10.08.2010

 

Butternut squash tarte tatin

Tonight was the second time I tried to make something I saw on Iron Chef America. It's a bit of a challenge, since they don't publish the recipes the chefs make, and I just have to go off sight, Alton Brown's delightful commentary, and my own culinary knowledge. In Battle Butter, Iron Chef Cat Cora made a butternut squash tarte tatin, a little pastry thing that looked so delicious and easy I had to try it. Keep in mind as you read that this was Battle Butter. Butternut squash, puff pastry (which is full of butter), melted butter, and five spice... that's it. Yum. Kent even ate it. I told him it was a butternut squash pie with cinnamon, enticing him with the two key words "pie" and "cinnamon". He believed me. Add a bit of molasses or brown sugar, and it would taste like an actual pie, but Jack and I thought the flavor was incredible exactly as is. It made a wonderful Friday supper with pork tenderloin, crock pot mac and cheese, and steamed broccoli. I realized after dinner that I should have put five spice on the pork, too, but it was just dandy brined in OJ, apple cider vinegar, and brown sugar, then pan-seared and baked in the oven.


First, I peeled the squash, cut it into slices about 1/2-inch thick, then cut the slices into smaller pieces that would fit in my crocks. Cat Cora had these cute little cast-iron ramekins that held a round slice perfectly, but in the absence of that, I just cut them into semi-circles and a few smaller pieces for the edges. I was going for an even layer of squash on the bottom of each crock. Then I melted some butter (about 4 Tbsp in all for the whole recipe) and added a bit of it to the squash and tossed in some Chinese five spice. Cat Cora used brown butter to toss with the squash and five spice, but I didn't have that kind of time.


I put a little melted butter in the bottom of each crock, then added a layer of squash. My crocks are oval-shaped, so this is what I ended up with.


Next, I cut some puff pastry in the shape of my baking dishes. I used the bottom of the dish for a guide, but since the pastry draws up a little when it bakes, I could have used the top, too. Either way would seem to work.


I topped each layer of squash with a piece of puff pastry, then brushed a tad more melted butter on top. Blame Cat Cora. Then I put my scraps in a baggie back in the freezer. I'm not sure what I'll do with the scraps, but I hate to waste puff pastry, ever.


I baked them at 425 for some length of time. I had this great plan to time it and see how long it took to bake, but I have two small children. Thus, I know that I put them in the oven at 5:40 p.m., but I have no idea what time I took them out. It was maybe 15 minutes later, but I just kept an eye on them until they were puffed and golden brown.


Just to be funny, I made a short movie of these things sizzling when they came out of the oven. Butter. Can you hear it?


The final step is inverting them onto a plate after they've had a few minutes to cool. Well, okay, the FINAL step is eating them slowly enough that you don't burn yourself, but it's hard. They're that good.

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Comments:

You are too cute! Love the video, and roll the left over dough together, make smores with puff pastry!
 
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