Apple Tart and Elmo

This past weekend, J was out of town visiting family in Scranton. EW and I did pretty well for ourselves. We kept busy baking, cooking, coloring, Going to the Farmers market and ( groan) the Whole Foods...of course. On sunday morning,  E came over for a ladies only breakfast of Rosewater Brioche stuffed with Bittersweet chocolate,  Goat Cheese and Asparagus Tarte Salee, and  coffee coffee coffee ( perked of course)   The morning was lovely, but it EW made it clear that this was a NO NAP sort of sunday.  By the time i got her strapped into the Ergo for Whole foods trip number 2 of the weekend, I was loosing steam.  E looked doubtful as we exited the house towards our respective destinations. " We should go back to the apple orchard" she said- "yes, we should" - me.    We walked a little ways, still on the way to our original destinations...and then, we decided. Back to the orchard it was!  EW could ogle the animals, "chicken chicken chicken chicken!!!!"  and we could indulge in a little "apple squishing"  ( a strange behavior that E and I exhibit at the apple orchard...what is it? Pretty much , it's stepping on a fallen, semi squishy looking apple...and getting satisfaction- on a molecular level...from the resulting moment of squish. Thats all. Anyway, we love it, and hey, we were out of apples.  ( E has been making Gallettes galore...gallettes that would shame even martha stewart. amazing!)  and well, we just generally go through a lot of apples at our place.
   ANYWAY,  upon arrival at the orchard it hit us:  Pick your own apples was sort of an abandoned area....there went our apple squishing dreams. Didnt kill the moment though- after all, there were still donuts, apples to buy, cider to drink, and animals for EW to try and touch through the chain link fence. Right? Right.  So far this week we have enjoyed a couple of baked apples with butter , brown sugar and honey...not to mention the many partly eaten apples that EW is racking up.  E made an amazing apple, cranberry, and marzipan gallette- which means it's my cue to make something special.  Today, after a fairly non offensive ( for once) day at work, i thought Id try to get some more mileage out of my new tart pan ( and use some apples before EW takes bites out of every remaining one).  I admit, that while I was trying to get the dough together I did the thing that no mother wants to admit they did...I said "EW, wanna watch Elmo?!"  "yeah!"  "great! you watch elmo while mommy makes dough okay?" "dough! Elmo!"    Yeah, that pretty much says it.  Dough, Elmo.   i am telling myself that the ends justify the means.  Below is the apple tart recipe...I have to say that baking tarts makes you feel disproportionately good about yourself I think.  It isnt that hard, but man, you feel pretty pleased with yourself when its done.   One more note? The only stressful  moment of tart making for me is when it's time to arrange the apples ( or whatever fruit) That seems like it should be the most satisfying part, but time and time again i find myself putting the apples in, taking them out. putting them in another way, taking them out. etc etc.  All I can say is, try not to overthink it and get all wiggly like i do when that moment comes. however you shove those apples in there, it will be fine. okay thats it...happy baking!

Inspired by
french apple tart
from sara moulton - gourmet magazine

1 recipe pastry dough, recipe below
6 of your favorite baking apples, peeled, cored, halved and sliced 1/8-inch thick
1/4 cup vanilla sugar
1/2 stick cold butter, sliced thin
1/2 cup apricot jam, heated ( I throw in the cores of a couple apples while heating)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

On a lightly floured surface roll out dough into a 13-inch round and fit it into a 10-inch tart tin with a removable fluted rim, trimming the excess.

Arrange the apples decoratively on the pastry shell, overlapping them. Sprinkle the sugar on top of the apples, top with butter slices and bake in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes or until the crust is cooked through and the apples are golden.

Brush with the heated (in a saucepan on the stove - low heat) apricot jam while the tart is still hot.
Serve each portion with a small scoop of ice cream or a small spoonful of whipped cream.


Pastry Dough

1 stick cold unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes.
To blend by hand: Blend together flour, butter, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender until most of mixture resembles coarse meal (roughly pea-size lumps). Drizzle 2 tablespoons ice water evenly over and gently stir with a fork until incorporated.
To blend in a food processor: Pulse together flour, butter, and salt in a food processor until most of mixture resembles coarse meal (roughly pea-size lumps). Add 2 tablespoons ice water and pulse 2 or 3 times, or just until incorporated.
Test mixture: Gently squeeze a small handful: it should hold together without crumbling apart. If it doesn't, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring or pulsing 2 or 3 times after each addition until incorporated (keep testing). If you overwork mixture or add too much water, pastry will be tough.

Yield: 1 (9-inch) pie crust or a 10 to 11-inch tart crust
Dough can be chilled up to 1 day.