Gearhead Mom

Monday, November 24, 2008

The Hardest Part is A’Peeling

Posted by Jenny M. @ 8:43 AM

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year.  I love that it is about gratitude, about appreciation, and about sharing.  The only gifts involved are food related.  I crave all courses of the Thanksgiving meal, and to be honest, the only time I did not enjoy Thanksgiving dinner was when I was invited to someone’s home where the stuffing had oysters and seconds were discouraged.  So we’ll just try to forget about that. 
As long as I can remember my family has served pear or apple tart for dessert, among other pies and See’s Candy.  It used to be my father who put together this homemade masterpiece, but at some point I volunteered to take it on, and last year, my eldest daughter and I put together two:  one for our family dinner and one for the resource center where we annually contribute desserts. 
Here’s a great dessert to bring along or feature at your dinner.  It can be made the night before and will sit out for the next day.  It’s easy, particularly if you don’t make your own crust (my favorite:  Trader Joe’s frozen crusts).  Here’s a recipe, of sorts:

Ingredients:
Granny Smith apples (about 10? depending on how many tarts you’ll make—save leftover slices for snacks), peeled and sliced thinly.
Pie crust (shaped to fit a cookie sheet or pizza pan—I use two frozen ones for one large cookie sheet, pictured).
Glaze:
A jar of apricot or orange marmalade
A cup of water
A cup of brandy, rum, or appropriately-flavored liquer (I have used Cointreau, Triple Sec, depending on what’s available)
Pie spices, as desired:  cinnamon, cardomom, ginger, allspice…
Whipped cream
Make or thaw pie crust and shape onto cookie sheet (I use a fork pressed on the edges of the crust)
Arrange slices of apple on crust (my technique circles into the middle from the edges; my daughter goes with an abstract approach—which turned out quite beautiful!)
To make the glaze, empty the contents of the marmalade plus water and liquer into a small saucepan.  Add some pie spices if you wish (not necessary).  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.  Brush or baste over tart. 
Bake at 400 degrees until crust and apples are brown. 
Serve with whipped cream (sweetened with a tinge of maple syrup is yummy!).
Note:  We have punctuated the tart with raw cranberries (dispersed here and there) for visual POW…if you have some leftover from homemade cranberry sauce, why not? 

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