My Twist on Julia Child's TARTE AUX POMMES

"It is so beautifully arranged on the plate- you know someone's fingers have been all over it."

- Julia Child

First I must apologize for not writing this post sooner- leaving you hanging with an empty pie crust after my Pate Brisee Sucree post a while back. If you recall, I used that gorgeous pie shell in making Julia Child's TARTE AUX POMMES- an apple tarte that can be served hot or cold (I prefer hot). In "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," Julia describes Tarte aux Pommes as a classic French apple tarte that "consists of a thick, well-flavored applesauce spread in a partially cooked pastry shell. Over it thinly sliced apples are placed in an overlapping design of circles. After baking, it is coated with apricot glaze."

I put a little twist on Julia's recipe by replacing the Golden Delicious apples with the "pear apples" (or Chinese White Pears) that I picked up from the produce stands on I-82. The tarte turned out beautifully with the "pear apples" and was unbelievably delicious. It also held longer than regular apples probably would have. However, I would not recommend using them instead of the Golden Delicious apples if I were to make this recipe again, simply because the pear apples are much more tough and grainy, which made them a nightmare to work with.

Once your Pate Brisee Sucree is completed, the next step is to start on your apples. Quarter, core and peel 4 lbs. of apples. Once prepared, cut the apples lengthwise into even 1/8 inch crescent-shaped slices. Immediately after slicing, toss the slices in a mixing bowl with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of sugar. This is to prevent browning.

Here's a tip: Do one apple at a time. I made the mistake of cleaning (quartering, coring, and peeling) all of my apples at once for the sake of a good blog photo and had to go to extra measures to prevent browning.

For the first few apples (enough to make 4 cups worth of slices) make sure your slices are even and beautiful. Take your time on this because these will be the slices that will top your tarte. Toss these in lemon juice and sugar, cover with plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator.

Next, grab a large mixing bowl and repeat this process with the remaining apples. Don't be a Type A perfectionist (like me) here, slicing each apple with meticulous care. You're wasting your time- they will be mush in the end. In this step, I found that 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of sugar weren't enough, so add as you need it. Keep in mind that the slices only need to be lightly coated, not drenched- If drenched, the acid from the lemon juice will make them disintegrate. You should end up with about 8 cups.

Note: I find that in a process like this, having a "trash bowl" (just another large mixing bowl to throw your scraps in) makes life much easier. It keeps you from walking back and forth to the trash can constantly.

Next, place your 8 cups of slices into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, leaving your pretty slices in the fridge- We'll get to them later. Over low heat, cook covered until tender, about 20 minutes, stirring every now and then.

Once the apples are tender, beat in 2/3 cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons of butter, 1/3 cup syrup from a jar of peach preserves, 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and the grated rind of 1 lemon and 1 orange.

Note: this is MY spin on this recipe. Where I used 1/3 cup syrup from a jar of peach preserves, Julia says to use 1/3 cup apricot preserves forced through a sieve. I didn't have apricot preserves or a sieve, so I worked with what I had and it turned out just fine. She also notes that you can replace the tablespoon of vanilla extract with 1/4 cup Calvados (apple brandy), rum, or cognac- again, I worked with what I had. Julia lists the cinnamon, lemon rind and orange rind all as optional ingredients, but I used them all and I recommend that you do the same- It's a flavor like nothing you've ever experienced.

Once you've beaten these ingredients together with your cooked apple slices, raise the heat and boil, stirring consistently until your applesauce is thick enough to hold a mass in the spoon. This takes a while, but be patient! It is sooooooooooooooooooooo worth it!

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Grab your cooled Pate Brisee Sucree. Pour your applesauce into the pie shell and smooth over with your spoon or spatula.

Now, here comes the decorative part. Remove your pretty slices from the refrigerator. Starting on the outer edges, cover our applesauce with "a neat, closely overlapping layer of sliced apples arranged in a spiral, concentric circles."

