Carmelized Upside Down Pear Tart

I received a bag of organic pears from the whole food store in my weekly share and set out to find

a cool recipe to try.  Thank you Ruth Reichl for this amazingly delicious and simple recipe from your book "The Gourmet Cookbook"  2004, pg 782. Apparently this is a spin off from a French recipe which used apples.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 stick butter (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
4 firm but ripe Bocs pears ( 2 pounds total), peeled halved and cored ( I use whatever type of pears I have on hand on that come with the share :)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Basic Pastry dough for a tart shell. ( use a pie crust recipe)

Accompaniment:whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
Special Equipment: 9 or 10 inch ovenproof nonstick skillet or well seasoned cast iron skillet

DIRECTIONS
Heat butter in skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Stir in sugar (sugar will not dissolve yet). Arrange pears cut side up in skillet, with wider ends out. Sprinkle cinnamon over the pears and cook without stirring, until sugar mixture becomes a deep golden caramel, 15 to 25 minutes (depending on the skillet and stove.) Remove from heat and cool pears completely in skillet.

Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 91/2 to 101/2 inch round. (I actually take the time to cut this to size.  It makes the next step even easier.) Lay over pears in skillet and tuck edges in around pears.

Bake until pastry is golden brown, 30 - 35 minutes. Remove tart from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes.

Wearing oven mitts, invert a rimmed serving plate slightly larger than the skillet over tart, keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together, invert tart onto plat Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream.  Enjoy!!!!!