Yummy Good-byes

This weekend, Paul and I invited my brother Ryan and his wife Jacquie over for a casual dinner. There's not usually a reason behind our get-togethers, other than to just hang out and watch a movie, but this time there was a bit more to it.

Ryan and Jacquie left yesterday to spend two weeks in Florida with family. I have to admit, I'm a bit jealous of their getting to see everyone but I'm so excited for them too.

Anyway, Eva just adores her Aunt Jacquie and Uncle Ryan and asks for them almost daily. Because of this, we thought it would be nice for her to get some good play time with them before having to go two weeks without seeing them at all.

So, they took a break from their trip preparations and came over to eat pizza. For dessert, I made a warm, rustic apple crostata and it was so yummy! I'm not a big apple pie fan (mostly because I don't really care for the goopy filling) but this dessert is just perfect in all of it's simplicity. If you want a satisfying fall treat without feeling like you need to unbutton your pants afterward, try this! It's so good!

Apple Crostatas
Giada DeLaurentis (surprise, surprise)

Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
2 small Golden Delicious apples, peeled, halved, cored, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
1 Pippin apple, peeled, halved, cored, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
(I used 3 Fuji apples and it turned out beautifully)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 large egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon of water (for egg wash)
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted (I left these off. Ryan and Paul are pretty picky)

To make the crust: Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a processor. Add the butter. Pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the ice water and pulse until moist clumps form. Gather the dough into a ball; flatten into a disk. (If the dough still crumbles and does not form into a ball, add another tablespoon of ice water.) Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

For the filling: Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine the apples, 1/4 cup of sugar, and lemon juice in large bowl; toss gently to blend. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, dust a large sheet of parchment paper with flour and roll out the dough on the paper to an 11-inch round. Transfer the dough on the parchment paper to a heavy large baking sheet. Spoon the apple mixture over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold the dough border over the filling to form an 8-inch round, leaving the apples exposed in the center. Pleat loosely and pinch the dough to seal any cracks. Brush the crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Bake the crostata until the crust is golden and the apples are tender, about 40 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack; cool for 10 minutes. Slide a metal spatula under the crust to free the crostata from the baking sheet. Cool the crostata to lukewarm. Sprinkle with the almonds and serve.