Apple Galette

Lots of non-fish entries lately. Sorry, I can't help it. Now that I keep my digital camera in the kitchen, it's hard not to take pictures. And once you start taking pictures of food, it's hard not to post them.

I made an apple galette today and it finally tasted as good as they taste in France. I am not much of a baker, but I do obsess about making perfect tarts and pies. On occasion I have my triumphs and this is one of them. Following Pyewacket's suggestion of using Northern Spy apples for baking helped a lot. They stayed together and caramelized beautifully -- a healthy doze of butter and sugar might have contributed to the successful outcome.

Most of this was complete improvisation, but here is what I think I did, so that I can do it next time.

Set the pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven, and set another rack in the top third. Preheat to 400F.

Let the dough soften at room temp 30 minutes before rolling out. There are way better sources for all-butter pie dough than my blog, so I am not going to post the recipe for that.

Peel and core 2-3 Northern spy apples and slice 1/2 inch thick. Squeeze 1/2 lemon oven apples, and sprinkle with about 2 Tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and toss. Let sit while rolling out the dough.

Sprinkle dough with 1 Tbsp sugar leaving 2 inch boarder. Drain the liquid out of apples and pat them gently on paper towels. Arrange apples on dough, dot with 1 1/2 Tbsp softened butter, and sprinkle with another Tbsp sugar. Reduce the apple liquid in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until thick and bubbly and drizzle over apples. Fold in the dough edges, brush dough with butter and sprinkle with a bit more sugar (do you think I have enough sugar in this tarte? :) Actually, the whole thing comes to about 1/4 cup, so it's not too much.

Bake on the stone for 20 minutes. Then bake on top rack for 20 minutes or until apples are caramelized. Mix 1 Tbsp maple syrup and 1 Tbsp apricot preserve and brush over tarte. Let cool at least 1 hour before serving.