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November 25, 2007:

APPLE BROWN BETTY

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, as I sit here eating a piece of dark chocolate candy, I’m feeling that the world is my oyster. Yesterday, I was feeling that the world was my whitefish, and I feel that tomorrow I shall feel that the world is my scrod. What is it, fish? Why do we always feel that the world is fish? Why don’t we for once think that the world is our macaroni and cheese or that the world is our Apple Brown Betty? And what IS Apple Brown Betty anyway? Does Apple Brown Betty even exist or is it a fig Newton of my imagination? No, by gum and by golly and buy bonds, it DOES exist and is not a fig Newton of my imagination. Tow wit: Apple Brown Betty is one of the oldest desserts in American culinary history, dating back to colonial times. Made with buttered bread crumbs, spices, sweet apples and a generous splash of sherry, this rustic dish is sure to please modern tastes as well.

serves 6

Ingredients
4 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
4 Fuji apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons dry sherry (optional)
Whipped cream for serving (optional)

Method:

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Lightly butter a 2-quart casserole or baking dish. Stir together bread crumbs and butter; set aside.
2. Combine apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, ginger, and cinnamon, mixing until well blended. To assemble brown betty, spread 1 cup of buttered bread crumbs in bottom of casserole; top with one third of apple mixture. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon sherry over apple layer, if desired. Spread another cup bread crumbs and top with half of remaining apples and another tablespoon sherry. Make third layer of one cup of bread crumbs and top with remaining apples and sherry. Spread remaining bread crumbs on top of apples.
3. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes; uncover and bake 30 minutes longer. Cool until warm and serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Fool around with me, sister. You want Apple Brown Betty, you GET Apple Brown Betty. I ask you, where else on all the Internet can you find a recipe for Apple Brown Betty on in a daily notes on a Sunday on November 25th? Nowhere, that’s where. I can’t even remember what the HELL I was talking about. Oh, yes, the world is my oyster or my cheese enchilada or my fried banana. Maybe I should just start over.

Well, dear readers, here we are, on the Sunday, lazing about like so much fish after our big meals of the last few days. Speaking of big meals, yesterday I had one. I slept a reasonable number of hours, got up, did some stuff around the home environment, then had an early luncheon at Islands, where I had a Big Wave with bacon and cheese, and some cheesy fries. It was all very good, but at that hour of the day it frankly made me want to vomit on the ground. I then did some driving about in my motor car, went to a fun used book store in North Hollywood, then came home and sat on my couch like so much fish.

Yesterday, I watched several more episodes of Twin Peaks. One thing is clear – the shows that Mr. Lynch and Mr. Frost wrote are better than the ones they didn’t write, and the shows that Mr. Lynch directed are really better than the ones he didn’t. Going into season two, the weird stuff starts to feel a little forced, but even so, there is so much interesting stuff in each episode that the stuff that doesn’t work, doesn’t really bother me. I think I’m heading into episode twelve right about now.

I also watched two episodes of Love, American Style, which doesn’t hold up too well, at least these episodes didn’t. The writing is very poor, it’s strictly by the numbers TV direction by a host of second banana directors, but it’s fun watching the casts, which is why this set is of interest. Penny Fuller, Michael Callan, my pal Dave Ketchum, Flip Wilson, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Mantan Moreland are just a few of the folks in the first couple of stories. The between show shtick is really unfunny. The music by Charles Fox is very perky, and the transfers are excellent.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below whilst we all get out our ingredients and begin to whip up some Apple Brown Betty.

I gotta tell you. Today I shall do nothing but watch Twin Peaks episodes, and take it easy, food-wise. I shall not, for example, have any oysters. I shall probably attempt to eat 1000 calories only for the next few days, because I have got to drop some poundage.

Tomorrow, of course, begins a new week, and I have lots to do, including attending a book signing by my friend Tony Slide over at Samuel French on Tuesday evening. I’ll have more details in case our West Coasters want to stop by. I have a few meetings this week, and some writing to do.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, watch DVDs and eat reasonably. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we all partake of our collective Apple Brown Bettys.

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