Got Crust

Four weeks of Craig’s List, one job fair, dozens of emailed resumes, a few interviews, and still, no job.

Actually, I was already offered perfect employment. My first week here, I stumbled into a cooking shop on a beer buying errand in Pacific Beach. The shop was well stocked with all the good kitchen toys and had a beautiful, state of the art cooking school facility in the back third of the store. I picked up a course schedule which offered a huge array of classes taught by talented local chefs. Of course, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to drop off a resume at the shop, which I did later in the week. The retail manager never returned any of my phone calls, but eventually I did hear back from the cooking school director, who called me in for an interview. The interview went well so the following week, I observed a class on entertaining, which was a great class, expertly taught. The whole operation was smooth and professional, and the people were friendly and welcoming. I would loved to have been a part of it all. The director offered me a job assisting guest instructors with their classes which would have been a great opportunity to get paid to learn. I didn’t take it. I left two really good jobs in Seattle to move to San Diego to make a go of a relationship. I wasn’t about to be working nights and weekends so that I could spend all day by myself wondering what Nick was doing at work. I need to find myself a day job. Or at least a job that pays well enough to warrant a few late evenings in exchange for spending time with Nick on the weekends.

The experience wasn’t a total loss, however. I got crust. The menu for the class I observed was tasty, although not terribly exciting. The instructor made the class worthwhile, though, with her tips and tales of catering experiences. The dessert she chose is one of my favorites- fresh fruit galette, a sort of free-form rustic pie. She chose to use apple which she expertly peeled with a paring knife, the green skin falling to the cutting board in one elegant strip. She sliced the apples thinly and arranged them in a barely overlapping pattern from the outside to the center. It looked lovely, but to me, defied the rustic nature of a galette. And there just wasn’t enough apple flavor in the final product, with such thinly layered fruit. It’s a good thing the crust was so darned delicious. She made the dough in a matter of minutes, pressing the butter into the flour with her fingers and then tipping ice water from a cup until the dough began to hold its shape. It’s the easiest technique and the results were fabulous- a flaky, tender, buttery crust.

Here’s my version of the galette, with more apples! You could use other fruit as well or a combination of fruits. Just be sure to sprinkle a few tablespoons of flour onto the dough after it’s rolled out, if you are working with very juicy fruit. The flour will help thicken any fruit syrup.

Rustic Apple Galette

For the crust: (you can double the recipe and freeze one)
1 ½ cups flour
½ cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks and cold
a few pinches of salt (I like a bit of salt, she used none)
1/3 or so cup ice water

Measure the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the salt. With your fingers, press the chunks of butter into the flour. Leave some visible pieces of butter in the flour (they will be flattish but don’t make them too small). Add enough ice water just to pull the dough into a ball. You can always sprinkle a bit more so don’t over do it. The dough should come together nicely. Flatten it into a round and put it in a clean Ziploc bag, gallon size. Flatten it some more while it’s in the bag and the refrigerate the dough at least one hour.

For the filling:
5-6 apples (I used two largish Granny Smiths and 4 small Galas)
¼ cup of sugar- more or less to taste
Cinnamon to taste
A sprinkle of lemon juice

Peel, core and slice the apples into ¼ inch slices. Toss with the other ingredients.

To assemble and bake the galette:

More butter – 2 or so tablespoons
Sugar for sprinkling
Apricot or apple preserves, warmed (you can also add a splash of Cognac or Calvados)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the dough about 1/8 inch thick. Pile the apples in the center (you can arrange them if you have the patience) and leave the outside few inches free from filling. Fold the sides casually up onto the apples, letting it crease naturally, every few inches. (I rolled the dough on a square Silpat baking liner so I didn’t have to transfer it.) Slide the Silpat onto a baking sheet or pizza stone and readjust the folds if you need to. (If you’ve rolled on the counter, transfer the dough to a parchment lined cookie sheet BEFORE filling it.) Sprinkle the crust with sugar and then dot the extra butter around the top of the fruit. Bake at 400 degrees for about 50 minutes or until the crust is golden and flaky.

Brush the fruit part of the galette with the warmed preserves to give it a nice sheen. In a pinch you could use honey or maple syrup too.

Serves 6 to 8.

Comments

[Tanna]

Why does crust present us with such a challenge? Whe you get one that works for you, stick with it. Beautiful when it's rustic.
Hope the job search is working out.

[Chuck]

Hey Kat,

Are we due for another post one of these days? It's been a few months! Also, FedeX will likely deliver pies, too. You have my address.

Cheers!

Chuck