After arranging your slices, bake your tarte in the upper third of your oven for about 30 minutes or until the top layer of apples is slightly browned and tender. Remove tarte from oven and set aside to cool.

If you left the spring-releasing edges of your false-bottomed pan on for this final baking process, carefully set your tarte atop a jar (ALWAYS HOLDING ONTO IT!) and VERY CAREFULLY release the spring sides of the pan, letting them fall to the counter, leaving your tarte on the false bottom atop the jar. Carefully slide your tarte off of the false bottom and onto a cooling rack or serving dish.

At this point, you're supposed to brush your tarte with apricot glaze (recipe available on page 593 of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"), but I simply brought the remainder of my syrup from my peach preserves to a boil and brushed my tarte with that.

Serve warm or cold with FRESH, HOMEMADE whipped cream or creme fraiche. You have worked SO hard on this gorgeous tarte. Topping it with whipped cream from a can would simply be a crime.

This is one of the most time consuming recipes I've ever tried, but I am more proud of my TARTE AUX POMMES than I am of anything else I've ever cooked. As Julia says, "...nothing is too much trouble if it turns out the way it should."

The Perfect Beginning to the Holiday Season

I'm going to use this post to admit a personal flaw of mine. I am an over-celebrator. I love to celebrate most anything. I am notorious for making "an event" out of anything. A few weekends ago I had some friends over to watch an Alabama game and while on the phone with my friend, Ben Epps, I immediately started planning a menu. He quickly cut me off and I believe his exact words were something along the lines of "Now LeeLee, I know how you like to have your little dinner parties, but this is about watching football." I have a tendency to make birthdays-not just mine, but my friends' too- last at least a week, so you can only imagine what happens when an occasion as monumental as Christmas rolls around.

I live for Christmas. I love everything about it. I make an ordeal out of every aspect of it- which drives my Mama crazy. Decorating the tree, arranging the manger scene, draping the garland, cooking our traditional Christmas morning breakfast, wrapping the presents- all of it is a sentimental process to me. All of it must be done perfectly and all done while blaring my favorite mix CD, which I appropriately titled "CHRISTMAS! YAY!"

So just as all of these things must be done each year, the season, in my little Christmas world, must begin the same way each year- with Wassail. Wassail is a warm drink that captures Christmas in every way. It smells like Christmas, tastes like Christmas, and is a constant reminder that Christmas is fast approaching.

Mama used to make wassail on the first cold day of each year (which to us meant any day with a temperature below 50 degrees) and now I do the same. Not only is wassail a warm delicious treat, but it fills your home with the scents of cinnamon and cloves- a perfect way to begin the holiday season.

Click HERE for my Wassail Recipe!

My Favorite Holiday Treat

In response to questions from my last post, today I'm writing about my favorite holiday treat- Grandmother Wiginton's Peanut Brittle.

I have to start my telling you a little bit about this special woman. Grandmother Wiginton, who we just call "Grandmother," is my dad's mom. Grandmother and Grandaddy live in a teency tiny town called Golden, Mississippi. Population 200. Yes, you read that correctly. TWO HUNDRED. Talk about a small town. Grandmother has always been one of those women who seems to know how to do just about everything, and it is from her that I have learned so many things that I cherish today. She taught me how to quilt, how to crochet, how to dig potatoes, how to gather eggs from the chicken coop, and had a huge influence on me in the kitchen.

Some of my fondest memories are from summers spent in Golden at Grandmother and Grandaddy's house. One summer I had a pet pony, Buttercup, who was rejected by her mama (my other horse, creatively named "Black Beauty") and who we brought home to the pasture behind their house. Being my only real friend there, I would dress Buttercup up in hats and scarves and feed her from a bottle. Another summer, I had a pet chicken, who I later accidentally killed by dropping it on the ground after it pooped in my hand. Whoops.
Every day my job was to gather the eggs from the chickens before I began my afternoon of cutting "paper dolls" from the gigantic Sears catalog.

