French Apple Tart

I have wanted to make a French Apple Tart for years.  In fact, I bought this pan to make a French Apple Tart ... when I was a teenager.  I now have teenagers of my own, one of which is eighteen.  To be honest, I have no idea why I have not made one before.  I've wanted to, but just have not gotten around to it.  It is not like I've not made tarts over the years in this pan, just not a French Apple Tart.  I've decided to start writing these things down, so that a great idea doesn't just go unrealized for years, especially not over twenty years.

So last week when we went apple picking, I decided this was the time, so I went in search of recipes and found Sara Moulton's French Apple Tart at Saveur and decided to give it a try.  Let me tell you, this recipe is a must try.  Not only is the crust wonderful, but it is one of the easiest I have worked with.  And, while the filling may seem overly simple with few ingredients, trust me, it is decadent.  It was definitely worth the twenty year wait, but I don't plan to wait that long before making it again.

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Pumpkin, Cranberry, and Apple Baked Oatmeal

I have really been struggling with dieting and cooking/baking.  Most of what I want, I just can't reasonably eat and try to loose weight.  So, when I tried this and it was absolutely wonderful, I was very happy.  You can find the recipe here at Emily Bites.  (By the way, if you are dieting, and especially if you are on Weight Watchers, I highly recommend Emily Bites.  She has a huge number of low calorie recipes and even includes points for those on Weight Watchers).  I did not change the ingredients, but I did change the procedure a bit.  I am NOT a morning person, so cooking breakfast is generally not on the day's agenda, so I mixed all the ingredients the night before - except the apples and pecans because I didn't want the apples to turn brown or the pecans to become soft.  I left it in the refrigerator over night in a covered glass bowl.  You could probably also go ahead and put it in the baking dish, but I didn't because I knew I wouldn't want to have to wait to bring the temperature up on the glass dish I was using in the morning before baking.  The next morning, I chopped and added the apple, poured it into the baking dish, topped it with the pecans, and baked it.  It took about 30 minutes to bake instead of 20 minutes due to starting out cold.  Not only did I love it, so did my husband and son who are not dieting.

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