Ooh-la-la, it's French

Tarte Tatin
This well-known dessert, which essentially is an upside-down caramelized apple pie, was invented by the Demoiselles Tatin, in their restaurant on the Loire River at the end of the 19th century. There are 2 critical elements to making this dessert:
1) You really need to have a cast iron or heavy aluminum skillet
2) The apples have got to hold their shape during the cooking and baking process. I guess that when Julia Child said to use Golden Delicious apples, she meant use Golden Delicious apples. Here I give you what is essentially Ms. Child's recipe.

Ingredients:
- 5 or 6 Golden Delicious apples
- the grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
- 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) of butter
- 1.5 cups of sugar
- enough pastry to roll into an 8" circle or whatever size fits your skillet(See pastry recipe posted October 12, 2009)

Peel six apples, quarter them and remove the core. If the apples are large, you might want to slice each quarter in half lengthwise. Leave them in a bowl with the lemon and 1/2 cup sugar for 20 minutes. Then drain.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a heavy frying pan over a medium heat and stir in the remaining 1 cup of sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon for several minutes until the syrup becomes a caramel brown. Remove from the heat and start to arrange the apples in an attractive pattern on the bottom of the pan. Place the pan back on the stove on a moderately high heat for about 20 minutes to thicken the caramel. Cover with some form of lid but remove the lid to baste the apples with the caramel occasionally, trying not to destroy the pattern of apples that you originally designed. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly while you roll the dough. Cover the apples in the skillet with a circle of rolled dough and cut 4 steam holes in the pastry. Place in a preheated 425 degree oven and bake for about 20 minutes until the crust is brown. Remove from the oven and turn the skillet upside down on a flat serving dish to unmold the tarte. Do this step very carefully or you will end up with 3rd degree burns from the hot caramel. When you finally get this dessert on a plate, it can be served hot, warm or cold.

When I was in Paris recently, I really wanted to try a piece of Tarte Tatin but the only piece that I saw for sale was in a 3rd rate bistro. It was clearly the last piece of the pie and was priced at 8 Euros, so I desisted. Having gone through the exercise of making Tarte Tatin myself, I'm now thinking that 8 Euros was a steal.

Editorial note: In retrospect, I feel that this traditional French recipe is over the top in terms of the recommended amount of butter and sugar; basically, it represents a gall bladder attack waiting to happen. I think that one could get a great result by cutting back on both. Also, I think it is not necessary to soak the apples in lemon juice and sugar for 20 minutes. Omit the sugar from this step and simply toss the pieces of apple in the lemon juice and rind and let them stand for a while as you prepare the caramel. If this is not traditional enough for the French....c'est la vie.