I've been thinking long and hard about what to write for this post. With the new year should come reflections on what has gone by, resolutions or goals for what's ahead, or maybe some deep thoughts on life in general. The truth is, when I think about the passing of yet another year, my mind comes up blank. Time keeps going, whether we're prepared for it or not, and as much wisdom as there is to be gained through experiences and relationships, it doesn't always come in a nice neat package marked by each year that passes. So with that said, I decided instead to simply focus on food, which has its way of helping to move life along pleasantly.
One of my favorite bakeries is Bouchon Bakery. I must have mentioned this before. Some months ago, though, the Yountville Bouchon Bakery was damaged by a fire, and it was a very very sad day. It isn't exactly close to me, so I don't know if it's reopened yet, but going there was always a treat. To my surprise, I received the Bouchon cookbook for Christmas--a gorgeous and completely impractical (not only because of the complexity of the recipes, but because of the book's sheer size and weight) compendium of photos, stories and recipes from the Bouchon bistro and bakery. Flipping through the book, even though it was all about bistro cooking (more "basic" French food), I thought I would never be able to make anything from it, though the pictures looked enticing. It would be the perfect coffee table book, something fun to peruse and dream about but not really to cook from.
I have, however, found one recipe I dared to try. The ingredients were so few, I thought there must be something missing, or it needed cinnamon or some other spice. But this is Thomas Keller--he must know what he's doing, and I decided to trust the recipe. The most complicated thing about it was the caramelization process, which took over an hour on the stove top, but when all was said and done, it was well worth the wait. Baking alone won't achieve the same color and flavor that the slow cooking process can. And there are few things I dislike more when it comes to baking than peeling and coring apples, because I go about it so slowly. But even that won't deter me from making this again.
Tarte Tatin
Adapted from Bouchon, by Thomas Keller (with John Cerciello)
For the pate brisee:
1. In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, mix together on low:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 t. salt
- 2 sticks of butter (1 cup), cut into cubes
Add the cubes of butter into mixer a few at a time
2. Turn the mixer up to medium to completely blend the butter and flour.
3. Add the following, adding the water after the flour has been combined completely:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup ice water
Don't over mix, though the flour and water should be completely incorporated.
4. Divide the dough in half and form into round discs. Refrigerate at least an hour. This recipe will only require one half.
For the tart:
1. Peel, core, and cut into quarters:
- 3 pounds of apples--apples that will hold their shape when cooked (e.g. Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Fuji)
(Thomas Keller provides slightly different instructions on how many apples to use and how to cut and arrange them, but I found that it was easier to do them as I describe it here--though I might try his way next time.)
2. Heat in a 10" cast iron skillet on medium heat:
- 2 T. unsalted butter, cut in small pieces and distributed on the pan
- 3/4 cup sugar, also evenly spread on the pan
- as many apple wedges as can fit in concentric circles in the pan, with the wedges resting on the rounded side
3. As the butter and sugar melt and juices from the apples come out, the amount of liquid will increase and begin to bubble. Periodically rotate the apples together (to maintain the formation) to prevent the apples from sticking to the bottom of the pan. As the apple wedges shrink, add remaining pieces to fill in the empty spaces. Be careful that the sugar does not burn. The liquid should become thick and turn into a deep amber color. This process will take approximately one hour.
4. In between tending to the apples, roll out one of the discs of dough into a round piece large enough to cover the apples in the pan, about 1/4" thick. Refrigerate until ready to use.
5. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.
6. Once step #3 is done, remove the pan from heat. Cover the apples in the pan with dough and tuck any excess along the edge around the apples.
7. Bake on the middle rack for about 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
8. Remove the pan and allow to cool for no longer than 30 minutes. If it cools too much, the apples will stick to the pan.
9. Place a platter that's larger than 10" in diameter over the pan, and invert the tart on to the platter. The tart can rest for a few hours and be reheated in the oven.
10. Serve each slice with a dollop of creme fraiche.
Sorry about my cheesy title--I simply could not think of what to title this post. This may come as a surprise to some, but I love football. I know very little about the rules and strategy and all that (pretty sure I got touchdowns and field goals down), but I love the enthusiasm it creates in players and fans rooting for their team, and I love the white noise in the background as I fall asleep on the sofa when a game is on. I do really enjoy watching football games (especially teams that I care about), but sometimes, on a Sunday afternoon, the crowd noise, crunching sounds from the tackles and the refs' whistle just lulls me to sleep. It's a pretty close-to-perfect way to spend a lazy afternoon. Someone once said they should come up with an iPhone app with "football game white noise"--maybe there's already one that has it. That said, I am looking forward to watching the upcoming Super Bowl (and not napping through it), especially since I like the Mannings.
Now that I've set this all up, I have to tell you that my recipe for today probably wouldn't be considered tailgating-worthy by any means. While every foodie is putting together their Super Bowl party menus and food sites are channeling Super Bowl party tips with the big game just days away, today I am posting something completely irrelevant and a little...boring. I don't think people eat muffins while watching the Super Bowl, but I don't have any baking tailgating recipes. There also isn't anything particularly fancy about these muffins, but I like them because the recipe is fool-proof and easy to build upon depending on what you like (e.g. you can use wheat flour if you're more health conscious, add raisins, apple chunks, chocolate chips, different spices). You could probably use this for your next tea party or brunch. But if you're looking for a Super Bowl recipe, I'm pretty sure if you go to marthastewart.com, she'll have you covered.