Although my trips to Grandmother and Grandaddy's house have become fewer and far between through the years, we still visit every Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Daddy and I are somehow always the last ones to get there, but I always go straight for the kitchen, where I know I will find Grandmother over the stove and a jar of peanut brittle on the counter. This is hands-down the most wonderful peanut brittle you will ever have.
The reason that this is my favorite holiday treat is simply because of how deliciously irresistible it is. It is actually very addictive. I often eat so much of it before Thanksgiving or Christmas lunch that I'm not hungry by the time we say the blessing.

This recipe is so special to me that I almost feel like a traitor giving it out, but it is so wonderful that I just can't keep it to myself. There are lots of family recipes that I love, but have always been intimidated to try myself. This is one of them, and for that reason, I'm going to give you a step-by-step explanation of the recipe in detail. Don't be discouraged if you have to throw away a few batches before you get it right- I definitely did. My first was too sticky, my second burnt completely, but the third batch was just right. This is a tricky recipe, but well worth the effort. So, let's get started!

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light Karo syrup
1 cup water
1 cup RAW redskin peanuts
1/4 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
Tips: Do not try to multiply this recipe. It is tricky on its own and must be done so quickly that it won't work in large quantities. There simply isn't enough time. Also, NEVER leave the stove and NEVER stop stirring.

1. In a saucepan, combine sugar, Karo syrup, and water. Combine and stir.
Tip: Grandmother says to cook at 1 notch above medium, but I got impatient and cooked at 2 notches above medium and it worked just fine. All stoves are different, so just cook accordingly.

2. Cook until it spins a thread. I didn't know what that meant, so I figure that some of you don't either. When you lift your spoon from the mixture, an ultra-thin wispy string should form and fly back from your spoon. The string should be long.

3. Add raw peanuts- Mixture will be white and bubbly at this point. Mixture will thicken greatly after adding the peanuts so you MUST STIR CONSTANTLY.

4. Cook until it's a light honey color- Not too long or the baking soda won't react properly.

5. Set saucepan off the eye.

6. Add butter and vanilla extract and stir, then add baking soda. Combine completely.
Tip: This must be done VERY quickly, so it's best to have your peanuts, butter, vanilla extract and baking soda measured out beforehand. Also, BAKING SODA MUST BE ADDED LAST!

7. Pour mixture onto greased cookie sheet and immediately spread it a little with your spoon, spatula or whatever you're using. Don't do this too much or it will string and be ugly.

8. Pull the brittle.
This is the step that I was the most nervous about. When Grandmother was explaining this recipe to me over the phone, I told her how nervous I was about this step and she told me that I didn't really have to pull the brittle, but Grandaddy immediately yelled from the other room that it's not worth eating unless it's pulled- and boy was he right! The thing that makes Grandmother Wiginton's Peanut Brittle so wonderful is that it is almost paper thin.
With a knife, gently lift edges and pull brittle thinner, but without tearing. Be careful- it's hot!
Pull every minute or so until hard- it's better when paper thin.
Tip: DO NOT taste test until brittle is completely hard- You will break a tooth!

9. Break into pieces and let cool. Store in Tupperware container or cookie jar- Something with a lid.

More Tips:
If, in the end, your brittle is too sticky and is impossible to get out of your teeth, you've messed up in one of three places. Either, you didn't let the mixture spin a long enough thread, you didn't let the mixture cook long enough after adding the peanuts, or you didn't put in enough baking soda. Without being there, I can't tell you which one of these it is, but through trial and error, you'll figure it out.

Also, if you're making this as a gift and plan on making multiple batches, keep in mind that 1 bottle of Light Karo Syrup will give you four batches.

I hope you enjoy this treat as much as my family does! I would love to hear how it comes out when you make it! Feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me with any new tips you come up with!

