I decided to use my apples from Mercier Orchards to make an apple strudel based on the recipe from Classic German Baking. The dough is fairly simple but includes a good amount of oil. The stretchiness provided by the oil is critical to the strudel technique.
I rolled out the dough and then started to stretch it by hand.
I managed to stretch the dough to twice its original rolled-out size. I managed to make only one little tear.
I toasted some bread crumbs in butter to create a base for the apples.
I soaked raisins in whiskey to add to the apples.
I laid the filling over the dough and pulled up the sides. I kept the dough on the apron to help transfer it to the baking pan. I used an apron because I didn't have a towel big enough.
Transferring the strudel to the pan was the hard part. I worked very slowly and gently to move a little at a time. Even so, I added several tears to the dough.
The result was wonderful. The thinly stretched dough bakes to medium crispiness, something very different from most pastries. The apples were outstanding. And the bread crumbs are surprisingly important to the dish. They add texture and actually quite a bit of flavor, particularly when they carry freshly ground cinnamon. The strudel wasn't as much effort as I thought it would be and produced a very enjoyable result.
Luella's is a nouvelle BBQ outfit on the north side of Asheville. It is nestled among the trees in a lovely neighborhood. The restaurant has lots of windows for inside seating and plenty of outside seating. Service was courteous and amazingly fast. This is a combination plate with pork and brisket. Both were very moist and tender. For the pork, I tried both the mild and hot vinegar sauces. To my surprise, I preferred the milder one because it didn't assert itself too much. I enjoyed the spicy tomato sauce for my brisket. The hushpuppies were very good. The fried okra was fresh out of the fryer and excellent. The slaw was of the vinegary variety, which I usually enjoy, but this version is heavy on the white stuff and didn't have quite enough variety in tastes for me.








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