French Apple Tart ala Ina Garten

I had the good fortune, after 18 years of living on Hawaiʻi Island, to go pick apples up on Mana Road near Waimea. My dear friends and I went to the Hakalau National Forest Reserve for the once a year open house and on the way back we stopped somewhere along Mana Road to go pick the apples I had heard about throughout the years.
Finding the right spot was a shot in the dark (our driver wasn't quite sure where to go and directions we were given didn't quite work out right) but we lucked out and not only did we find an apple orchard but there were also PEARS! YES! YOU HEARD ME RIGHT! I know. Most people would not get so excited but seriously, when was the last time you saw a pear tree, a real pear tree, right here. Practically in my back yard.

Don't they look like real apples? They are! Here in Hawai'i!

Our fearless leader, Keoki, also known as our apple picker

My BFF Lisa and her mom, Alice

Me and my bag of apples. I tried not to go overboard. You know. No hoarding allowed. That's why we don't have enough fish in the ocean. Lei making materials on O'ahu. And so on. And so on.

Very long story short: I made a french apple tart. Thank you again, Ina Garten. I heart her. Lots. Click on the link for the recipe. And don't forget to read the comments. Comments are VERY HELPFUL! For instance, several people commented that the sugar leaked out, causing burning and a mess on the pan. So I made sure that my parchment paper was big enough to cover my entire pan. No leaking onto the metal. Yay. Also, someone said to remove the tart right away from the pan. I did that, too. No tart sticking to anything!
Bottom line, it was FABULOUS! I made it twice in one week. Remember, I got a bunch of apples!!! And the second time I made it I didn't have quite enough apricot preserves so I added some liliko'i butter and it came out really great!

pre-baked

Getting ready to put it in the oven. Just sprinkled it with 1/2 cup sugar and dotted it with 1/2 cup of butter.

Fresh out of the oven

It looks edible already

Brushed with apricot rum mixture

Now it's looking extra delectable

I got no complaints on this one

Crust was amazingly flaky. And the "burnt" parts, along some of the edges from the sugar actually added a nice quality to the tart. It was crunchy, tart, sweet, flaky, full of goodness. Especially fresh out of the oven. But even the next day too! Good luck.