Halloween Nostalgia

Do you have those vivid memories from your childhood- ones that seemed so special or that made you so happy- that they almost seem magical? It's funny, the things that stick out in our minds. Often times, it's the little things that we hold so dear- Things that our families thought went unnoticed or sometimes things so small that only you remember even happened. In reality, these moments probably weren't all that spectacular- maybe just romanticized and exaggerated over the years of remembering- but in the end, just the remembering in and of itself is special. Our ability- after so many years, so many heartbreaks, so many failures and disappointments- to see and feel these memories exactly as we experienced them as children is really something magical.

When I look back into my file of such memories, I always find Halloween and the annual Halloween dinner parties that my family threw. We were living at our old house on Franklin Street, where I spent the majority of my childhood. Every Halloween, Mama and Daddy would invite all their friends over for chili and martinis. The children would have dinner first- always Mama's chili and Suggie's broccoli cornbread (just about the most delicious thing on earth!). After dinner, we were off to trick-or-treat with whoever our parents had managed to con into taking us that year. One year it was even Mr. Estes, a teacher from our school. I still feel sorry for him about that one. Once we returned home, our bags filled with candy and our parents filled with martinis, everyone was happy.

One of these Halloween dinner parties stands out in particular. Mama had gone all out on decorations that year. The formal dining room at the Franklin Street house was beautiful. An enormous chandelier hung above the heavy, beautifully sculpted dining room table. The chairs were big (or maybe they just seemed that way then) and were upholstered in a heavy, light-blue fabric. Starting in the chandelier, Mama spread fake spider webs to form a sort of mosquito-net-like sheath over the table, attaching the webbing to the back of each chair. She even went as far as placing little plastic spiders all over the webbing. I was beyond thrilled.

I remember being so excited to go into that room that night. It was special to get to have dinner in there. Don't get me wrong. Our house wasn't one of those where children aren't allowed in certain rooms for the parents' fear of antiques being destroyed. It just wasn't where we normally sat down for dinner each night. Sitting in that big chair, under that magnificent spider web with all of my friends, eating my chili from Mama's good china instead of my normal soup bowls, with the big chandelier glowing as though it were hung just for us beneath the web- that is my special memory.

I felt special. And proud. With just a few bags of cheap plastic spider web, she had created a whole other world just for us, and as corny as it sounds, it was really pretty magical. Although my life is very different now than it was back then, I still make chili and broccoli cornbread (and maybe a few dirty martinis) every Halloween and remember that special night beneath the spider web.

Even though we're all grown up now, maybe it's good for us to look back every now and then, recognize the tough times, accept them for what they are, and cherish the wonderful times with as much joy as we did as children.

My decorations for the dining room table at this year's Halloween dinner party

I would love to hear some of your favorite memories, so leave a comment!

Click HERE for Mama's Chili recipe

Click HERE for Suggie's Broccoli Cornbread recipe

Enjoy!

Napoleon's Frog Prince Halloween costume

Sweet Sarah Grace Rowe in her 2nd costume of the night

Sarah Stubblefield, Caroline Wills and me as the Powerpuff Girls on Senior Dress Up Day at Randolph

Sarah Stubblefield, Maggie Oliver and me as contestants from Legends of the Hidden Temple

(the Purple Parrots were always may favorite!)

Pâte Brisée Sucrée [Sweet Short Paste]

“Pastry is like people,” says Anne, who translates the rest. Some dough needs a lot of kneading, some requires much less. Some dough is satisfied just a little, while other dough needs to double in size. All dough needs warmth to rise. 

- The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn

When trying to figure out what to do with these “pear apples” I brought home from the I-82 produce stands, I went straight to recipes that involved apples since they were apparently similar. All of the apple pie recipes I found looked so normal and I really wanted to do something a little more challenging. Finding and trying challenging recipes has been a big part of my life since I decided that I want to go to culinary school. This is mainly because I don’t want to get there and look like a total idiot who thinks she can cook just because she can make a few things beautifully. Yes, people rave about my guacamole, my brioche, and many other things, but in all honesty a six year old could probably pull off both of those things. In search of something fancier, I immediately turned to Julia. Julia Child that is.

My copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking is quickly becoming well broken in. The pages are covered in splatters of sauces and smears of flour. I look at it like a normal person looks at an encyclopedia, because it really is so comprehensive. 

I went to the section on Dessert Tarts and found Tarte aux Pommes (which is the pretty French way of saying apple tart). Reading through the recipe, which Julia writes beautifully as more of an article than a recipe, I realized that it was going to be a bit of a process, calling for Pâte Brisée Sucrée, the pretty French way of saying pie crust.

If you’re going to take the time to do this, I recommend doing it in abundance. Just for the heck of it, I tripled the recipe. This pastry dough can last in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, but can be frozen for many weeks. While making this pastry shell, I thought “I have never appreciated store-bought pastry shells more than right now,” but once I finished, the thought of buying a store-bought pastry shell seemed completely ridiculous. I never thought a crust could be SO DELICIOUS. This sweet short paste is made exactly like a regular short paste (like you would use for a quiche), but you mix the sugar into the flour before you begin rather than after. 

Now, you can make this dough either by hand mixing or with a food processor. I don’t own a food processor of my own, so hand mixing was my only option. Besides as Julia says, “A pastry blender may be used if you wish, but a necessary part of learning how to cook is to get the feel of the dough in your fingers. Il faunt mettre la main à la pâte!” 

Go ahead and blend your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then add your “fats” (butter and vegetable shortening).

Julia emphasizes the importance of working QUICKLY, which always scares me. I guess I should get used to it though since I will soon be required to do everything quickly in the kitchen. If you have a warm kitchen, CRANK UP THE A.C.! Also, I tend to enjoy a glass of wine while I’m in the kitchen, but if you get flushed and heated from this, wait until after your pastry is done to have a cocktail. The heat from your hands can ruin the entire process. Here are Julia’s instructions:

“Rub the flour and fat together rapidly between the tips of your fingers until the fat is broken into pieces the size of oatmeal flakes. Do not overdo this step as the fat will be blended more thoroughly later.” 

Don’t worry if your bits aren’t quite as small as oatmeal flakes, because it will be taken care of later. Especially if you have wine-warmed hands like mine and an over-head light that could substitute a space-heater.

Next, Julia instructs us to, “Add the water and blend quickly with one hand, fingers held together and slightly cupped, as you rapidly gather the dough into a mass. Sprinkle up to 1 tablespoon more water by droplets over any unmassed remains and add them to the main body of the dough. Then press the dough firmly into a roughly shaped ball. It should just hold together and be pliable, but not sticky.”

Our next step is the “fraisage,” or final blending. Note: You must do this step even if you made your dough with a food processor. 

I was nervous about this step because I am notoriously horrible at kneading. One Christmas, while making homemade pasta with the Gesslers, I was called out on my inabilities and referred to as a child with play-doh. But I had to face my fears and go for it. 

Transfer your mass of dough onto a lightly floured cutting board and lightly sprinkle your dough with flour. I’m going to go ahead and give you Julia’s instructions word-for-word due to my fear of re-wording it and messing you all up. 

“With the heel of one hand, not the palm which is too warm, rapidly press the pastry by two-spoonful bits down on the board and away from you in a firm, quick smear of about 6 inches.”

“With a scraper or spatula, gather the dough into a mass; knead it briefly into a fairly smooth round ball. Sprinkle it with four and wrap it in waxed paper.”

Once you’ve wrapped up your dough, place it in the freezer for about 1 hour until it’s firm, or (if you have the time) refrigerate it overnight. 

Such a typical college freezer. Bourbon, TCBY, frozen dinners and hot pockets. I guess I  mixed it up a bit with the pastry dough. 

Once the dough has become workable, it’s time to roll it out. Again, I was nervous about this step because of my lack of counter space. 

