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Accidental Apple Crisp
When you cook, it’s important to be flexible. Quite a few of my favorite recipes came about because of poor planning and the need to make emergency substitutions. This weekend, we were invited to Howard’s cousins for dinner. I said I’d bring dessert.
I decided to make an apple tart I’d made once before. It’s a simple recipe with puff pastry, sliced apples, almond paste, and sliced almonds. A few hours before we needed to leave, we stopped at Trader Joe’s to get the puff pastry. I couldn’t find any. When I asked the helpful man, he told me this year, they are carrying pastry crust instead of puff pastry. Bummer. I didn’t have time to go to another store, and I didn’t want to buy pastry crust. I can make my own pastry crust, but didn’t have enough time. What to do?
I had the apples, and I had the almond paste. I make a marzipan crumble topping that I use on sour cherry pie. I thought I’d try to make an apple crisp with the marzipan topping. It was a success! Seven people polished off the entire dish.
Marzipan Apple Crisp
(Serves 8 to 10)
- 2 lbs. apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- ½ c packed brown sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp cloves
Marzipan Crumble Topping
- ¾ c flour
- ½ c packed almond paste (about 5 oz)
- ½ c packed brown sugar
- 6 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- ¼ c sliced almonds
Preheat oven to 350F.
Prepare the Marzipan Topping. In the food processor, blend flour, almond paste, & brown sugar, until almond paste is finely ground. Add butter and pulse until coarse crumbs form. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in the almonds.
Toss the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix one-fourth of the topping into the apples. Fill a 3-quart baking dish with the apple mixture.
Sprinkle the rest of the topping over the apples.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until the topping is browned and the apples are bubbly. Serve warm.
Bonus:
I get a smug satisfaction when I can make something extra from the scraps of a recipe. I compost, so most scraps have a second life in the garden. If they can be used to make something to eat, that’s when I feel like I won a mini-lottery.
My friend Karen taught me to make applesauce from the scraps of an apple dessert. Just make sure to wash the apples before peeling them. Put the peels and cores of the apples for the apple crisp (or any other apple dessert) into a small saucepan. Add enough water to cover about half of what’s in the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the apple cores are soft. Run through a food mill using the plate with the medium holes to remove the seeds and catch the peels. This should make about 1½ cups of applesauce. Add a spoonful of sugar and some cinnamon and cardamom. Voila!
Smitten with Bittman
The great irony is that even though I went to just about the most technical university possible (MIT) and my livelihood for over 20 years has been developing software applications, outside of my professional life, technology is something I could take or leave.
Howard and I are one of the last remaining households I know of without cable TV. Now, Howard doesn’t share my laissez faire attitude towards technology. He lives for it. He’s an “earlier adopter” and is always interested in the latest electronic gadget and how to find a place for it in his day-to-day life. He definitely keeps me tuned into the 21st century.
Enter TiVo. We don’t have cable, but do have a TV. Our programming comes to us “over the air” thanks to an antenna in the attic. Without cable, I sometimes lament the lack of the Food Network. My sisters are hooked. However, on TiVo, Howard found me something better. Every week, TiVo downloads my favorite 5 minutes of video every week. It’s the weekly installment of the New York Times columnist Mark Bittman demonstrating each week’s recipe for his column, The Minimalist. Watching him is just the best! He’s funny, I love his thoughts on food, and his recipes often inspire me to try something new. He always makes it look so easy.
This weekend, some friends of mine invited us to join them for an early Thanksgiving dinner with friends. It was a nice gathering of people that I work with, many of whom, not being from the U.S. , had never had a American Thanksgiving feast before. The hosts provided the traditional fare: turkey, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, and cranberry sauce. The guests brought other dishes to share.
My contribution was a recipe I learned by watching my “hero” Mark Bittman on his weekly video a year or so back. Walnut Caramel Tart is just right for Thanksgiving and the holiday season. It involves molten sugar, so Howard keeps me company for moral support. It’s not as scary as it sounds. In fact, it’s rather magical when it comes together.
Walnut Caramel Tart
Adapted from Mark Bittman, New York Times
- 1 9-inch pastry shell in a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom, fully baked (use your favorite recipe, I’ll give you mine another time)
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1 stick butter
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2-1/2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped (I start with walnut halves & pieces from Trader Joes, and chop those)
- Salt to taste
Put the sugar in a heavy 8-inch deep skillet with the water. Turn heat to medium. Cook, shaking the pan occasionally until the sugar melts. Using a heat-proof flexible spatula, continue to cook, stirring occasionally and scraping the sides, until the sugar turns golden.
Turn heat to low, then carefully add the butter and cream. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter melts and the mixture is uniform. Stir in walnuts and a large pinch of salt. Spread mixture onto crust. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Serve.
A Plateful of Happiness 