Plastic Sleeves

Where do you keep your recipes? You know, the ones you tear out of magazines, print off the internet or coerce a friend into writing down? I stack mine up and then move them into a three-ring binder so I can easily flip through and look at the photos or method for each dish. Once the recipe has been selected and prepared, it moves to another binder with the other tested recipes. Now, let's not make fun of the way people organize their belongings or comment they have compulsive tendencies. I'm sure your method works for you, and I woudn't call you names if you put each recipe in a plastic sleeve...which I highly recommend.

I'm forever making Ina Garten's Apple Crostata, which I'm sure everyone I know is sick of by now since I've made so frequently for so long. The crostata is familiar and comfortable to me, like a hooded sweatshirt you've had since college, that I continue to serve it to my unassuming guests. For Christmas, I wanted to try this structured tart from my saved recipe pages. Each time I flip to this modest looking sweet, I fondly look upon it and mentally file it as candidate for a future dessert. Since I can't seem to deviate from the comfort of the crostata, its never actually been used. So finally, I released it from the binder and brought it into the kitchen. And you know what? After all that time, I didn't even follow the instructions.

I just used the photo as inspiration. America's Test Kitchen has a tart crust that I've adpted and is my current favorite for sweet tarts of all kinds. In the fridge, there was a pleasantly sweet jar of homemade butterscotch begging to be spooned over the warm tart once it was removed from the oven. So off we went, dough, apples, butterscotch and I. And, of course, the photo, as well.

I don't need to say it, but sometimes the most basic things are the most pleasurable. Crumbly pastry and sweet-tart apples are elevated to a special treat when they're draped in the golden sauce. I've made this twice, once for Christmas and once for a weeknight supper with friends. Should I even mention its great with vanilla ice cream? I like it for breakfast as well, slightly warm so the scent of butterscotch hits your nose before the apples and pastry hit your palate.

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Apple Tart with Butterscotch Sauce

One 9-inch Tart

I like to let the the dough chill in the tart pan overnight before I arrange the apples and bake it off, although it really needs only 1-2 hours in the refrigerator. If the tart curst is browning too quickly, wrap the edges in tinfoil while the filling continues baking.

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon heavy cream

2-3 teaspoons cold water

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups flour

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, diced small and placed in the freezer to chill

2-3 large apples (I've been using Jonagolds), peeled, quartered, and cut into large chunks

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup homemade butterscotch or caramel

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Stir together the egg yolk, heavy cream, 1 teaspoon of the cold water, and the vanilla

Add the flour, sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor

Pulse 3-4 times to combine

Add the butter and, being careful of the steel blade, toss gently to coat with the flour mixture

Pulse 10-12 times until the butter is not larger than the size of peas

Dump the contents of the food processor into a medium bowl

Add the cream mixture and gently bring the mixture together

If the mixture is too dry, add the remaining 1-2 teaspoons water

Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and quickly bring into a ball

Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for five minutes

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12" circle

Press the circle into a 9" tart pan, being careful not to stretch the dough

Trim off any excess dough and use this to patch areas

Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Toss the apple chunks with cinnamon

Arrange apple pieces decoratively around the chilled tart crust

Bake tart on a sheet pan for 1 hour 10 minutes

Remove from oven and place tart pan on cooling rack

Immediately spoon butterscotch over the top, taking care to spread the sauce evenly

Serve once the butterscotch has set or at room temperature

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(P.S. Every time I read the title of this post I think of the Radiohead song Fake Plastic Trees)