As the loyal reader can tell, I really don’t think about my cooking as much as I just do it. The blog has caused me to stop and give a little more thought, but I more feel my way around the kitchen than not. Janann at Foodthoughtsbyjhg on the other hand, does think about food. In fact she researches and writes about it. Take a look at her great blog entries and I am so happy to have her as a guest blogger today. Please welcome Janann….
French apple tart – ooo la la
Every great recipe needs a great story and this French Apple Tart Recipe fulfills both requirements. A couple of years ago a friend brought us a basket of apples from the North Georgia Mountains. After eating fresh apples, apple pie, apple sauce in the crock pot and a few other items I was desperate for a way to finish off our bounty.   Here’s what I found.
The original recipe is from Ina Garten. You can still find her recipe on-line but I’ve made a few changes along the way. First the story. This really is a great recipe so I was making a tart a day and handing out to friends and co-workers. You’ll note there’s really a lot of butter in the recipe and apparently when cooking with lots of butter one should use a cookie sheet with sides; I did not. By the 4th or 5th tart as I was about to leave the kitchen I heard a sound I had never heard before BUT I knew what it was. Have you ever had an oven fire?
If I remember correctly here’s what happened next: Screamed for husband, opened door and tried to remove tart (yes you read correctly I tried to save the food before the kitchen) Didn’t succeed with removing tart, ½ slide off the cookie sheet into the oven which meant more butter, more flames. Threw baking soda into the mess. Let oven cool, surveyed the damage and then, did I mention this was a great recipe, then after the oven cooled I cleaned up the mess and baked another tart…on a different pan…with sides.
Here’s my version of a:
French Apple Tart
Pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ½ sticks cold butter, diced
½ cup ice water
I love making dough in the food processor, talk about easy. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the food processor (with steel blade). Pulse a few seconds to blend. Add the butter and pulse 10 – 12 times until the butter is the size of peas. With the processor running pour the ice water down the feed tube until the dough starts to come together. Dump on floured board and knead into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Roll the dough slightly larger than a 10 x 14 inch plan Trim to size and then place the dough on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Put back in the refrigerator while you prepare the apples.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Apples
4 apples – Ina’s recipe calls for Granny Smith but my original apples were plain old red ones
½ cup sugar
½ stick cold butter, small diced
½ cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons Orange Liqueur (rum or water acceptable)
Peel and core the apples, slice into ¼ inch slices. Start in the middle of the dough and layer the apples, overlapping diagonally across the pan.
Add rows to each side to fill the pan. Sprinkle with the ½ cup of sugar and dot with the butter.
Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is brown and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. When the tart is done, heat the marmalade with the liqueur and pour over the apples. Be sure to loosen the tart so it doesn’t stick to the parchment paper. Let cool, I know it’s hard to wait but you’ll get a nasty burn if you try to eat this too soon (believe me I know).
Enjoy the recipe and the story.
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
I might have to make this…..:)
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Wow, great post and a great recipe too! =)
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Sounds so delicious!
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Thanks for the tip on using a cookie sheet with sides. I’ve never had an oven fire before and I’m happy to skip that experience LOL Otherwise, this recipe looks yummy! I love tarts and apples 🙂
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Love apple tarts, we have three apple trees in our garden, can’t wait for summer.
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I love that you tried to save the food before the kitchen.
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Must try this! Thank you for sharing.
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This recipe is so simple and lovely!
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funny storry and yummy tart 🙂
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Loved the story. reminds me of when I set the oven on fire by grilling. Panic first, then save the food, then thought of kitchen so quickly closed oven and stuffed air vents and starved the fire of oxygen. Once fire was out, returned said fish to oven but baked instead of grilled. A lesson to be learnt.
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OMG! This is so funny… I know it’s NOT funny, but seriously, too funny! Great story! I am sure you laugh about it now… “Screamed for husband”… LOL 😀
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I love cooking stories!!
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I had the same thing happen in my oven with the Turkey on Thanksgiving….see ovens where I live are tiny, and I got a huge bird my first year and had to cook it on the baking tray…..yup. Fire. Did the same thing. Saved the bird before my kitchen. Great tart though!!!! Will definitely make some soon!
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Haha, I think I would have tried to save the tart first too! Thank you so much for liking my Fruity Pear Pots post today, it means a lot coming from such an accomplish culinary blogger. This looks like a fabulous alternative to apple crisp (which I quickly tire of come fall) I can’t wait to give this a try.
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bookmarking this one!
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LOL! Oh my gosh I actually read that one out loud to my son!
Congratulations on the successful tart and thank you for the oven fire lesson, my son said he will never forget it. From one French cooking lover to another, Nice Job & Bon Appètit!
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All I have are rimmed baking sheets. I don’t like the flat out sheets.
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Great story, and I love the recipe! Will be making it at the weekend.
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This looks great… I always love your animated introductions to your recipes as well!
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they look tasty 🙂 thx for sharing !
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Loved this post and the pie looks delish!
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Oh, my. I’ll take two servings, please, with low-fat vanilla ice cream. MMMMmmmm. 🙂
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Looks delicious, great story!
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I’ve had an oven near-fire when making a pie, which luckily I never experienced again. If a person can’t eat marmalade, what would you recommend as a substitute?
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Great story (and great looking pie!) will have to try this one. And yes have had an oven on fire before, let’s just say baking paper and gas lit oven don’t always mix hehe
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My mom has an old recipe of her grandmother’s for a german plum cake/tart that looks similar – a layer of crust, then jam, then slices of plum. This brought back that (delicious) memory. Lovely!
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