Chow's Spiked Apple Galette

So this is what I made for Slapsgiving: the Apple Galette on chow, which is the greatest website ever. This recipe wasn't all too hard to make just a lot more work than a traditional pie since you're pre-cooking the apples which keeps the apple liquid from making your galette soupy. If you've worked with pie crust before then I think you'll do fine with this recipe if you have never worked with pastry crust I recommend trying something easier before you do this. Some notes though: the crust on this recipe for some reason didn't bind as well as my regular crust usually does so you might want to try just your standard recipe. I also added some vanilla bean while the apples were cooking. Also note that the reduction is going to be more of like a thick sticky syrup so clean up may be difficult at that part but the alcohol does help thin it out as well as cut through the sweetness a bit. I didn't have Calvados which probably would have made this even better but I made a brandy-apple infusion which really didn't do all that much so next time Calvados or just straight up brandy. Well, this galette is delicious: the zest really helps bring this smooth roundness to the flavor and the cinnamon brings just a nice sweet spiciness that goes well with apples: I love this recipe. Here's the link to the recipe as I really didn't make any changes to it. http://www.chow.com/recipes/11137

I will instead enclose a recipe for apple-infused brandy. I did taste the brandy and it had a nice subtle apple flavor but that subtleness ended up getting lost against the apple syrup I mixed it in. Nonetheless, this infusion isn't so bad: I included sugar because I heard that sugar helps it infuse faster but I'm not sure if that's right or not.


1 Granny Smith apple scrubbed well
1/2 cup of brandy
a pinch of sugar

Clean an appropriate sized jar with hot water and soap and dry well. Core and cut the apple into eighths or pieces that will into the jar. Add the apple, brandy, and pinch of sugar; put the lid on and shake vigorously and store in a cool, dark place. Shake the jar everyday for 5-7 days and then strain the infusion and store in the refrigerator.