Over-the-Top Beef Stew

   Stop the presses!!! I prepared, reviewed and posted Annie’s beef stew before, telling you that I’ve learned things over the years to improve it, and I’ve discovered even MORE improvements that I feel is imperative I share . 

    In my original post I was all over using London Broil, too round roast to stew, and now I’ve discovered flank steak is even better!  You use the same tenderizing method of rubbing with bicarbonate of soda, and allowing ti sur, covered, in fridge for 15 minutes to 3 hours.

    Next change is rendering 2ounces of pancetta diced real small, before the beef. Brown the beef in the pancetta drippings, oh! And we!re using an InstaPot@, on the sauté setting. This method does work best to pre-cut the beef into stew-sized pieces, mainly because the flank steak did not fit whole in the InstaPot. 

Chocolate Budino - Budino al Cioccolato. Italian Chocolate Pudding

   Chocolate pudding. Mmmm, music to us chocolate lovers! 

I grew up to the boxed My-T-Fine chocolate pudding mixes still available today, however, sometime in my childhood Jell-O brand came out with a line of puddings as well, and I tend to find more options in the latter, lately. And then there’s instant pudding, of which, I am not a fan. 

    Sure, when I was hit by the Amish Friendship Bread whirlwind you would find a box or two of instant puddings in my pantry, but as that phenomena has died down for me, you’d be hard pressed to find a box in my cabinet. Or even cooked pudding mixes… Really. 

    Way back in tfe early 1970’s, (wow) I found a recipe for scratch pudding, being the pudding snob I am had me giving this a whirl in a Chocolate Cream Pie for some holiday. Everyone loved it-and I’m referring to my parents and siblings. Ever since I prefer to make puddings from scratch,

    Funny story, one year as Thanksgiving approached I was at a boyfriend’s house and Thanksgiving desserts came up. I stated I made a scratch chocolate pudding pie and my boyfriend’s father said that was impossible because no one makes real pudding anymore. I respectfully disagreed and promised, and delivered one scratch chocolate pudding pie. He was shocked and perplexed, “why would you go through all that when you could just use the mix?” He asked. I replied that I thought the scratch pudding was much better than the pre-mix. He agreed. 

    My youngest son will only eat scratch made pudding, and learned how to make it himself, which is fortunate because he now  lives in Henderson, NV, which makes for a very long trip to make it for him. Don’t misunderstand-I HAVE ventured out west to see him (and make the pie) but it’s a relief I’m not required to make it an annual trek. 

    So, I imagine what I make is an English-American sort of pudding. The French make mousse, and now I’ve discovered the Italians make budino (pudding) also. Of course, that now has me wondering if every country, continent, ethnicity (etc) has each their own versions as well. This could turn into a global search for all the kinds of puddings mankind has invented. But I think for now, I’ll stick with the three. 

      Chocolate budino is an Italian pudding, made with very few ingredients, dark, bittersweet chocolate, and very little sugar to keep the taste on the bittersweet side. 

       It’s usually made and released from a fancy mold, because, as we all know, your eyes taste first. I’ve only seen photos of unmolded budino and it’s quite impressive, but I couldn’t figure out a decent mold from my cabinets so I passed on the fancy presentation and just went straight for the grown-up taste. I was not disappointed. 

     The recipe comes courtesy of Recipes from Italy with full instructions and photos! I forget to snap photos during my cooking sprees, although once in a while I get a few “in progress” shots; I’m happy if I remember a “before & after” shot. 

   Here’s the link to the recipe: 

    https://www.recipesfromitaly.com/chocolate-budino-recipe/

And a photo of a serving I made. I didn’t garnish it, as I was only experimenting-next time I’ll find a mild and garnish with mint or whipped cream, or add some fresh raspberries, strawberries or maybe even cherries!!! 

     I only used a 60% cacao, and think I will go higher next time! 

    Until next time-Mangia!

-Aunt Barbara 

IJN

Stuffed Flounder Fillets

   Oh, man, flounder stuffed with crabmeat!!! Yes, please! 

