Friday, October 16, 2015

One More Time: Apple Charlotte

by Sheila Connolly

I promised I’d stop with the apple recipes (although the apples sure haven’t stopped!). But that was before I found a copy of the 1892 book The Every-Day Cook-Book and Encyclopedia of Practical Recipes. The book itself is not extraordinary, although it’s entertaining reading. What was surprising was that I found it in a used bookstore in the Raleigh NC airport on the way back from Bouchercon. I figured it must be an omen. I mean, who looks for collectible cookbooks in an airport?


Of course there are apple recipes, in addition to useful information like how to clean a corset and how to keep flies away from your gilt picture frames. I’m also rather fond of instructions for Smoothing Sad Irons (in case you’re desperate to know, a sad iron is a solid cast-metal iron that must be heated on a stove, and yes, I have a few antique ones). And then there are the instructions on how to stop bleeding: pour a handful of flour on the wound. Good to know.


How we used to do things!
But I digress! Back to the apples. I could choose from apple trifle, apple fritters, apple sauce pudding, boiled apple pudding, rich baked apple pudding, apple charlotte, and apple ginger. Decisions, decisions! I decided upon apple charlotte, mainly because I’d never made a charlotte anything (plus I was on my way to Charlotte, North Carolina). And it’s not complicated (except for translating antique ingredients and measures to modern ones).


Apple Charlotte

Here’s the original version from the book: 




Here’s the translation for modern cooks:

Grease the bottom and sides of a deep baking tin with butter. Line the buttered tin with slices of wheat bread. (You may have to trim them to fit.)



 


Note: The proportions as given in the original recipe were: half a peck of tart apples/a quarter-pound of butter/half a pound of sugar. (A peck is equal to 2 gallons in volume (four pecks make up a bushel)). So don’t be scared by the idea of a gallon’s worth of chopped apples—they will cook down. 



Peel and core your apples, cut them into small pieces, and fill the lined tin, layering them with butter (1/4 pound total) and sugar (1/2 pound total) and grated nutmeg.

Yet another note: A gallon of chopped apples is a lot of apples. I was happy to find I had a vintage tin (or basin) of the right size, but I quailed at the idea of chopping enough apples on any flat surface—bits tend to wander off in all directions. But then I had a brainstorm: I have a chopping bowl and a slew of choppers from the same vintage as the cookbook! (BTW, one of those choppers appears in A Gala Event.) If you chop in a big bowl, the apple pieces can’t escape.

 



Spread additional slices of the bread brushed with melted butter and cover the apple mixture. Lay a plate on top of the bread slices and weight it down with something heavy (I used a metal pot lid and a pair of foil-wrapped bricks).




Bake for two hours in a “quick” oven [you think I know what a quick oven is? Ha! I guessed 375 degrees, and it worked out just fine.]. Let cool slightly, then invert onto a plate (good luck with that!).



Of course, you don’t have to make a giant charlotte—you can tinker with the amounts of apples, based on whatever you have. Just add plenty of butter and sugar and you’ll be fine. 


I can't believe it came out in one piece!

Next week: a potato recipe! With cheese and cream! And no apples!



A Gala Event was released last week! Earlier today it was ranked at #13 among Barnes and Noble paperback bestsellers. Thank you!

www.sheilaconnolly.com

15 comments:

  1. Wow, Sheila, the things you do for us here at MLK! that looks like enough yummy dessert to feed all of us!

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  2. I love your apple recipes. Where in Charlotte. I would have driven the two hours to see you. I just reviewed your book. I love your characters.

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    1. It was just a layover in the airport on the way home. But it would have been fun to get together!

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  3. Sounds yummy. And it looks like it came out just fine! I guess I missed the used bookstore in the airport, too.

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    1. I saw it in passing when I arrived but didn't have time to stop. But I made sure I had time on the way back! I also bought a 1895 bit of pulp mystery fiction, titled The Piccadilly Puzzle. I really should stay out of bookstores!

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    2. Why on earth would you want to stay out of bookstores?! Go for it!

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  4. I guess using flour to stop bleeding makes sense since the place you are most likely to cut yourself is in the kitchen where flour is usually close at hand! I've never had a charlotte--did it taste something like apple bread pudding?

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    1. Close enough. (Most of the other charlotte recipes I looked up seemed to involve gelatin and chilling.)

      I swear I once saw some sort of TV thriller where the hero, running past a wounded man, told him to put sugar on his wound to stop the bleeding. Which would be better, do you think?

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    2. I just googled it and saw lots of references to putting sugar on wounds to stanch bleeding, purify the site and also to rid the site of dead tissue. Wow, I wouldn't have guessed it.

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    3. Who knew? I can just see someone in the ER after a kitchen incident trying to explain.

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  5. More power to you for translating the recipe from the "old" to the "now".
    It's so simple (minus all the apple work) but sounds lovely.
    What are the approximate dimensions of the pan you used?

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  6. Libby, the mechanical peelers make it a little easier, but I have the feeling 19th-century women spent a lot of time in the kitchen!

    The pan is 13" across the top, 10" on the bottom. It was part of my treasure trove of vintage cookware (I knew they'd come in handy someday!). I'm sure you could cut this recipe in half and still have plenty.

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  7. Sheila, this looks yummy! I would think flour would be best to stop bleeding because it absorbs moisture. You have the best luck finding old cookware items, and books!

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    1. Forgot to say that I remember making glue from flour and water, so natch, it would be like a band aid!

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  8. I really enjoyed A Gala Event! Apples are good, especially at this time of year. Thanks for the recipes.

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