Hammock Dunes, FL: Jason Hall offers many homemade items
Vacationing to Florida and taking up golf might be as American as apple pie.
Or Apple Charlotte, if you are at the Hammock Dunes Club in Palm Coast, FL. Executive Chef Jason Hall molds these little treasures in his kitchen there. Warm Granny Smith apples are tucked into charlotte molds, enveloped with buttery white bread crust, and baked. When served to the lucky recipient, the charlotte is topped with a cherry sauce made with pinot noir.
Chef Hall says that like many other dishes at Hammock Dunes, the Apple Charlotte is made in house. “We don’t buy any pre-made sauces, and everything is hand-made from scratch,” he says. This seems a priority for him. While learning to become a chef, he says he felt privileged to work under Certified Master Chefs who believed in scratch cookery and weren’t afraid to push the culinary envelope.
Jason Hall has certainly made the rounds during his 14 years in the industry. He graduated from Le Cordon Bleu partner, the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute. With this under his belt, he went on to work in private clubs and restaurants in the Carolinas, Ohio and Napa Valley, CA.
Now, as Executive Chef at Hammock Dunes, he continues the culinary legacy of his prestigious teachers. The Apple Charlotte is surely just a taste of what his restaurant has to offer—pair it with a chat about tomorrow’s golf game, and you’re in American heaven.
Apple Charlotte from Hammock Dunes, FL
Apple Charlotte
6 portions
6 granny smith apples
1 cup sugar (may need more depending tartness of apples)
2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt and nutmeg
4 tbsp. butter
1 loaf of white bread
½ stick unsalted butter, melted (this is for the bread)
Special equipment: a 2-inch round cookie cutter; 6 (5- to 6-oz) ramekins
Preparation
Peel and dice the apples. In a pan warm the butter, then add the apples. Stew the apples at medium heat. Add sugar, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Cook until apples are soft.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut out 12 rounds from bread slices with cookie cutter, then cut 42 (2- by 1 1/2-inch) rectangles from trimmings and remaining slices. Coat 1 side of each round and rectangle with some of remaining butter. Put 6 rounds, buttered sides down, in molds and line sides with rectangles (5 to 7 per mold), buttered sides against mold, arranging them vertically and slightly overlapping, pressing gently to adhere. Trim any overhang flush with rims.
Divide filling among molds and top with 6 remaining bread rounds, buttered sides up, pressing gently to fit inside bread rim.
Bake charlottes in molds on a baking sheet in middle of oven until bread is golden, about 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, then invert plates over charlottes and invert charlottes onto plates. Serve warm with cherry sauce. Recipe follows
Cherry Sauce
3 cups dried cherries
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
¼ cup pinot noir
1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp. water
In pan bring cherries, sugar and water and wine to a boil. Stir cornstarch mixture and add to sauce, stirring. Simmer sauce 2 minutes and cool to room temperature. Sauce may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring sauce to room temperature before serving.
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