Apple Pandowdy and Epic Failures

It is very hard for me (and anyone really) to say I'm sorry, admit I am wrong...but even more so, to succumb to epic failures in the kitchen.

Stay with me on this one...it's a doozy!

Many years ago my husband and I got addicted to the HBO mini series "John Adams" with Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney.  You MUST watch this, it is fantastic.

One of the lines from Abigail Adams is, "To be good, and do good, is the whole duty of man comprised in a few words."   LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this line and advice.  Ever since I heard that, (and my kids will tell you this), that has been my mantra to them, if not every day, than at least once a week..."Be good and do good".

Well one day, I ended up down the cyber rabbit hole (I'm sure you know what I'm referring to), and learned that Abigail Adams was famous for her Apple Pandowdy.  "The word dowdy comes from the Middle English "doude", which means exactly what your're thinking.  Shabby, messy, inelegant."  Who knew?  Abigail's Pandowdy made use of the abundance of apples in the region.

This sounded like a wonderful new recipe to try out...

I got everything together and knocked it out.  As I was putting it in the oven, I realized that I accidentally grabbed the salt and sprinkled it all over the puff pastry, instead of the sugar!

I scraped off as much salt as I could and baked it off to see if it would work...it didn't!  It definitely didn't!  I was so upset I wanted to cry.  My containers for the sugar and salt are not even remotely similar.  My head was obviously somewhere else that morning.

I had one more puff pastry sheet left, so I gave it another try....

I took all the "over salted" puff pastry pieces off the first batch and tossed them away.  I scooped up all the apple filling and placed it in a cast iron skillet.

Then, I cut out larger pieces of the pastry and baked it off, per directions.

I'm happy to report, it was saved and I learned a very valuable lesson(s)!

Apple Pandowdy
Courtesy of Bon Appetit

6 Tbl unsalted butter
4 pounds Pink Lady and/or Granny Smith apples
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 Tbl all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 Tbl vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 lemon
1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed by covering pastry sheet with plastic and leaving at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cook 6 Tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling often, until bubbling and golden, about 5 minutes; set aside.

Prepare your apples: Using a vegetable peeler, remove peel from apples.  Stand them upright and slice down along core, working all the way around to remove big loves of flesh.  Cut lobes lengthwise into 1" pieces.  Discard peel and cores.  Transfer apples into a large bowl.

Add 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, 3 Tablespoons flour, 1 Tablespoon vanilla, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to bowl with apples.

Using a microplane or fine rasp grater, grate zest of 1/2 lemon over apples.  Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice from zested half over apples, catching any seeds. 

Toss apple mixture until combined, then transfer to a shallow 3-qt baking dish.  Drizzle all but 2 Tablespoons brown butter over apples.

Dust cutting board with a light coating of flour and unfold puff pastry on floured surface.  Dust top with flour.  Cut puff pastry into irregular 1" pieces.

Arrange pieces of puff pastry over apples, overlapping but spreading to cover almost completely.  Brush pastry with remainng brown butter.  Springkle with granulated sugar.

Bake pandowdy until pastry is puffed and golden around edges, 25-30 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices are thick and bubbling and pastry is brown all over, 30-35 minutes longer.

Using a spoon, press pastry down into warm juices (but don't submerge); let cool slightly.

Serve pandowdy warm with ice cream.

One Year Ago: White Trash Cookies
Two Years Ago: "Clinks" Spinach Salad
Three Years Ago: Mike's Marinating Mess
Four Years Ago: Spicy Sausage Skillet
Five Years Ago: The Masters Champions Dinner

Prosciutto-Wrapped Shrimp with Creamy Garlic Dipping Sauce

When empty nest syndrome set in, I had to decide if I was going to fight it, or let it get the best of me.  So after a few months of feeling sorry for myself, I decided it was time to get out and start doing things again.

When I met my husband, he had never been to a concert...he grew up in Southern California, how is that even possible?!?!  Ever since I took him to his first concert, he has been addicted and loved every one of them.

Now that we have a lot of time (and a little bit more money) doing that empty nesting thing, we are trying to get to more of those concerts.  This past weekend was Michael McDonald!  So much fun!!!

We started our pre-concert festivities with friends over for some appetizers and wine beforehand.  One of our daughters called in the middle of our get together.  I told her I couldn't talk because we had company over and were heading out to a concert...I would call her tomorrow.  Her epic response was, "Well, aren't you two just living it up now that we're out of the house!"   In my head..."and the problem with that is what???"

I was inspired to make these from one of my Sur La Table menus I downloaded awhile ago.  I am completely over the top for these little shrimp bites. Delicious!!!!  Super easy and so good...I could eat an entire platter of these morsels!

Prosciutto-Wrapped Shrimp with Creamy Garlic Dipping Sauce
Adapted from Bon Appetit and Jake's On The Lake, Tahoe City, California

For the Shrimp:
18 large or extra-large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
18 basil leaves
9 slices prosciutto (from 4-ounce pkg.), cut in half, lengthwise
olive oil for brushing

For the Creamy Garlic Dipping Sauce:
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 Tbl Dijon mustard
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I like Best Foods Olive Oil flavor)
2 Tbl sherry vinegar
pinch kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

For the Creamy Garlic Dipping Sauce, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix until smooth.  Cover and refrigerate.

While the sauce is getting happy, make the shrimp...

Arrange the 1/2 slices of prosciutto out on a work surface.  Place a basil leaf at one end of each slice.  Place a shrimp on top of the basil leaf and roll up tightly.  The prosciutto should be stretchy and slightly sticky, helping the shrimp bundle to stay wrapped.  Set onto a platter or baking sheet and repeat until all shrimp are wrapped.

Brush both sides of the shrimp with olive oil.  Heat grill pan to medium-high.  Grill shrimp about 5-7 minutes, turning frequently, until the prosciutto has crisped and the shrimp are pink and opaque.  Transfer to a platter and serve with dipping sauce, or serve on individual plates with a small spoonful of sauce.

One Year Ago: White Trash Cookies
Two Years Ago: Bobotie
Three Years Ago: Mastering The Art of Desserts
Four Years Ago: BBQ Chicken Fiesta Salad
Five Years Ago: Mushroom Soup