   The Big E discovered this recipe a few years back, and I usually have him make it. When I suggested, this morning, that we have it for dinner, he sent me the recipe. 

    Hint taken! But now the pressure was on! I HAD to ace this!! Lol! 

    While the pound cake baked (he didn’t take my hint) I gathered the ingredients:

Baking dish that was liberally greased-use your choice

1-1/2 lbs flounder fillets, rinsed and patted dry

Filling:

1 cup Lump Crabmeat -I confess-I use Bumble Bee@ canned Lump Crabmeat (purple label) 2 cans that equaled 9 oz dry wt. Yeah, already off the recipe!!! Lol! 

3 Ritz Crackers-crushed (or saltines)

1 Tablespoon finely chopped Orange Pepper (any color works)

1/4 teaspoon ground dry mustard 

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 

1/4 teaspoon salt

Ground white pepper to taste 

1 egg white

1 Tablespoon mayonnaise 

1/4 cup melted butter

Topping: 

5 tablespoons mayonnaise 

1 egg yolk

Chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon Paprika

Preheat oven to 400 F.

1. Combine crabmeat, crushed crackers, bell pepper, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and white pepper together in a medium bowl. Combine egg white and 1 tablespoon mayonnaise in a small bowl; stir into crabmeat mixture gently so you don’t break up the lumps.

   1. Brush fillets with melted butter; place in the prepared baking dish. Spoon crabmeat mixture over fillets and drizzle with any remaining butter.

   2. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

   3. Meanwhile, make topping: lightly beat egg yolk in a small bowl. Stir in 5 tablespoons of mayonnaise. Remove fish from the oven and spread this mixture over stuffing; sprinkle with parsley and paprika.

      Increase oven temp to 450 F. Bake until golden and bubbly -5-6 minutes. 

   
   
   
   
      Served with steamed rice with a berre blanc sauce (emulsified butter sauce) and Caesar salad. 

      Everything came out perfect-no exaggeration there. 

      I will cover the berre blanc in a future post- I am still learning the technique. 

       Love to hear your version of stuffed fish… thinking of trying shrimp soon, too! 

       Until next time -Mangia! 

    IJN

   -Aunt Barbara 

Baked Sausage Canneloni

     I am not a big fan of tomatoes. I do tolerate them, and occasionally want something made with them, however, whenever there’s an option I usually will forego them

     I am a huge fan of trying new recipes, from easy to intermediate, I still stay away from the expert preparations, I do not feel I am anywhere near an expert in cooking techniques, except, perhaps, for my own recipes. I keep it on the easier side, whenever I can. 

     That being said I am going to make crepes in place of the cannelloni shells. Sounds like more work rather than less, but it was either crepes or another recipe requiring bread bowls. That’s a toss up, but 30 minute rest as opposed to a 2 hour  rise? I’ll take the 30 minute rest. 

    And why am I using crepes, instead of buying cannelloni shells? Too small. I guess I could have used manicotti shells, but, nah! I’m a glutton for punishment. And I am doing a home experiment, anyway, details of which I reserve the right to withhold! Lol! Nothing sinister, mind you, merely proving a point to myself! (It’s really nothing, probably shouldn’t have mentioned it, but I was letting you all in on an inner working of my mind.) Scary, I know! 

     I’m going to post photos of the progress! Something I don’t usually remember to do! But I’m recuperating from surgery, what else do I have to do? Lol!

Crepes: (for savory dishes)

•  1 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup milk, warmed
• 3 Tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil, for the skillet

    Mix flour, salt, eggs, milk, butter and water in a large bowl, whisking until well combined and is smooth and slightly thick. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Don’t skip the rest, trust me in this. The batter can also be covered and stored in fridge for up to 2 days. (Allow to come to room temperature before using if you hold it-check it’s temperature, you want as close to room temperature as you can get it, it won’t come out the same if the batter is too cold. 

Crepe batter, resting 30 minutes:

   

   Heat a 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat. Grease skillet with 1/2 tsp vegetable oil, swirling pan to evenly coated pan, wiping out excess. The original instructions tells you that you can add more oil between, my pan is so well seasoned I did not add one more drop of oil! Yay! Oh, you use your favorite pan, non-stick or not, I personally prefer my 18/10 stainless steel 10 inch sauté pan by Wolfgang Puck, or my ancient Farberware, and I don’t even OWN a non-stick pot or pan (with the exception of the George Forman Grill and my waffle iron-which I have never seen other than non-stick… at least I have never, but they could be out there!)  But if your cookware is seasoned properly you don’t need non-stick. Yes, I do test it first, and sometimes you do have to do a little repair before you get going, but it doesn’t take long, well, maybe I’ll hold a class… nah…

    Ok… not here to debate non-stick… 

    Test the temperature by dropping a few drops of water on the pan- if they dance and then disappear, the pan is ready. I then lower the temperature to medium. 

   Quickly pour 1/3 cup batter in center of pan (it will sizzle a bit!) and then tilt the pan around to get the batter to coat the entire bottom of the pan. Let it sit for a minute or two. Peek under to check for tan to brownish color, flip (I used a LARGE Serving spatula by Pampered Chef) I found this batter very sturdy and easy to flip. Some recipes suggest using a pair of tongs, you do you-I love my spatula! 

   By the way, this is the only time I use a dry measuring cup for wet ingredients-who wants to pour into a measuring cup to measure when you can just scoop and get just about an even portion each time you scoop? I like the convenience. (See? I DO break my own rules)! Lol! 

     Cook second side until golden. Put on a greased pan in a slightly warmed oven, cover with towel. Repeat with all the batter. 

   

First crepe in!

Flip!!!

      I got 8 crepes from the recipe. 

      Onto the filling!

   Now if you know me, you know I don’t eat mushrooms, and that is generally true, however, if they are sautéed to a crispy texture I can tolerate them. This recipe called for a very small amount, diced very small, and the instructions gave me a window to get them to crispy,  so I figured I’d give this one a shot… 

     Over on Facebook I posted a link to the recipe on  Johnsonville’s website. I pretty much followed their recipe except I really cooked the mushrooms to CRISPY, and only used about 3 ounces. As I said I’m not a fan. I am happy to report in the end they didn’t taste like mushrooms anymore AND they didn’t make the dish taste like dirt!!! Lol. They contributed to the umami (savory, meaty) profile along with the sausage.

     19 oz Johnsonville Italian sausage removed from casings

     2 Tbsp olive oil

    1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

    3  ounces baby Bella mushrooms, finely chopped

    12 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed or shredded

     2 egg yolks

     6 tablespoons butter

     6 tablespoons flour

      3 cups whole milk 

      1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

      1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

       1 teaspoon dried parsley (or oregano) 

The original recipe calls for oregano, however, cooked oregano gives me such acid reflux that I have to leave it out. I can and do add fresh chopped on AFTER the dish is cooked, but something happens to oregano when it cooks (it does NOT go in my spaghetti sauce either). I’ll have to do some research if you really want to know what happens to oregano when it’s cooked.  Hmmm. Maybe I’ll submit a question to Americas Test Kitchen. They do experiments and get into the chemistry of foods so maybe they can explain it. Something to think about. 

      Have you ever heard of aspiration pneumonia? 

      Side story here: after years of searching I finally found, right here in Bradenton, a pizza place that makes a pretty decent pizza-just have to order it “well done”. It’s about the closest thing to good LI pizza we’ve been able to find outside of LI, NY. The place changed cooks, we got a pizza, hurst a few weeks ago, that was doused with oregano prior to cooking. You could see it all over the top melted into the cheese.  That was one pizza where the Big E got to eat 7 of eight slices himself (not in one sitting, silly). I took one slice and first bite in I said, “oh, no!” I finished that one slice, and not really enjoying it, and I woke up in the middle of the night with stomach acid flowing up. I shot up and was able to spit it out so I didn’t aspirate it like I’ve done only once before. Luckily I averted a repeat, because who needs that anyway?  Cooked oregano is the ONLY food to causes that on me. I was so disappointed! I guess it’s Calzones only from that place from now on. Maybe I can tell them no oregano? I’ll ask Joe if we decide to try again. (Sorry for the detour, but I like to tell you why I don’t use an ingredient so you know I’m not being picky just to be picky. I have a reason -if you can tolerate cooked oregano-go right ahead and use it. If you should wake up in the middle of the night aspirating stomach acid, you, too, might have to eliminate cooked oregano from your diet. That’s my P.S. announcement for today! 

