I love fall and anticipate its arrival more than any other season. Unfortunately, we've had a very long, drawn out summer here in NY, but that's not keeping me from cooking and eating my favorite fall foods. I recently had dinner at A Voce, and even though it was over 80 degrees outside, I devoured my plate of butternut squash tortellini in a butter sage sauce. And for a dinner party last week, I made my favorite fall dessert: tarte tatin.

The name alone makes many people think it's a fancy schmancy sweet, but it's really one of the most simple ones around (if you do it my way, at least). You'll get to use up the abundance of apples that sneak into your kitchen the minute fall rolls around (or tries to, at least). Plus, tarte tatin really is so much more satisfying than apple pie. It has a nice buttery crust, isn't overly doughy and its open-faced look is just so pretty!

Many people would probably like a fat scoop of ice cream on top of their tarte tatin, but I find that the apples are sweet enough. I dress mine up with that deliciously thick and creamy Greek yogurt instead. It helps cut the sweetness quite a bit and also adds a nice, tangy touch. And even better? When you go the yougurt route, you should and will feel completely obliged to have a couple of slices.

Tarte Tatin

For the crust:
1 cup flour
1 stick of cold butter, cut up
Pinch of sugar
1/4 cup ice water

For the apple filling:
6 fuji apples, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup of sugar (sometimes I use even less)

To make the crust, place the first three ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add in the ice water slowly, and continue pulsing until the dough forms a ball. Remove dough and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate for an hour or so before rolling it out.

To make the apple filling, put the sugar in a pan (preferably a cast iron one), over low heat and stir continuously. Within a few minutes, the sugar will begin to turn brown. Continue stirring until it becomes liquidy and then add in the sliced apples. Cook the apples in the sugar until they're tender.

Remove the apples from the heat and cover the pan with your rolled out ball of dough. Place the pan in a 350 degree oven and bake until the crust turns brown and golden. Remove the pan from the oven (here's the tricky part), and using pot holders, flip the tart onto a big plate so the apples are facing up and the crust is on the bottom (I usually have my husband do this part). Slice immediately and serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt.