Tips for Rich Men: Pear Tatin

Minneapolis/St. Paul was better than a girl could have dreamed. I'll sum it up with one little thing: Whenever I purchased a local cup of coffee, be it at a posh restaurant, a coffee shop or a breakfast joint, there was only one creamer option. No soy nonsense, no 2%. And every time, that solo container contained half and half. Period. Minnesotans demonstrated a culinary savvy not found in have-it-your-way New York. They do flavor right.

Earlier this year, I began writing a weekly food column for thestreet.com. So far, I'm having a lot of fun, and fitting in quite well with Jim Cramer's brash, bold, opinion-filled web site. After some bizarre post-Valentine's Day dating incidents, I found myself with enough copy to fill piece offering 10 Dating Tips for Rich Men.

Let me just say this, rich men: Y'all scare me sometimes. Here are some tips for how to date the kind of women who prefer you don't stick dollar bills in their clothing.


Pear Tart Tatin
by Allison Fishman, The Wooden Spoon
Serves 8

An indulgent dessert with extraordinary presentation; I've simplified pear tatin to it's basics. An impressive but simple recipe; gild this lily as you will.

1 (16-ounce) package Fresh Direct, Dufour or Pepperidge Farm puff pastry
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 to 6 large pears (Bosc preferred, Anjou OK), peeled, cored and halved
1 egg, lightly beaten
Crème fraîche, sour cream, or vanilla ice cream

1. Melt butter in a 10-inch-diameter ovenproof nonstick skillet with sloping sides (skillet should be at least 1 3/4 inches deep). Reserve 2 tablespoons sugar; sprinkle remaining sugar over butter. Place skillet over medium-low heat and cook until butter melts, sugar begins to dissolve and mixture starts to bubble, 10 to 12 minutes.

2. Remove skillet from the heat. Arrange pear halves in the skillet, pointing the tips toward the center. Arrange as many of remaining pears as will fit, in 2 circles in center of skillet. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar.

3. Set skillet over medium-high heat; boil until thick medium amber-color syrup forms, repositioning skillet often for even cooking and adding remaining pear halves as space permits, about 45 minutes (syrup will continue to darken during baking). Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425 °F.

4. Roll out puff pastry on floured surface to 10-inch round; place over pears. Press pastry down around pears at edge of skillet; brush pastry with some of the egg mixture.

5. Bake tart until pastry is deep golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer to work surface; cool 1 minute. Cut around edge of skillet to loosen pastry. Place large platter over skillet. Using oven mitts as an aid, hold skillet and platter together tightly and invert, allowing tart to fall onto platter. Carefully lift off skillet. Rearrange any pears that may have become dislodged. Cool tart 30 minutes.

5. Cut warm tart into wedges. Serve with crème fraîche.