    Oye vey! Can I digress! But I’m having fun!!!

     Make the filling: In a large skillet over medium heat add olive oil, onion and mushroom cook for 5 minutes allowing the onion to soften and the mushrooms to release liquid.

    Once most of the liquid has dissipated, add sausage crumbling it with a wooden spoon into small pieces as it cooks. Stir and cook all ingredients until the onion is softened and the sausage is no longer pink and is starting to brown. Set aside.

     To make a béchamel sauce: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. (Roux coming!) Add flour and stir until well incorporated. Slowly, add milk and whisk together until smooth. Continue whisking until sauce comes to a slow boil and starts to thicken. Stir half this sauce into the sausage mixture. (Reserve the other half to pour on top of the cannelloni.) Add cubed mozzarella to the sausage and sauce mixture and continue stirring while slowly whisking in the egg yolks; (I thought they’d scramble, but they didn’t); mix to combine cover and set aside.

    Here where you would cook the cannelloni pasta to al dente, but I already made the crepes. 

***Another alternative substitution: use flour tortillas. I had a bit more filling than I could use in the 8 crepes, so, I figured I’d try it. 

      Very early in this blog (years ago) I made Mexican lasagna, using flour tortillas in place of lasagne noodles with excellent success, I’m believing they will work here, too. I usually inky have burrito size and as it turned out, it was perfect for the extra filling I had. 

     Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

     Put 1/2 of the remaining béchamel on the bottom of an oiled 9x13 casserole. 

     I filled each crepe with about 3 tablespoons of the filling, rolling up, but not tucking in sides like you would for a burrito, and nestled them into the sauce. Poured the rest of the béchamel over the top; sprinkle with the mozzarella and Parmesan (of course I prefer Romano cheese). I sprinkled with parsley (you can use oregano). Bake, uncovered about 45 minutes. 

       The sauce really tightened up, so there wasn’t any free-flowing, but it was perfect—really! 

      It was a win. The Big E, my resident Guinea Pig, er.. taste-tester, said “please make this again!”

      I will try to make the crepes a day ahead, next time, I used a lot of pots and prep bowls for this. My resident kitchen maid (also the Big E) said that as long as I keep making good stuff, he’ll clean up the kitchen, but I’d feel better not to pile the dirty pots, pans, bowls, utensils quite so high. 

    Wow! Now THAT was a long post. 

     I do hope you try it yourself (you don’t have to use the crepes, go ahead, use the cannelloni , or manicotti shells, or even the tortillas. But do let me know what you think and how you changed it up for your family. 

     Until next time Mangia! 

    Visit Johnsonville for more recipes!

https://www.johnsonville.com/recipe/baked-cannelloni.html

~ijn 

Macaroni n’ Cheese

     There are just so many “comfort foods” we all have. I would gather that macaroni n’ cheese probably ranks right up, close to the top for many people. I know it’s something I have on my list! 

      Apparently pasta and cheese dishes go all the way back to the “14th century in both, Italy and England, with variations on the pasta and cheeses used. Primarily, however, it is considered a common dish, today, in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.” Wikipedia 2022)

      “The first “modern” recipe dates back to 1769 published in The Experienced English Housekeeper by Elizabeth Raffeld” (Wikipedia, 2022). This recipe utilizes a béchamel sauce, and with the addition of cheese, a French Mornay sauce. Some versions include meat and vegetables. 

       My personal history with good ole Mac n’ cheese began with the old standard Boxed Kraft version, however, my mother always baked it in a casserole dish, rather than merely serve it from the stovetop. I was in my 20’s when I found out it’s edible (maybe not great, but edible) right from the pot. Who knew? Well, not me! Luckily they still had a Home Economics class back in 1967, and there I learned how to make well, many things, all in one dish. 

     First I learned how to make a roux, then a white or béchamel sauce, and then a Mornay sauce! I still use each of those to this day. I’d say that was an effective class, wouldn’t you?  I’ve been using that knowledge for 52 years. Amazing! 

     Anyway, back to the Mac n cheese. My home ec teacher did use cornstarch instead of flour in her roux, and I discovered that using cornstarch seemed to make the Mornay come out a bit grainy. I personally did not mind the texture, but my kids did, so I switched to flour in the roux and the texture issue was resolved. Easy, huh? 

     The Mac n cheese we made in Home Ec was a layered variety, and one I do like, but sometime I don’t have fresh tomatoes or bacon, so I found it cones out just as good without those items. The bacon and tomatoes would be layered between two layers of the Mac and cheese layers z 

After the macaroni is cooked Al dente you mix  it with the Mornay sauce, pour half of the macaroni in a greased casserole dish, put a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes, crumble the 1/4 lb of crispy fried bacon on the tomatoes, and cover with the other half of the Mac and cheese mixture. Optional to add a layer of buttered breadcrumbs-which I love, but the kids, growing up complained so I started leaving the topping off. You know, they no longer live with me, I could start adding the topping again. Something yo consider. 

    Pop it in the oven for 20-30 minutes until it’s bubbly and just starting to brown on top (breadcrumbs will be more brown than not.

     That’s it! No big whoopie, but let me tell you mmm, mmm, good! 

     Fir tfe measurements:

8 oz cavatappi or elbow macaroni, cooked Al dente per package instructions. Vary the salt to your specifications-I go lite with only 1 teaspoon in the pasta water. 

   While macaroni is cooking:

Cook 4-6 slices bacon until crispy. Drain fat. Set aside

Slice 2-4 Roma plum tomatoes, or 1-2 beefsteak tomatoes, set aside. 

    Start the roux:

3 Tbsp butter, margarine or mild flavored oil, melted or heated in 2 qt saucepan. Whisk in 3 Tbsp flour, 1 tsp mustard powder 1/8 tsp black pepper, salt to your liking (I use about 1/2 tsp.) cook over med heat to cook out the flour flavor, and get a blond to amber roux. Add 1/4 tsp paprika and 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, ground.  Slowly incorporate 2 cups milk, whisking to prevent lumps. Add 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar about 1/2 cup at a time, continuing to whisk to allow cheese to melt. Add well drained cooked pasta, mix well. 

    Layer in greased casserole as previously explained. Add 1/2 cup breadcrumbs that have been tossed with 2 Tbsp butter and sprinkle over top ( if using). 

    Bake @350 degrees 20-25 minutes until bubbly and topping has browned. Let cook at least 15 minutes before you dig in.       

      

Beef Stew

     There are very few of my mothers recipes I was fond of. She made a cream of chicken soup that I have NEVER been able to duplicate, I do okay but cannot get the unique flavor hers carried. And believe me, I’ve tried! 

     The other recipe was her beef stew. Man oh man, was that good, and I believe I not only am able to duplicate her stew, I believe mine is better. I’ve learned many things over the years, and sometimes you hit on something that simply takes your recipe into the “wow” zone. Yes, yes,yes, I’ll share. 

      First things first- I’ll tell you right off the bat that you need to add bay leaves to the stew, or you’ll miss that unique flavor of Annie’s stew. Tried making stew just once without bay leaves-nope, it was noticeably lacking flavor, so for over 40 years bay leaves were always in my stew. 

      Another tidbit is that I don’t use stew beef, pre-cut from the butcher. Nope, it always is tough and  fatty; yes, I know, that’s where the flavor is, but too much fat and sometimes silver skin or gristle, has caused me to take matters into my own hands. I used chuck steak or chuck roast that I’d cut up myself for many years, and the result was really good. But, my loving brother told me he used shoulder London broil. Hmm, not a cut I’d use normally because I’ve been  taught to grill it and dang, that was shoe leather. My best friend told me she would slow roast that cut in the oven, and I found that did make it edible. But I still preferred flank steak or ribeye as a stand alone steak.,

        So I figured, since the London Broil was often affordable I’d giver her a whirl in stew. It did NOT disappoint-tender and beefy, although you have to be careful not to overcook it’s, as it can end up dry. That is until you learn a few things. 

