So, this Mother's Day, I decided to make something for my mother. Not with macaroni and Elmer's glue - I'm pretty sure she's glad those days are behind her. I thought I could use this here blog to contribute.
My mother is how I learned basically all of my cooking skills. My sister was never one for the domestics, so I was always in the kitchen helping out as far back as I can remember. We weren't always the most gourmet cooks - I still am not - but it sure tasted good. So, I decided to return the favor and spend some time in the kitchen in honor of Mom.
The Dessert: Cinnamon Apple French Tartlets
The idea, once again, comes from dearest Ina Garten. My particular version is a twist on this tart, which I mentioned we made for our Easter Extravaganza. For that, we made one large tart and included pears, but otherwise adhered strictly to Ina's recipe. I wanted to see what I could do make it my own and special for Mom. The pastry is still the same, but the filling and form are different this time around.
The Ingredients: 2 cups flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup ice water
Filling:
2 Granny Smith apples
2 tbsp. butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
The Directions: Combine all of the dry ingredients for the pastry into a large mixing bowl.
Cube the butter fairly small and add to the bowl.
Work together with your hands until the butter becomes about pea-sized. Do this quickly. You want the butter to stay cold so the pastry is flaky and light when you bake it. The less you handle the dough, the better.
Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Add the ice water and work together with your hands just until it comes together. Again, work quickly. You want it to stay as cold as possible.
Form a ball with the dough, and wrap in saran wrap. Refrigerate and let rest for at least an hour. (I actually made mine almost a day ahead of time, and it was still very easy to work with. Must be all that butter...)
When the dough is ready to be worked again, divide it into 8 equal portions. Roll these out into elongated pastry strips, a little more than the width of a slice of apple.
I made some fancy-looking edges on mine, but these aren't necessary. The rustic look is good too. For these, just fold about 1/4 inch of the dough over on itself all the way around the outside. The end result should look braided. This is a little trick from my days as a pizza boy at the beach.
Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate until you're ready to fill them.
Core and quarter the apples, then slice into thin (about 1/8 inch) slices. This should yield about 48 slices - 6 for each tartlet.
Prepare you cinnamon-sugar mixture by whisking the two together with a fork.
Line the apples up inside the pastries. Place a couple small cubes of butter on top of each, and then sprinkle some of the cinnamon-sugar on top. Just distribute all ingredients evenly among the 8 tartlets.
Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until the apples are tender and caramelized and the pastry has browned along the edges.
This is so simple, but heavenly. Equally as delicious as the dinner we had at Saketumi, a modern Asian restaurant. I had this:
Mango chicken with asparagus and peppers. Divine.
So, the next time you want to show someone how much you love them, spend some time in the kitchen. It shows that you actually took time out of your life to do something thoughtful for them. And, I believe that the strongest memories live through food.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom! I thank you not only for passing on the culinary skills, but all other domestic and life tips. I love you.
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