French Apple Tart

*Pictures Coming Soon!*

As I think I've mentioned in the past, I'm a little addicted to watching the Food Network. One of my favorite shows is Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa. I know a lot of people (including my parents...hi, Mom and Dad!) who think she's dull as dishwater to watch, but everything she makes always looks so good and is so simple. Perhaps the problem isn't that her show is dull, but that people are easily bored by the deceptively simple (yet awesome) recipes she makes. Either way, I've yet to find a recipe from Barefoot Contessa that hasn't become a fast favorite.


Today's recipe was slightly scarier than my average Ina recipe, however. You see, I have a mental block/phobia regarding my ability to make pastries, breads, biscuits, etc. I believe my phobia on the subject goes back to the first year I was married and tried to follow a recipe for homemade buttermilk biscuits. Somehow, instead of being a sticky, but cohesive dough, what I got was a *liquid* (I know, ewwwwww, right?). Anyway, I have shied away from recipes of that sort ever since (the closest I've come since is baking up a can of those Pillsbury whomp biscuits -- so named because you have to whomp the tube on the counter to get the biscuits out -- and yes, whomp is a technical term). But I digress...


What was scary about the French apple tart recipe was that it called for making my own pastry. Granted, this looks easy as can be when Ina does it on TV, but remember, I have a phobia. So it was with great trepidation (look it up, it's really a word) ;) that I started today's project. In case things went badly, I didn't take any pictures of the pastry-making part of the recipe. But here's the thing. It really WAS easy. It actually worked EXACTLY the way Ina said it would. And now, as the smell of simmering apples and cinnamon (I tweaked Ina's original recipe just a tad) fills my kitchen, I relax, sniff appreciatively, and say to you, Happy Fall! I also say to you, go make this! Right now!


French Apple Tart


Adapted From: Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics "Easy French"

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 cup ice water

For the apples:

• 4 Granny Smith apples* (I only used 3 and had left-overs)
• 1/2 cup sugar* (I only used a heaping 1/4 cup -- the apples were plenty sweet already)
• Cinnamon, to taste*
• Just a tad of freshly grated nutmeg*
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small diced
• 1/2 cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam (I forgot to add this.)
• 2 tablespoons Calvados, rum, or water (I forgot to add this too. The moral? Never multi-task and make dinner while making dessert.)

*Denotes my additions/changes.

Directions

For the pastry, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Roll the dough slightly larger than 10 by 14-inches. Using a ruler and a small knife, trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.

Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baler. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. (I tend not to use the apple ends in order to make the arrangement beautiful.) Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour*, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don't worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine! When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the Calvados and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn't stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

*45 minutes was plenty of time.