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| From Free Printable Coloring Pages |
Today in 1307, William Tell, the National Hero of Switzerland, put an arrow through the apple on his son's head - thereby putting the kid into years of intensive therapy. Raise a glass of hard cider in young Walter Tell's honor, and put the apple to better use by making APFELTORTE (Apple Tart).
(Oh, and if you don't already know it, you can read the Legend of William Tell here.)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a tort pan or pie plate with pastry; chill.
Wash, pare, and core 10 large cooking apples. Slice 2 of the apples thinly and set aside. Cut the remaining 8 apples into eighths. [If you are good with a crossbow, you can try cutting up the apples that way; otherwise use the tried-and-true method of a kitchen knife.]
Melt 1/3 cup of butter in a skillet and add the 8 apples. Cover and cook until apples are soft (you may need to stir it occasionally; don't want the apples to burn). Break up the apples into small pieces, then stir in 1/3 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, then spoon the mixture into the pastry-lined pan.
Now cook the 2 thinly-sliced apples in 1 cup of water mixed with the juice of 1 lemon for about 5 minutes. Drain them, and dry on paper towels. Arrange the slices in a pattern on top of the pie (I like to make a spiral) and sprinkle with 1 - 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. and bake for 20 minutes longer; remove from oven (do not turn off oven). Meanwhile, beat 1 egg with 4 tablespoons of heavy cream. Pour over tart, and return tart to oven to bake for 10 minutes longer. Serve warm.
Or, if you are a member of Taste of Home, you can try the recipe for William Tell's Never Miss Apple Cake.
Want to try making your own hard cider? Have a bit of time and a lot of apples on your hands? Instructables has a step-by-step easy to understand guide. I, of course, will skip immediately to Step 8 and buy some commercially-sold cider.
There is also a British concoction called 'Scrumpy' - one glass and the world begins to glow - sounds good to me! Instructions for making this delightful brew can be found here. (Being the impatient sort, I wonder if Scrumpy is available in New England?)
Fortunately for Walter, it wasn't available in Switzerland.
