Genève’s Kitchen

I've been reading a lot of food lit lately, I wonder if there's a term for that genre yet? 

My current read is Ruth Reichl's 'Tender at the Bone.'   I'm only on page 84 but can reliably say I'll be reading her next two books as well.  I find myself laughing out loud and reading passages to my boyfriend almost every other page.  I love Reichl's writing style as she recounts humorous tales of her childhood experiences mostly revolving around food.  Most certainly a woman with whom I'd have lots to talk about.

One memory that she recounts is that of her grandmother's housekeeper, Alice and the delicious apple dumplings that she used to make.  And as invariably happens when I hear about a familiar sounding recipe I am reminded of my own food associated memories.

Many summers ago my brother, sister, mother, and I stumbled upon a secret patch of blackberries along a path down the street from where we lived.  Every day while they were in season we'd go down to the sprawling bramble with tupperware containers and pick as many of these beautiful berries as we could fit into our little plastic boxes.  We managed to eat plenty too as we were busy at work which left us with purple tongues and belly aches.  Since we had more berries than we knew what to do with my mom got creative and after she'd made enough jars of jam and compote she made turnovers.  I watched her make them and they seemed simple enough so it was with those turnovers in mind that I tried my hand at making these.  One thing that's so great about this turnover recipe is that it's incredibly easy, especially when enlisting some help from Pepperidge Farm and you can substitute any fruit that you like.  I made mine with pippen apples because those seemed appropriate for the season and I'd been inspired by Reichl's story as well as Ivonne's recently posted entry on delicious apple turnovers . 

Your house will smell amazing as these bake in the oven.  This is one of those super simple recipes where the end result far outweighs the effort!  I was excited to have house guests Will and Bea at the ready to try these turnovers.  Plus, maybe if I lure them with yummy food they'll come and visit again soon?

Quick and Easy Apple Turnovers 

• 1 package puff pastry, I used Pepperidge Farm
• 4 large apples, sliced, cored and cut into small pieces
• Juice of one lemon
• 3-4 Tablespoons of brown sugar (depends on the sweetness of the type of apples you use, if tart then go with 4 tbsp.)
• Pinch of salt (to offset the sweetness)
• 1/2 Teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1-2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 egg
• Raw sugar (turbinado)

1)  Lay out the puff pastry to defrost – package says for about 40 minutes at room temperature.  Preheat oven to 400F.

2)  Meanwhile, in a bowl add the peeled, chopped apple, the lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, vanilla extract, flour and stir together.  You can let this stand while the pastry finishes thawing. 

3)  When the pastry has thawed open it up gently to prevent the dough from breaking (puff pastry comes with 2 folded sheets) but if it does break don't worry, you can easily use your fingers to press it back together.  Sprinkle some flour on a flat surface like a clean kitchen counter or table and lay the dough on it – using a rolling pin or clean wine bottle if you don't have a rolling pin – gently roll it out just to even it and meld the creases together – we aren't trying to thin out the dough too much here so be gentle. 

4)  Cut the square of dough into four equal pieces and add a spoonful or two of the apple mixture in the middle of each square.  Put a small dab of butter on top of each pile of apples – about a quarter of a tablespoon.  Run your fingers under the tap or put some water into a small bowl and using your fingers or a pastry brush put just a little water along two adjoining edges of the square – this will act as the glue to hold your little turnover package together.  Then picking up the opposite corner from the one you just added the water to pull the dough over the apple to meet the other side and pinch the edges together.  Do this for all of the turnovers.

5)  Beat the egg in a small bowl and with your pastry brush (if you don't have a pastry brush you can use a folded up paper towel and use it like a brush – I try to be resourceful) gently paint the tops of all of the turnovers – this will give them a lovely shine.  Sprinkle on some of the raw sugar – the egg will act like a glue here and you'll have a lovely sweet crust.  Using a fork poke some holes in each of the turnovers to allow them to vent as they cook.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.

This recipe makes 8 turnovers.

Enjoy!