Saturday is movie day...it's always been our version of date night. I have friends who routinely go out every Friday night - their date night - and they go to dinner and then a movie and sometimes don't get home until midnight! Shocking! At least it is around here...the mister would NEVER stay out that late...if he's not in his pajamas by 7:00 PM then somebody (me) is going to pay! We've turned down theater tickets, concert tickets, sporting event tickets, etc., because it would have meant LEAVING our house at dusk and staying out well past dark...something the mister just doesn't do. Perhaps he's afraid of the d
ark.
Another Saturday, another movie. I have an old wooden candy box that is filled with movie ticket stubs...for 20 years, every stub from every movie we've seen has gone into that box...it's darn near over-flowing now - in fact I don't even lift the lid, I just slide the stubs in between the opening. One day I'll put them all in a book and call it Matinee Madness or Tickets to Nowhere or Escape to the Movies...I'm still working on the title...
Allow me to show off my math skills...20 years of matinees (because they're cheaper!) and we probably averaged 40 movies per year at $20 a movie ($10 each) plus $20 worth of popcorn and Diet Coke - that totals around $32,000 and 800 or so movies...
Let's get on with the tart, shall we? This is one recipe you're going to want to make...the custard is made with apple cider as the base, not milk, so it's got a brighter taste. The crust has a hint of lemon and is almost cookie-like - you're going to love it! And the apples...well, it IS an apple tart and they are the star but they are almost secondary to how well everything blends together...I loved this and will be making it again and again. The recipe was printed in the Seattle Times, it's from Greg Atkinson, a well-known Northwest Chef. A few years back I took a class from Greg and bought one of his cookbooks, Entertaining In The Northwest Style and I've used it over and over again.
Best Apple Custart Tart - Adapted from Greg Atkinson, Seattle Times, Pacific Northwest Magazine, September 28, 2008
Crust:
1 cup unbleached white flour
2/3 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch bits
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 egg white (reserve the yolk)
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
Filling:
3 medium Pink Lady or Fuji apples
1 cup apple cider (plus additional for thinning if needed)
2 tablespoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray bottom of a two-piece 10-inch springform tart pan with nonstick spray. To make the pastry for the crust, put the flour in the work bowl of a food processor or in a mixing bowl. Work in the butter, sugar and salt. If using a food processor, process just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; leave some chunks of butter about the size of BBs. Add the egg white and the zest and pulse the motor or work the mixture with a wooden spoon just until the dough comes together into a scrappy heap. Do not knead or overwork; it is not necessary to make the dough into a smooth ball.
On a floured surface, roll the pastry dough into a 10-inch circle and plant the circle in the prpared springform pan. Line the pastry with a piece of baker's parchment or aluminum foil and fill it with rice or beans or special pie weights. Bake the pastry until the edges are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Remove the parchment with the rice or beans and bake until the center of the crust is dry and just beginning to turn golden, about 5 minutes more.
While the crust is baking and cooling, poach the apples and make the filling. Start by poaching the apples. Peel and core the apples and cut each one into 8 wedges. Pile them into a large, enameled cast-iron soup kettle or Dutch oven and pour on the apple cider and lemon juice or cider vinegar. Cook over medium-high heat until the cider is boiling, then recuce heat to low and simmer just until apples are tender, about 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the apples from the simmering cider to a clean bowl and allow them to cool while you make custard with the poaching liquid.
Once apples are cool, sprinkle them with cinnamon, if you like. (I did not use cinnamon the day I made this, but have since liked the addition of cinnamon to the apples.)To make the custard, whisk together the egg, the egg yolk, the sugar and cornstarch in a medium-sized mixing bowl; whisk in about half of the simmering cider, then transfer the tempered egg mixture to the pot and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture is boiling vigorously. Transfer the cooked custard back to the mixing bowl, whisk in the butter, and let it cool for 15 minutes or so. (After the custard is cool, if it's too "gelantinous" or thick, you can add a little more cider, a few tablespoons at a time, to thin and soften it, using a whisk to incorporate. I added an additional 1/4 cup of cider so my custard was more pudding like, which was perfect.)
When the tart shell has cooled completely, fill in with the apple custard and arrange the poached apple slices over the surface. Serve it at room temperature or chilled. Serves 6 to 8.
"It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious." - Oscar Wilde...
(It's Oscar Wilde week around here - my good friend sent me her favorite Oscar Wilde quotes and so I'll be posting them this week - most of them are from The Importance of Being Ernest and they are great!)
