Ingredients

Serves 6

　　

Step 1

Provide yourself with a heavy ovenproof 9-inch skillet and a third to a half of the recipe for chilled pie dough (page 91). Slide rack onto lower-middle level and preheat oven to 425°F.

　　

Step 2

Slice the halves of 6 cored and peeled Golden Delicious apples into 4 lengthwise wedges each, and toss with the grated zest and juice of 1 lemon and 1/2 cup sugar. Drain after macerating 20 minutes.

　　

Step 3

Heat 6 tablespoons unsalted butter in the frying pan over high heat; stir in 1 cup sugar, and cook until syrup bubbles and turns caramel-brown.

　　

Step 4

Off heat, arrange a layer of apple slices in a neat pattern on the caramel coating, then arrange the rest of the apples fairly neatly on top.

　　

Step 5

Return over moderately high heat and cook for about 25 minutes, covering the pan after 10 minutes, and pressing down on apples every several minutes as you baste them with exuded juices. When the juices are thick and syrupy, remove from heat.

　　

Step 6

Roll the chilled dough into a circle, 3/16 inch thick and 1 inch larger than top of pan. Drape over apples, pressing edge of dough between apples and inside of pan; cut 4 small steam holes on top. Bake about 20 minutes, until the pastry has browned and crisped.

　　

Step 7

Unmold onto a serving dish so the pastry is on the bottom, and serve hot, warm, or cold, with whipped cream, sour cream, or vanilla ice cream.

　　

To Clean a Burn-Blackened Pan

Step 8

Fill the pan with water, adding 2 Tbs baking soda per quart. Simmer 10 minutes, cover, and let soak off heat for several hours or overnight. The black residue should scrub off easily with a stiff brush.

　　

Timing—Regular Versus Convection Ovens

Step 9

All the timings in this book are for regular ovens. Convection ovens cook about one-third faster. In other words, a leg of lamb that takes 2 hours at 325°F in a regular oven will probably take less than 1 1/2 hours in a convection oven.

　　Julia's Kitchen WisdomKnopf