Baking with Julia's Flaky Pie Crust Dough and French Apple Tart

Last week, I found myself enjoying wasting time in the public library. In my last trip there, I checked out Baking with Julia with the intention of finding a bread to bake for February.

The previous tenant had left us a few apples that were fast losing their crunch, so I thought what better way than to make a dessert out of them. The French Apple Tart recipe in this book called for a roasted apple compote filling, which made my raise my eyebrows and go, 'Oh, why didn't I think of that?' I have been sticking to frangipane all this while, which is made up of ground almond + eggs + butter, lots of buttery goodness... But I am switching to apple compote from now on.

Other real highlights and ego boosters from this baking experiment were:
+ I adore the flaky pie dough recipe. It has been years since I made my own crust dough, and I am happy to be reacquainted. The satisfaction is indescribable.
+ I love the ancient-old gas oven of this house. No more burnt tops!
+ Just winging it, I thought the finger-pinched decorative edging was too good to be true. In fact, I was asked if the crust was store-bought. *Preen* Made from scratch, yo!
+ The blueberries were an afterthought, because I got tired of chopping and thinly-slicing one, more, apple. The berries were a hit with our 4-year-old lunch guest.

Let's hope I will have just as good a time with a bread recipe from this book... What shall I bake? There are so many to choose from.