     It has recently come to my attention that there is a way to tenderize meat that is pretty easy and it works, without beating the meat…😶 the trick? Sodium bicarbonate-baking soda. Interesting. Sodium bicarbonate is an alkali, and marinating meat with it does a few things: it changes the Ph of the meat, allowing  it to brown faster and tenderizes it. 

    So rub 1/2 teaspoon over each side of a shoulder London Broil, put it in a zip top bag and put it back in the fridge at least 15 minutes, but 3 hours works better. Rinse the baking soda off well and thoroughly dry the meat. Moisture is an enemy to browning. I’m not making that up-research it yourself. 

     Another thing I do differently is brown the meat as one piece rather than cutting it up into stew-size cubes. Brown it, then cut it to size. And this is one recipe I do like in the crock pot. 

     Mix 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, salt and pepper to your preference-being on a salt restricted plan I tend to use less than most people-you do you.  Dredge the meat in the flour mix and brown it in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Let the meat brown 3-4 minute on each side, letting a dark crust to form. Don’t keep moving it! Put it in, listen for the sizzle, and let it sit. Flip and do the same to the other side. 

      While the meat is browning prepare your vegetables. Scrub and quarter red potatoes (you choose how much according to your family needs). Toss them into the crock pot. Peel 2-4 carrots (again, adjust to your needs). I cut my carrots on the bias, punching the core on an angle, I believe, releases a better, sweeter carrot flavor. I could be crazy, and I don’t care, but I dislike carrots cut into coins-that’s me. Toss into crock pot. 

       I wedge a large sweet onion and put 3/4 of it in the crockpot, the other 1/4 I toss in the pan that I’m browning the beef in. (Sneaky, huh?) 

     Remove the beef and onion. Put the onion in the crockpot, hold beef aside. Deglaze the fond (brown bits stuck to pan) with 1-1/4 cups beef stock, broth, consommé, whatever you choose. Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste, mix it in real good, add 2 bay leaves and bring to low simmer. While awaiting the simmer,  cut beef into whatever size chunks you prefer, we like them on the heftier side-about 2 inches. Toss them into the crockpot, and pour the deglazing liquid over all in crockpot. 

     Cover and cook on high 2 hours and low 2 hours. (Of course test your veggies, they take longer than the meat. Adjust time if needed. 

     Now, the dumplings. There’s two ways to go. I use the recipe exactly as written on the box of bisquik -it’s no secret, I use bisquik and I don’t care what anyone thinks. Best recipe ever. And follow the exact measurements using dry measuring cups for the bisquik and liquid measuring cups for the milk. Don’t overmix the dough, mix just until it’s all wet. I pour the stew into a large pot that has a tight-fitting cover. Bring up to a boil. Drop tablespoons of dough onto boiling stew. Lower temp and continue to let simmer for 10 minutes. Cover tightly. Cook an additional 10 minutes. Do not peek!

    Alternatively, leave stew in crockpot and heat 2 cups beef broth in a large skillet with tight fitting lid to boiling. I add a bay leaf to the broth. Drop dough by tablespoons onto boiling broth, lower temperature  to a steady simmer and cook, uncovered 10 minutes, cover and cook additional 10 minutes. NO PEEKING!  You could thicken the broth in the skillet if you choose, but I found it seems to be far more delicious just letting it ride. 

        Enjoy! And if you try it, let me know! 

         Until next time, mangia! 

Apple Pandowdy Wednesday October 19, 2022

     Howdy, Apple Pandowdy. Pan-who-dee? P.A.N.D.O.W.D.Y. 

    Of course, this recipe's origins will never be known definitively but from what I've read, it dates back, at least, to colonial times in the North East. Also referred to as Apple Pot Pie, it is very much like an apple pie with only a top crust, with many variations, the one I chose to make has you dunk the pastry crust top into the apple juices about halfway through the cook time. Sounded interesting to me.

