As Promised

Yesterday I posted a photo of my candied cranberries. It's time to tell you what I did with them.

We didn't decide to celebrate Thanksgiving at my dad and stepmother's house until Sunday. The lot of us will be there: my dad's children, my stepmom's children, and our respective families. If we all make it, there will be 26 of us. That's not counting my two kids, who've never celebrated a real American Thanksgiving.

Since there are so many of us, we all bring something to take the load off my stepmother. I asked what Allan and I could bring. "Red wine* or a fruit pie." I said we'd bring both.

I decided to make a French tarte aux pommes, but when I saw NewWaveGurly's candied cranberries, my creative side started talking to me. So I made up a recipe. We'll see tomorrow how it turned out.

First, I candied the cranberries using this recipe. Yes, it was a little time-consuming, especially the part about pricking each cranberry with a needle. I used a #14 crochet hook from Allan's mother's sewing kit (she's not around to protest, and anyway, I think she'd find it a worthy use). It was fun for a while, poking holes in each. individual. cranberry. Then I pretended that the cranberries were my frustrations, and took pleasure in stabbing them—kitchen voodoo, if you will.  I remembered that food should always be prepared with love, so I stopped stabbing and started concentrating. I hoped it might turn into a sort of zen experience. It did not.

Before I go any further, let me say that I tripled the recipe above. I used a whole bag of cranberries, because I didn't know what my whimsy would tell me to do. Turns out I didn't need the whole bag. I have a boatload of candied cranberries and syrup in the fridge. You're all invited for breakfast next week. I'm serving cranberry muffins and pancakes with cranberry syrup. Preference given to women who suffer from UTIs. (Did I just say that out loud?)

Right. So. I wanted to prepare a French tarte, because I thought it would make a nice change from a traditional American pie (read: it's a lot lighter). I also have this killer quiche pan, which is perfect for such things. After doing a little research online, I made up a recipe for tarte aux pommes, and here it is. Illustrated. Oh, one more thing. I bought the crust. I know, slacker.

First, I bought six Granny Smith apples. With three of them, I made applesauce. I have no recipe for this -- I just cooked the peeled and sliced apples with a little water and brown sugar, then I used the boat motor to purée the stuff. This can be made ahead; I made mine last night just after I finished the cranberries.

Next, I blind-baked the crust for 10 minutes in a 375°F (190°C) oven. I spread the applesauce I'd made into the crust.

Oops, I forgot to tell you that while the oven was heating, I peeled and sliced the other three Granny Smith apples. I tossed them with a little lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. So once I had the bottom of the crust covered with applesauce, I placed the apple slices on the crust. I did my best to imitate the French boulangeries.

Yes, I sliced the apples by hand. I think it might be time to invest in a mandoline.

Now it was time for the cranberries. I was a bit worried that they might burn in the oven, so I only placed a few on the tarte.

Then I used the syrup that was left over from candying (is that a verb?) the cranberries. I warmed it and brushed it over the apples and berries.

Then I baked the tarte (toujours à 375°F/190°C) for 45 minutes. The apples were tender, so I removed the tarte from the oven and brushed it with the cranberry glaze again. I added a few more candied cranberries, and let it cool. We'll see how it goes over tomorrow. I hope it's tasty.

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers. Happy Thursday to the rest of you!

*We're taking red and white wine from this local winery.  We went there last Saturday. Today we bought the wine in Lexington, though.

Comments

[JanePoe (aka Deborah)]

Mmmm.....looks absolutely exquisite! I'm sure the taste will not disappoint. I love taking the general idea around a recipe and improvising ... if nothing else, it's always fun and exciting (at least for the cook!)

Bon appetit!
JP

[Elle]

That does look gorgeous! I have a tarte tatin pan and a mandoline that have seen zero use ever since we got them as wedding gifts last year; looks like this may be just the thing I need to cook to break them in.

[Catheroo]

I would like a slice (or four) of that scrumptious tarte. I love how much work you put into your culinary creations. You deserve a pass on the premade crust.

[The CEO]

I put on a pound and a half reading it. Of course I'd eat the entire tart. I call it quality control. You should have made several and Fed Ex'd me mine. It looks sooooooooo good.

[rebecca]

WOW!! that looks incredible!! i can't wait to hear how well it goes over on Sunday.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and Allan and yours.

[rel]

Ali,

Happy Thanksgiving! to you and ALL of your family.

Your scrumptious desert reminds me of a rightside-up tarte tatin with an american Thanksgiving twist.

I'll be there next week for bkfst. What day is best for you? ;-)

[Susan]

Looks and sounds wonderful!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Allan.

[Katherine]

Yum!

[meredith]

Looks pretty yummy to me. Happy Thanksgiving.

[Alison]

Looks bee-yoo-tee-ful! I just stuck with the peanut butter pie and pumpkin pie for our dessert - and it's just the four of us! Good thing they freeze.

BTW, if you want a mandoline just for slicing and julienne-ing, pick up a Boerner V-slicer. For only $20, it might not be as versatile as a professional model, but it does a darned fine job. Whatever you do, steer clear of the Oxo. The Oxo, as a slicer, makes a good potato masher.

[ally bean]

The cranberries look so nice on the tart that looks quite delicious. Hope that you had a fun and tasty trip. Happy Thanksgiving.

[Margaret]

That tarte aux pommes is too beautiful to eat. I am gazing at it in admiration. Yes, it does look like a French bakery chez toi. And I laughed heartily at the kitchen voodoo experience. I do that sometimes too by banging pans around when someone is trying to watch TV. Can you say passive/aggressive?

[Elisabeth]

As hard as my father (who was a chef, and quite a decent one, for part of his life) tried to teach me how to make a French apple pie (he did two kinds, one in which the bottom was apple sauce, and one in which it was custard - that one was my favorite), I could never really master that fine art. I prefer cooking, by far, to baking.

[Deb]

Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. =o)

Those candied cranberries on the previous post look soooooo yummy!

[Sophie T. Mishap]

Holy saliva glands, Batman! These pictures look so good you could eat them! I'm totally jealous!

[Ari (Baking and Books)]

Goodness, that looks amazing! One of these years all us foodbloggers should have a feast of a convention. Can you imagine all the good food that would be there??

[newwavegurly]

That looks absolutely yummy, my friend. So, how did it taste?

The chocolate covered cranberry clusters were a hit with my family (I let them have all of the ones I brought to Thanksgiving, and have some here for myself). I'm trying to decide what to do with another bag of them, I'm thinking of making some cranberry jam. I'm just not really all that familiar with canning, and I want to make sure I do it correctly...

[Cover Your Mouth]

Wow! Color me impressed!

[MATTHEW ROSE]

Hey another Ms. Glaze!

My monoprix had oceanspray cranberry juice for only two days. They no longer carry it. Only bad beaujolais nouveau. Oh well.

Matthew