Tarte tatin, take deux!

Remember that time I tried to make an authentic tarte tatin in my cast-iron skillet and the whole thing just sort of fell apart? I do. It didn't look very pretty.

When I get bored, I cook. I don't sit still well, so I cook to pass time when I'm at my parents' house. My grandparents were in town, and I knew we were having family dinner. I wanted to make something special, and I'd bought WAY too many apples at Findlay Market the day before.

Thus, tarte tatin, take deux!

Ingredients:

four apples

brown sugar

cinnamon

pumpkin pie spice

pie crust (yes, I used a store-bought one)

butter. Not margarine, not olive oil, not soy butter. BUTTER.

Preheat oven to 400. Grease the bottom of a glass pie plate with butter. Place about a tablespoon of butter in small chunks throughout the bottom. Sprinkle about 2 T brown sugar in the pie pan. Meanwhile, peel, core and thinly slice the apples and put them in a bowl and sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice to keep them from browning. Arrange them in a circular pattern in the bottom. Sprinkle with another tablespoon of sugar, then bake for 10-15 minutes, until apples are soft and sugar is bubbling.

Roll out the pie crust and spread over the apples. Press down against the apples, then trim the excess. Brush with milk if desired, then bake for 10 minutes, until crust is cooked through.

To serve: And here's the big ta-da!

Get a plate ready and carefully place it upside down on top of the tart. Wearing oven mitts, carefully flip the pie pan on top of the plate. The apples should fall beautifully from the pan, revealing a gorgeous caramelized bottom.

Slice and serve with ice cream.

There will be no leftovers. I made two.