A Flipping Experience

Our schedule (Joe and mine) has been so crazy lately, either one of us is not home for dinner (usually him) or neither of us are home at all.... which makes cooking and getting lost in my kitchen a hard thing to do.  My desire is still strong to get in the kitchen and cook all day, but I have to settle for watching Julia's DVD's and reading her biography instead, which is also quite enjoyable too.

Last night was a rare night when both of us were home for dinner and I was home most of the day, allowing me to cook a more labor intensive meal.  I have been wanting a good ole pot of bean soup, and the best bean soup MUST be made with a ham bone..... so I bought and cooked a bone-in sliced spiral ham for dinner last night!!!  YUM!!!!  It was perfect!  Joe immediately asks... "why did you cook this big ham for just the two of us?"..... and I replied..... "because I want some good bean soup, and trust me.... this ham will get eaten!"  To go with the ham, I made some mashed potatoes, french green beans (I've gotten the technique for french green beans mastered!), had a loaf of artisian bread to go with it and for dessert..... I had made a Tarte Tatin (Apple tart/pie) from Julia's cookbook.

The Tarte Tatin is an unside down dessert, thus 'flipping' is involved.  If you have never tried to flip a pan full to the brim with food.... it is quite a tricky thing to do!  You just never know for sure if it will flip out properly, fall out making the dish that you have spent hours babying end up looking like a big messy pile of muck.  This dessert is made in a cast iron skillet, with the butter and sugar on the bottom, the first layer of apples arranged in a pattern on top, more butter and sugar and then the rest of the apples piled on top, then covered with a pastry crust (which is also made from scratch).  The tarte then needs to cook on top of the stove for 3 minutes to caramelize the sugar and butter on the bottom before it gets placed in the oven for baking.  After baking, it needs again to be cooked stove top for a couple of minutes to finish caramelizing the bottom, thus to release the tarte easily from the pan.  So....... with tongue sticking out the side of my mouth (for balance!) I inserted a knife around the edges, gave the pan a little wiggle and place the plate over the pan and ........wham...... I flip the pan and hold my breath..... then I instantly scream VIOLA!!!!!!  I did it..... the perfect beautiful tarte sitting quite happy on it's plate just like it is supposed to.

My first thought was..... OMGOSH!!!  Julia did it again..... her instructions were so precise that I flipped a baked dessert that was perfectly caramelized on the top, with the crust on the bottom. It was as tasty as it looked too..... but I used granny smith apples, which I think gave it a 'tart-er' taste than a golden delicious apple, which would have given it a sweeter taste.  Joe likes the tartness of the granny smith apples, I prefer the sweeter taste, so next time I will try the golden delicious for the tart.

Nothing gives a Chef/cook/baker a bigger smile than when the 'flipping' and/or  the un-molding goes well.  From start to finish when working with a recipe that you know has to be flipped or un-molded for presentation, you feel the tension of NOT doing all this work for it to be a mucky mess at the end.  Of course, Dear Julia has shown us several examples of what to do with the mucky mess should this disaster happen (which it does without prediction) and it may not be the presentation you were planning, but you can save it and turn it into something different because it still tastes really really good!  However.... when it turns out perfectly, just as you had imagined it would..... that is the GREATEST feeling..... you just have to shout out VIOLA!!!!  I served my warm tarte with a big dollop of chocolate chip ice cream next to it.  Had intended to make some 'creme fraiche ' from scratch, until I noticed it needs to set in the refrigerator for a couple of days!  OOPS!!!  Ice cream was just as good and a bit more American!

Out to dinner tonight (biz dinner), then bean soup tomorrow and for the weekend!!  Bean soup, corn bread, fried potatoes, baked ham....... it may not be very french or foo foo eating..... but..... my 'peasant food' is just as tasty anything the french can offer!

Au Revoir