    I did adapt my recipe from America's Test Kitchen version, but, oddly, their instructions and the form of the recipe was very disheveled. It was downright annoying to try to follow it, you had to bounce from the top of the instructions to the bottom and back again. I am going to see if I can fix that. 

    Of course, I changed the type of apples they recommended to what I had on hand. They recommended Golden Delicious for their firmness, and recommended NOT to use Granny Smiths due to their deep tartness. I had Gala and Granny Smiths on hand. The Gala were fine, the Granny Smiths were way too tart for this 't application. I'll give ATK that one. The Galas held up fine, as long as they hadn't been cut too thin- 1/2 inch worked fine. 

So, here goes:

Cut 6 TBSP unsalted butter into 1/4 inch cubes and put in freezer for 15 minutes before you start.

Start the pastry first, as it has to chill for about an hour. 

ATK recommends using a food processor to make the dough, as I only have a mini one, it was not big enough, so I used my kitchen aide and finished with a pastry blender. I'll point it out as we go.

Mix 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (I use unbleached)

1 tsp granulated sugar and

1/2 tsp salt  until blended in a food processor or stand mixer or bowl

***add the 6 TBSP frozen butter cubes from freezer***

Pulse a few times until size of large peas (about 6-8 pulses) watch carefully if using stand mixer. You do not want to over process. If doing by hand/pastry blender/forks  cut butter in until size of large peas.

Mix 3 TBSP  ice water with 1 TBSP sour cream (sounds odd, but it worked fine)

Add water/sour cream mixture to flour/butter and pulse until there are large clumps and no dry flour left, scraping down the sides, 3-6 pulses. 20-30 seconds in stand mixer.

Remove dough from food processor or mixer or bowl press with fingertips into 4 inch disk and wrap tightly with plastic wrap, refrigerate for one hour.

While dough is resting peel, core and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices 2-1/2 pound  firm apples that will hold up to cooking (per ATK Golden Delicious work marvelously in this application- me, personally, am not a fan of any "delicious" variety- as I don't find them to live up to their name. But that's me. I do have to agree with ATK that Granny Smiths were way too tart. Next time I will either break down and try the Golden Delicious or my personal favorite for cooking, Cortland, if I can even get them in Florida. 

Mix 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice & 1/2 cup water in bowl. Add prepared apple slices to keep from browning. 

Drain apples well. To apples in a large bowl add 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, light or dark,

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Toss to coat apples.

Back to the dough:

Remove dough from refrigerator, and let sit at room temp about 5 minutes.

Roll into 10 inch round on lightly floured surface. Cut into 2-1/2 x 2-1/2 inch squares, the ends will be rounded but that works on the edges anyway. Lay pastry pieces out on a buttered flat pan or parchment paper covered pan and cover with plastic wrap and return to refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Start to preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt 3 TBSP unsalted butter in 10 inch ovenproof skillet on stovetop.

Add apple mixture, stir well, cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally over med-low heat for 10 minutes to start to soften apples and release their juices.

Mix 3/4 cup apple cider, 1 TBSP  cornstarch & 2 tsp lemon juice in small bowl until there are no lumps, add to apples in skillet, and cook for another 2-3 minutes stirring, uncovered until juice just starts to thicken.

Removed from heat and gently press apples down to try to get an even layer.

Working quickly, lay pastry pieces on top of apples, slightly overlapping, but cover most of the top of the apples. Brush pastry with 1 beaten egg, and  sprinkle w/ 1 TBSP granulated sugar mixed with 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon.

Bake at 400 degrees until pastry starts to puff up, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and with the back of a large spoon press the center of the pastry down so the juices start to run over the top. Repeat pressing the pastry fur more times around the edge of the skillet. return to the oven and continue to bake for about another 15 minutes until the top crust is golden brown.

Remove from oven, allow to cool at least 20 minutes on a wire rack. 

Serve warm, topped with vanilla ice cream.

  Still a lot of steps but it was very much worth it!

   Hope you enjoy this- it did end up very very delicious, and next time I will try other apples!

     Happy pandowdy! Until next time, Mangia!

~Aunt Barbara