#Bookcook American God’s American Pie

About the Book – American Gods by Neil Gaimon

You can find my review here

Days before his release from prison, Shadow’s wife, Laura, dies in a mysterious car crash. Numbly, he makes his way back home. On the plane, he encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America.

Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm of preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break.

Scary, gripping and deeply unsettling, American Gods takes a long, hard look into the soul of America. You’ll be surprised by what – and who – it finds there…

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Ahh, the quintessential American dessert. What better way to celebrate the war between the old gods and the new than with a slice of apple goodness.

I hear even Thor likes a slice in Valhalla or Biloxi. Wherever he is at this moment.

Here is a great recipe for an apple pie I have made a few times. Don’t drop it on your metal breastplate, apple goo never comes out of the ringlets.

Buy American Gods by Neil Gaiman

 

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APPLE TART WITH ALMOND PASTE FILLING RECIPE

“What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not foolin’ a soul.”

American Gods – Neil Gaimon

Apple Tart with Almond Paste Filling

• Prep Time 25 mins
• Cook Time 50 mins
• Total Time 1 hr 15 mins 

 

This Apple Tart has a hidden layer of delicious homemade almond paste underneath the apples. It is a wonderful dessert for Fall and will for sure be a hit at any of your holiday dinner parties. Course: Dessert Servings: 8 – 10 Author: Wild Wild Whisk

Ingredients For crust:

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 oz unsalted butter 1 stick
• 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoon cold water

For almond paste:

• 1 cup almond meal/flour
• 1/2 cup powder sugar
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For apple topping:

• 2 large honey crisp apples or 4 small ones
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter – melted

Instructions

1. For almond paste, add almond meal, sugar, egg white, almond extract and salt to a bowl, mix well until combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Almond paste can be prepared well in advance and store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
2. For the crust, place flour, sugar and salt in the food processor fitted with the dough blade and pulse a few times to mix.
3. Cube the butter and add to the flour mixture. Make sure butter is cold. Pulse several times until butter is about pea size and mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough starts to pull together. Be mindful not to overmix, you still want chunks of butter in the dough to create a flaky crust.
5. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic and rest in the refrigerator for an hour.
6. Roll dough out into a circle about 1/4” thick and large enough to fit your tart pan. Transfer the dough to your tart pan and lightly press into the bottom and sides. Let the extra dough hang off the edge, then take your rolling pin and press along the edge of the pan to take off the extra dough.
7. Cover the dough in plastic and place in the freezer.
8. Move your oven rack to the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400°F.
9. Peel and cut apples into 1/8” thick slices.
10. When the oven is ready, take the crust out of the freezer. Take the almond paste, lightly spread and press it to the bottom of the crust so it covers the entire surface.
11. Arrange the apple slices on top of the almond paste. Brush the melted butter all over the apples. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle on top.
12. Bake for 50 minutes.
13. Let cool on a wire rack before serving

 

#Bookcook The Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster and Smash a Gold Brick Into Your Face