do not forsake me, oh my darling

I always mean well. I acquire fruit intending to eat it fresh and then it sits and sits and sits. I bring the fruit to the brink of collapse and then stick it in the fridge to prolong the inevitable. The inevitable can be one of two things. The eviler of the two being that the fruit becomes so overripe and bruised that it is discarded as useless. The finer and thankfully more likely of the two is that the fruit that nearly met its peril, is baked into something sweet and good. Example: four Bartlett pears on the verge of death. Solution:

Upside-Down Pear Tart

4 large pears
1/4 cup soy margarine (Earth Balance)
1/2 cup unrefined sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

pastry crust:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
scant 1/4 cup soy margarine
scant 1/4 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
3-4 tablespoons cold water

Assemble pastry crust: whisk flour and salt together. Add margarine and shortening in large chunks. Cut in fats with a pastry cutter, a large fork, or your fingers until a consistent crumb forms. Sprinkle in a couple tablespoons of cold water at a time and toss with a fork until dough is just moistened and holds together, but is not wet. Do not overwork the dough, or it may become tough. Turn out on floured surface and knead just a few times to bring it together. Form a ball and set aside.

Peel, core and quarter pears. Melt margarine over medium heat in a well-seasoned 9 or 10 inch cast iron skillet (I can't vouch for this recipe using non-cast iron: do so at your own risk...) When margarine is fully melted, stir in suger. Arrange pears cut-side up, wide ends pointing outward, in skillet and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cook for 10-20 minutes until sugar cooks into a deep caramel. Remove from heat and cool pears completely.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out pastry dough on a floured surface to a 10 inch round. Place over pears and tuck edges inside of pan. Bake until pastry browns lightly, about 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack for 5 minutes. Place large rimmed platter over skillet and invert carefully, using pot holders to hold platter and skillet tightly together. Serve warm with vanilla soy ice cream!