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Picture Imperfect Tastes: The Apple Dowdy

Aunt Hanner's Apple Dowdy

I wasn’t going to write about my little weekend adventure into historical cooking, but then I caught this post which, in addition to being very moving in its broader terms, included a kicker towards the end: “I sometimes worry that commoditized simplicity will become fetish, and ultimately an over-stressed trend.” Ah, yes, that back-to-basics lifestyle showcased so perfectly on many a Pinterest board transformed into a danger all its own? I took her point.

Here I’ll offer a flip side to the situation, however. Ever since devouring Della Lutes’s The Country Kitchen (Little, Brown, and Company, 1936) during a road trip last summer, I’ve meant to go back and actually try to cook some of the classically imprecise recipes sprinkled throughout the text (though Lutes does go the extra mile in trying to help the reader get a handle on how things were done if classic biscuit ratios aren’t already ingrained). It was the current chill that finally got this project accomplished, however, and in the end I settled on making the Apple Dowdy: “not a dumpling, a pudding or a pie–deep-dish or otherwise. It is just a dowdy–sort of common, homely, gingham-like, but it has character.”

The Country Kitchen

Now, as I have likely mentioned before, I hate to measure. Reading and then correctly following instructions goes against my genetic makeup. As a result, baking often terrifies me. But in this recipe, I felt a permission to follow instinct that your typical, weighed out in grams baking situation doesn’t encourage. Portions where emotional (“with generous judgment”) and relaxed (“a slight scattering”). Plus, with a suggested cook time of 3 hours (!!) there would be none of this “at 18 minutes it’s baked through, at 20 minutes it’s burned” stress. I exaggerate, but you’ve been there, right?

Not having a “deep earthen pudding dish” on hand, I used a ceramic pie plate. This turned out to be too large, requiring that I roll my dough thinner than the indicated 3/4 inch and, as a result, reducing my baking time to 2 hours. I suppose I could have tented it with foil to prevent over-browning, but it smelled so good that I could wait no longer. I’ll try and follow the directions more carefully next time, but served warm out of the oven with a splash of cream, this dowdy was straightforwardly delicious. I hesitate to get into any additional cliches of “classically simple” and “old world,” but maybe because its construction was so basic (pantry staples!), its assembly so laid back (15 minutes, inspiration to oven!), it was a truly fine and satisfying way to warm up the house and the spirit on a cold winter’s afternoon.

Aunt Hanner's Apple Dowdy

Aunt Hanner’s Apple Dowdy

for the filling

4 or 5 medium apples, tart and firm, peeled and quartered (I used an apple slicer/corer and so ended up with 8 slices per apple)
brown sugar (sprinkle enough to suit your apples)
nutmeg (“a slight scattering”)
cinnamon (“a little less”)
salt (“dash”)
butter (“with generous judgment,” about a teaspoon per serving)
1/2 cup warm water

for the crust

1 cup AP flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk

Heat oven to 325°F.

Fill your baking dish with prepared apples and scatter sugar, spices, and butter over top. Pour in water at the side.

In a medium bowl whisk flour, baking powder, and salt, and cut in butter. Add milk and stir just until dough comes together. Roll out on a floured counter until about 3/4-inch thick and just large enough to cover apples. Fit and crimp down over top and slash top to vent.

Aunt Hanner's Apple Dowdy: Unbaked

Bake for three hours, watching to make sure crust does not over-brown. Serve warm straight from the oven with a splash of cream and extra sugar if desired.

Leave the Light On: To Saugerties Lighthouse

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Even though my first viewing of the children’s film Pete’s Dragon left me inconsolable for days (Disney films were a bit darker in 1977), its setting also sparked in me a great love for lighthouses. That bit of personal history might have added an extra gloss of romance and nostalgia to our visit to New York’s Saugerties Lighthouse, but the place certainly didn’t need it. The restored 1869 structure sits in the Hudson River at the mouth of Esopus Creek, and we had a perfectly clear and crisp-but-not-cold November weekend to enjoy the views and the grounds. When we tired of that, the coal-burning stove in the sitting room invited us to camp out on the sofa and read the afternoon away.

Path to Saugerties Lighthouse, November 2011

An easy (though sometimes muddy) hike along a 1/2 mile trail through a wood and along the shoreline leads the way to Saugerties Lighthouse.

View from the path to Saugerties Lighthouse, November 2011

View from the path to Saugerties Lighthouse

View from the path to Saugerties Lighthouse, November 2011

View from the path to Saugerties Lighthouse

Saugerties Lighthouse in the morning sun, November 2011

Saugerties Lighthouse in the morning sun

While in town, we also enjoyed an amazing supper at Miss Lucy’s Kitchen and lighthouse keeper Patrick Landewe was kind enough to make the coffee the next morning. He also produced a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs and pancakes topped with stewed apples, all made on a stove that had clearly attended a few breakfasts across the decades. Meanwhile, I coveted the fridge, which might not have been all that energy efficient, but made up for it in charm.

Saugerties Lighthouse kitchen

Saugerties Lighthouse kitchen

We also had the chance to check out the lighthouse museum and to climb up inside the tower during our visit, but you can catch the views at home thanks to a webcam that streams live footage. In another mark of the 21st century on this otherwise historically preserved and reconstructed space, whale oil has been forsaken and the light is now solar powered.

Tower Views at Saugerties Lighthouse

Tower Views at Saugerties Lighthouse

The bed was soft, the night was long, and we left ready if not exactly willing to return to our own post-holiday reality. If you’d like to check out more photos of this glorious place, you can view a few more of my shots here or go directly to the lighthouse site to plan a visit.