When February rolled around this winter, I knew it was my time to host my book club.I just didn’t know what I was going to serve for our afternoon gathering. Besides loving to read, our members are all foodies, so naturally I wanted the spread to be special. I finally decided on making a bowl of broccoli soup with curried crème fraiche that I offered in small portions ladled into ramekins. A quartet of cheeses filled a cheese board along with grapes, apples, and crispy date-studded crackers. On the sweet side, I arranged a bowl of blueberries and raspberries next to a basket of almond and orange tuiles. But, the winning dish turned out to be Apple Napoleons, my twist on traditional French pastries known as Napoleons or mille feuilles that usually include a custard filling.
I used purchased puff pastry, cutting a sheet of the dough into rectangles and then baking them until they had risen and were golden and flaky. The pastries were halved, and the bottom layers spread with lemon- and ginger-scented crème fraiche. Next they were topped with spiced sautéed apple Continue reading