My only option was to place my cutting board on top of my pre-heating oven, which of course warmed up my dough- making my life VERY difficult. If this happens to you for some reason, don’t feel bashful about sticking it back into the freezer for a few minutes to make it workable again. This is a much better option than trying to work with hot dough. This dough in particular becomes difficult to handle because of its high butter content- which is also the thing that makes it so delicious so we can’t complain too much. 

Place your dough on the floured cutting board and sprinkle the top with flour. If you’re like me and are deathly afraid of sticky dough, cover both your hands and your rolling pin in flour as well. 

Now, I’m usually not big on product promotion, but since I’m not being particular about brands here, I’ll give you this wonderful tip. I was wandering around Target’s baking section and came across this wonderful baking mat. It has circles drawn on it that tell you how large to roll out your dough for each different size of pan. How wonderful is that! You will never roll your dough too small again- because we all know how frustrating it is to roll out your dough and then be unable to cover your pan. 

Roll your dough to the appropriate size, sprinkling with flour whenever necessary, until you have a circle that is about 1/8 inch thick and about 2 inches larger all around than your pan. If it’s uneven- as mine ALWAYS is- just even it out with your knife. Here’s Julia’s tip on this topic:

“If your circle is uneven, cut off a too-large portion, moisten the edge of the too-small portion with water, press the two pieces of pastry together, and smooth them with your rolling pin.”

NOTE: You must use your dough IMMEDIATELY or it will soften and be a total wreck. 

To avoid the typical American “country” looking pie, I used a false-bottomed cake pan with spring-releasing edges. I have always been afraid of these pans, but now I AM OBSESSED! IF YOU DON’T HAVE ONE, GET ONE...OR FOUR!

Alright, now here’s the semi-tricky part. Getting the dough into the pan. First, butter your pan EXTREMELY WELL!

My Mama, and many others, were taught to transfer the dough by rolling it over the rolling pin and over the pan. I fail at this process every time, but luckily, Julia provides us with another option that I LOVE! Okay here we go. Sprinkle your dough with flour so that there is no chance of it sticking to anything AT ALL. Fold it in half, and then again, so that one edge is a perfect 90 degree angle. Place this 90 degree angle in the center of your pan and simply unfold. It is amazing how perfectly this works. 

Press the dough lightly on the bottom of the pan, then lift the edges and work it down the inside edges of the pan with your fingers, “taking in about 3/8 inch of dough all around the circumference. This will make the sides of the pastry shell a little thicker and sturdier.”

Once it’s in, trim off the edges and press in a pretty pattern around the edge with your knife. 

Then prick the bottom with your form to avoid puffing and rising. Now come the protective measures. This was completely new to me and seemed crazy. Apparently it’s been done forever and is totally normal. I was telling Mama about it over breakfast like I had discovered something phenomenal and she looked at me like I was an idiot. 

To avoid your pastry shell from collapsing or rising, line the inside of the shell with buttered aluminum foil and fill it with beans to weigh it down! How neat is that! 

My recipe for Tarte aux Pommes called for a partially cooked shell, which is partially baked, then filled, then baked again. Here are Julia’s instructions:

“Bake at the middle level of a preheated 400-degree oven for 8 to 9 minutes until pastry is set. Remove mold or foil and beans. Prick bottom of pastry with a fork to keep it from rising. Return to oven for 2 to 3 minutes more. When the shell is starting to color and just beginning to shrink from sides of mold, remove it from the oven. If it seems to you that the sides of the shell are fragile, or are liable to crack or leak with the weight of the filling to come, do not unmold until your tart or quiche is filled and finally baked.”

This was my final product, which seemed to me “liable to crack” so i left the sides of the pan on until my tart was filled and baked. This is quite a process, but is SO UNBELIEVABLY WORTH IT! 

Enjoy!

“Noncooks think it’s silly to invest two hours’ work into two minutes’ enjoyment, but if cooking is evanescent, so is the ballet.” -Julia Child