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  12. ooh bummer about the apple juice running all over the floor. At least it tasted good! :) We adored the french pear tart at our house too!

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  13. I wish I would have tried the tarte. I have been a vegetarian for longer than I care to count. A couple of suggestions: vegetable/spinach lasagna or vegetable pot pie. Both are great for having people over because you are finished with the hands on part long before the guests arrive. Or fancy up your own vegetarian night and do cheese enchiladas.

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  14. Your tarte tatin looks great to me. Also, I love your favorite TWD rewinds. Happy New Year.

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  15. Love your tarte! I had to make this one too, what with the connotations of France and Dorie. And I really enjoyed your TWD hit parade!

    Not sure how formal your dinner is Friday night but we LOVE Ina's sun-dried tomato goat cheese tarts (on puff pastry) and the individual pizzas. But check out Rebecca (Ezra Pound Cake). She's been posting veggie recipes on Mondays.

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  16. Fun post - loved the look back at all of the TWD favorites! I really wanted to make the tarte but didn't have the right pan so maybe another time. It really does look fabulous!

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  17. How about a pea and artichoke lasagna? Tastes way better than it sounds, I promise! Tastes delicious and freezes well, too. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sweet-Pea-and-Artichoke-Lasagna-238549

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  18. The tarte looks just fine to me. It was so easy and so tasty. Love apples, too.

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  19. It looks nice! I was surprised how juicy the apples were when I started cooking them. I had to cook a lot to get the juice down and the color dark. The French Pear tart is one of my favorites, and I'd like to make the brioche raisin snails.

    I had a vegetarian over for dinner recently and I made Ina Garten's White Pizzas with Arugula (recipe is on the Food Network site). They were a hit! One tip: watch them closely. The parchment started to burn in the hot oven and I had to slide them off to finish baking. I also recently posted a recipe for spinach lasagna (plugging myself there!).

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  20. I'm glad you liked this very French dessert - even with the spill! We loved it too. Lovely snapshots of your TWD creations, too. I must try that BC quick apple tart to compare...

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  21. What a magnificent post! It made me so hungry. Wonderful work.

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  22. Oh, those brioche snails look amazing! My tart didn't turn out so great, so I'm dying to give it another try.

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  23. Yum! All of those desserts you talked about have everyone licking their lips! Nice job on the tarte tatin.

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  24. Wow! Everything looks amazing. But the pear tart looks to DIE FOR!

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  25. Despite your mishap, that tartin looks great and makes me hungry.

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