by Jane Rodmell for All The Best Fine Foods, a ‘Certified Good Food Fighter‘

For Your Rosh Hashanna Feast…

This week All The Best chefs and bakers are busy preparing delicious food to help you enjoy the best holiday feast … and to make it really easy for you. The weekly menu includes two harvest soups (Borscht and Butternut Squash), a selection of super main dishes, sides and salads (Grilled Honey Rosemary Chicken, Herb Baked Salmon, Chicken Marbella, Beef Tenderloin with Cracked Pepper Dijon Crust, Roast Turkey, Honey Orange Glazed Carrots, Sautéed Rapini, Rosemary Roast Potatoes, Smoked Trout and Potato Salad, Beet Tarragon Salad)… and of course lots of wonderful sweet treats including our moist, delicious Honey Cake and pies and pastries featuring Ontario apples and honey.

To complement your feast, you’ll find pure raw Kosher honey imported from Israel in natural flavours of Starthistle, Citrus Blossom and Wildflower Blossom and pure Wild Flower Honey from the Niagara peninsula, including prized Wild Flower Honey in the Comb. All The Best Apple Sauce has just arrived in store, featuring a trio of new crop Ontario apples-Paula Reds, Jersey Macs and Ida Reds.

One of our most popular Apple Desserts is All the Best’s version of the classic French pastry, Tarte Tatin.
Legend has it that this scrumptious tart of caramelized apples first happened by accident in the kitchen run by the Tatin sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline, in their Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, France in late 1800’s. It was an instant hit with their guests and was later featured in Maxim’s in Paris. We recommend serving the tart warm with Belly Wild Flower Honeyed Vanilla Ice Cream or Crème Fraîche.

Apple Tarte Tatin

Preheat oven 375°F/190°C
9-inch/23 cm round cake pan, or oven proof skillet
Puff Pastry , approx 7- ounces 200 g
1/2 cup (125 ml) sugar
1 tbsp (15 ml) water
1 tbsp (15 ml) brandy or Calvados
1 tsp (5 ml) apple cider vinegar
¼ cup (60 ml) salted butter
4 or 5 firm, fresh, flavourful apples (Gala, Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Granny Smith), peeled, cored and cut in eighths, reserving one half apple

Roll puff pastry into a 10-inch /25 cm circle. Transfer to a baking sheet and chill.
In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, brandy and vinegar. Swirl pan to combine ingredients and set over medium heat. Simmer until syrup becomes a nice deep brown, caramel colour, 5 to 6 minutes. (Keep a close eye: caramel can burn in a split second.) Remove from heat and swirl in butter. Pour caramel into cake pan and set aside to cool.
 Arrange apple slices in tightly overlapping concentric circles on top of the caramel, finishing with a half apple in the centre. Lay pastry round on top of the apples, tucking in the sides around the edge.
Bake on middle rack in preheated oven until pastry is lightly browned, 30 to 35 minutes: turn midway through baking to cook evenly. Transfer pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes.
To serve, invert a platter with a lip over the pan and, using potholders to hold pan and platter tightly together, invert tart onto the platter. (Be careful, hot caramel splatters can result in nasty burns.) Serve warm.

Serves 6

REMEMBER: Place your order for Holiday Challahs today: Small Plain Round Challah, Large Sweet Challah, Large Sweet Challah with Raisins. Click here.

Happy New Year from your friends at All The Best!

Jane