Applesauce Spice Muffins
Adapted from epicurious.com
Makes about a dozen regular-sized muffins
Grease or line muffin pan. Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
1. Stir together in a bowl:
- 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour (or substitute 1/2 or 1 cup with whole wheat flour)
- 1-1/2 t. baking powder
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1/2 t. cinnamon
- 1/2 t. ground allspice
- 1/4 t. grated nutmeg
- 1/4 t. salt
2. Using and electric mixer on low or by hand, whisk in a separate bowl until combined:
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup brown sugar
3. Add to the mixture in #2, one at a time:
- 1 stick + 3 T. unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
4. Fold into the apple sauce mixture, one at a time:
- flour mixture from #1
- 1 cup pecans or other chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds)
5. Divide batter evenly among the muffin wells. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Cool for a couple of minutes in the pan, then cool muffins completely on a rack.
(Epicurious includes a topping, which I forgot to use when I made this. It consisted of sugar, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Some reviewers of the recipe suggested using granola, which you can sprinkle on the top of each muffin before baking.)
Think of all the wonderful fall fruits, and the apple comes to mind. Apples are a staple in my diet, and fortunately, though their season is in autumn, they're available year round. I love their crunchiness and their often striking shades of green and red. I also like that apples are full of anti-oxidants and vitamins. I couldn't tell you exactly what anti-oxidants do (something about free radicals), but I know they're really good for you and that's good enough for me. The ironic thing, though, is that I rarely make desserts with apples. Holding a peeler or a paring knife with an apple feels clumsy in my hands, and I can sit for an hour and have peeled maybe five apples at the most. I am a painfully slow peeler.
My friend (the same one who gave me the cupcake cookbook and the ride to the airport--she does seem to come up a bit in my posts) had extra granny smith apples, and asked if I'd like to try making something with them. Since she would be able to help with peeling the apples, we decided to try making apple galettes. Fortunately, we were able to use an old-fashioned apple peeler, which made peeling and slicing very easy. After assembling the galettes and taking them out of the oven, they looked so rustic, so charming. I felt, quite truly, provincial.
I found the original recipe from Epicurious.com, but I added almond meal to the pate brisee (this is the pastry crust) to add a nutty flavor. I did make some errors which I would correct the next time. I added a little too much water and didn't chill the dough before rolling it out, so it was too sticky. Because we were trying to use up the apples, the galettes were over-flowing, and the apple slices either dried up or didn't bake completely. Also, because we had so many apple slices, I was only able to leave very little room along the edges to fold over, which made the galette too delicate to handle. Nonetheless, even with my mistakes, the apple galettes turned out delightful.
Apple Galettes
(adapted from the recipe by Christopher Hill)
Serves about 10
Ingredients for the pate brisee:
1-1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 cup almond flour
couple of dashes of salt (about 1/4 teaspoon)
12 T. unsalted butter, chilled, and but into cubes (about 2 T. of butter for each cube)
2 T. of cold water (or more, as needed)
Ingredients for filling:
5 medium sized apples (granny smith, fuji, or other apples appropriate for baking); peeled, cored, and sliced
1/4 cup brown sugar (less if using apples that are naturally sweet, such as fuji apples)
1 t. cinammon
1 t. lemon juice (optional; can omit if using granny smith apples)
1/2 cup apricot preserves
whole milk
granulated sugar to sprinkle on crust
For the patee brisee:
- Combine the all-purpose flour, almond flour, and salt in a bowl with a wire whisk.
- Using a hand pastry, coarsely blend the flour mix with the butter. The butter should not be completely blended with the flour.
- Add the ice water, and gently combine by hand until the flour clumps together. If it is too dry, add very little ice water at a time.
- Create two round balls of dough, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about an hour.
- Roll out each ball of dough between sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper to a flat disk, about 1/6th of an inch thick. Each disk should be about 11 inches in diameter (though the size may vary).
- Transfer the disks to a baking sheet by loosely rolling each disk over the rolling pin and then unrolling it onto the baking sheet. If using parchment paper, you can also keep the disks on the paper and transfer them directly to the baking sheet.
- Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.
- Combine the apple slices, brown sugar, and cinammon in a bowl. This can be done while the dough is in the refrigerator.
- Spread the apricot preserves over the surface of the disks of pastry dough.
- Assemble the apple slices over the apricot preserves, leaving a 1 inch border (this is better done in a single layer, with each slice facing the same way, in concentric circles; and NOT as I have it in my pictures).
- Fold the crust border over, and brush the crust edges with milk. Sprinkle the granulated sugar over the crust edges.
- Bake for about 50 minutes or until crust turns golden brown.
- After removing the galettes from the oven, you can use a large spatula to loosen the galette from the baking surface. After about 5 minutes, transfer the galettes to serving platters to serve warm or to a wire rack to cool completely.
