just another tastebud birthday!

Yesterday was a fairly busy day...I woke up a 4a.m. to bake two loaves of a chocolate sourdough cherry bread for the NW Chocolate Festival in which I was somewhat coerced into doing a chocolate bread baking demo by a man I met in San Francisco at the Slow Food Convention.  Of course before I had to lecture to this group at Whole Foods I panicked thinking maybe I wasn't the baker I thought I was and why are these people showing up to listen to me speak?!  Needless to say I survived and could answer all questions about bread except the differences in salts (even after suffering the The History of Salt, I couldn't muster up an answer).  

Feeling satisfied with my performance, I went home to begin the construction of an apple galette and a peach, vanilla, almond tart tatin for a friend at Tastebud, Ashley, who was having a house warming/birthday bash all in one that evening.  (P.S....Ashley, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your new place!)  I had been dying to make the tart tatin, a classic french dessert said to have been created accidentally by the Tatin sisters who ran a hotel in france.  The story goes, being overworked, one day Stephanie Tatin left the apples simmering in the butter and sugar to long in the pan so she put the crust on top and stuck it in the oven.   Once it was baked and set, she flipped it out and voi-la! Tart Tatin was born!  It is quite a beautiful tart, with the peaches (or apples/pears/fruit of your choice) caramelized and arranged in circular fashion.  All in all, it was a good day for baking.

A quick note on the apples Ashley gave me to bake in the galette...I have never seen an apple like this in my whole life.  Yellow on the outside, I really didn't expect much from the color of the inside of the apple.  Just another yellow apple I thought, and then, this watermelon shade came bursting out on the first slice and took my breath away, I still haven't stopped talking about it.  I have been trying to find out the name of these apples so if anyone has any thoughts, please, please let me know!