You know I’ve been hanging on to this Sunday Dinner blog post–edited photos and all for quite sometime. Actually, its been a little over 4 weeks. 

To me, that’s quite some fucking time. 

I wait.

Sometimes (read: most times) I wait until the inspiration hits to post something. 

Or.

Or like this post I was really freakin’ jazzed about apples. 

Weeks ago. 

When they first made it on the scene. 

I should have known–there was also a fake-out on behalf of the man who controls the weather. It was right there.

Right freakin’ there at the end of August with apples newly arriving on the scene bringing hope to the pretty lean and seemingly endless supply of nothing but okra and peppers. 

For a moment, it actually felt like mother fucking Fall. 

A rarity in these parts. 

Man, oh man. It was such the tease right before the bitch slap of incredible humidity set in. 

There’s another thing about this dang blog post: you can only make and re-make, write and re-write, then you accidentally throw away one of many modified recipes that had a some important not to mention great fucking notes about the next possible incantation of this here, apple tart. 

You begin to loathe the recipe and while it’s final incantation may result in absolutely fucking fabulous, you’re over it. 

Over it.

You’re over the child-like enthusiasm of having apples in season. 

Over the wasted time, money, and not to mention energy of that comes with (a recent) batting average of about 50% recipe success in the kitchen. 

Lord knows, you’re damn sure over the fucking heat and humidity that has you dripping sweat off the end of your nose in the kitchen while you are trying to hammer this recipe out. ONE MORE TIME. 

And all you want.

Really. really, really, really, really, want is a damn decent dinner. 

A dinner where most everything tastes as good as it should/looks. 

I imagine that’s why I pine for a good Sunday dinner or brunch for matter. 

Sunday dinner is about exceptionally delicious, rare-during-the-week treats. I like to think of Sunday dinner like the holidays (SHH, I know–so not ready/damn close). It is essentially a chance, weekly, to gather the fuck around and just enjoy each other. It also gives us Southerners a chance to do what we know how to do best:

to eat.

to mother fucking drink.

and to be leisurely merry.

Ya heard, me?  

Now on to the best part of Sunday dinner: dessert.

Before we get into the recipe…

I would love to tell y'all that this Sunday Dinner was everything I told you how it was supposed to be. That the mash potatoes and fried chicken were the best that you ever did have. They were decidedly, without a doubt, NOT.

The mash potato recipe was the first recipe I tried from Nigel Slater’s Tender cookbook: Mash potatoes with Bay. 

Oh God, I apologize now but anyone who has ever tasted English food knows the flavor I am about to describe here: grannie’s panties.

Vulgar, I know. 

And of course the next thought is, “How would you know?/I don’t really want to know…" 

Let me explain the background story behind the description. 

It was a few years back, I had my brother visiting from out of town and for some god awful reason we decided to dine at was once Feast and is currently home to ROOT Restaurant.

This meal, oh this meal, had one underlying flavor component throughout each and every course. Neither of us could (bear to) put our finger on it. It was distinct, musky, overbearing, slightly ancient tasting in the way old moth balls smell when you find them years later.

Later, we would drink to feel, to taste something different than musky and old.

Well, I presume this is what truly makes a Sunday Dinner, Sunday Dinner.

Blessings.

In Disguise. 

Because of this recipe I finally know without a doubt what the fuck that flavor was. The flavor we dubbed, "grannies panties." 

It is an obnoxious amount of fresh bay leaves.

Steeped. (this should have been a red flag)

In cream. 

Musky, sweet, almost dank herbaceousness that left us both with an indelible (flavor) experience. It was amazing we made it through with forced smiles, let alone pay for it.

"The fried chicken?” you ask. 

Well, I might get hunted down like a dog in the woods on this one but it was just…alright. The method in the making of this recipe is pretty spot on. It just didn’t have a whole lotta flavor – even after punching up the amount of ground thyme, etc. and adding more of my own additions: ground mustard, ground marjoram, onion powder…sorry y'all. 

So I didn’t get my damn dinner and I threw out the mash potatoes immediately but at last I finally beat out that damn apple tart. 

At Last Apple Tart

the crust

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: none

Yield: two tart crusts 

So first of all, y'all need to make the dang crust: here’s the link to the one from Valentine’s and the one used in this recipe. 

(If y'all want to convert the recipe from grams, I suggest using this.)

Once y'all have that ready, it’s pretty simple.  

All you have to is make the filling:

the filling

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins, once the tart is assembled.

Yield: 1 tart, serves 8 or 6 depends on how you want to slice it.

(I put it all in ounces in case y'all don’t have a scale.)

Here’s what y'all will need: 

2.5 ounces almond meal/flour 

1 ½ tsp all purpose flour 

½ tsp cinnamon

2.5 ounces fresh chevre (y'all know I am partial to Ryals Dairy) 

2 tsp sour cream

½ tsp almond extract

2.5 ounces powdered sugar 

1 ounce of egg, beaten.

the topping:

1 apple, cored and sliced. 

½ ounce of brandy

2 tbsp sugar 

juice from one lemon

sprinkle for topping: 

¼ cup sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

Go ahead and preheat oven to 350.

Core and slice your apple. 

In a small bowl toss the remaining ingredients for the topping and set aside. 

Mix up to cinnamon sugar in a separate bowl. Set aside. 

Sift together the almond meal/flour, AP flour + cinnamon.

Set aside. 

Now to make the filling: 

Break out the stand mixer and with the paddle attachment beat the chèvre, sour cream and almond extract until it is the consistency of mayonnaise. Once you have reached this consistency add in powdered sugar until well mixed. Now you add in the egg until well combined. Mixture will be thick. 

Break out the baking sheet, parchment paper, and tart ring.

Line baking sheet with parchment and set the ring on top.

Y'alls tart dough should be nice is firmed up by now.

Remove it from the fridge and roll it out from the center, changing the angle every so often as to have it crack or split too much around the edges. Once it’s about ¼" thick, drape it over the tart ring.

Gently pressing the dough around the ring.

Cut any excess off around the edges.

Now y'all are ready to fill the dang tart…

Take a freezer bag and cut the ziplock off. 

Carefully spoon the almond cream into one corner of the bag. Be sure to squeeze the almond cream into that corner without breaking the bag.

Cut the filled corner at an angle and starting at the center of the tart squeeze out the almond cream in a continuous circle all the way to the edge of the tart. 

Now take your apple slices and starting at the outer most edge begin overlapping a bit and facing the same direction.  Now sprinkle those apple slices with cinnamon sugar and slide into the oven for 20 minutes.

And that’s it.

The one thing you can always be grateful for: desserts and blessing in disguise. 

And bourbon.

May there always be bourbon.