• Originally published October 21, 2009 at midnight, updated October 21, 2009 at 11:05 a.m.

• SIMPLE APPLE TART WITH CRANBERRIES

  6 sheets phyllo dough (measures 12 x 17) thawed

  1 stick butter, unsalted and melted

  2 Tbsp. butter

  2 tsp. ground cinnamon

  5 Tbsp. pure maple syrup plus more for serving

  3-4 apples, cored, halved ...

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SIMPLE APPLE TART WITH CRANBERRIES

6 sheets phyllo dough (measures 12 x 17) thawed

1 stick butter, unsalted and melted

2 Tbsp. butter

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

5 Tbsp. pure maple syrup plus more for serving

3-4 apples, cored, halved and cut into 1/4 inch wedges

1/4 cup fresh cranberries

3 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush a baking sheet with butter and lay 1 phyllo sheet directly on the pan. Brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon. You will continue to repeat this layering until you have layered 6 sheets of phyllo dough. Bake until crisp and golden brown or about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush with 2-4 tablespoons of maple syrup.

Place a row of apple wedges on the short side with the skin facing to the outside. Then make a second row next to the first by overlapping slightly and staggering the apple slices. All apples will be placed facing the same direction. You can cut additional pieces to fit over the crisp crust. The apples will shrink some during cooking so place them close to one another.

Scatter the cranberries over the top.

Drizzle with remaining butter and 3 tablespoons of maple syrup.

Sprinkle top of tart with sugar.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until apples and cranberries have softened.

Allow to cool and then serve with whipped cream on the side and then drizzle with additional syrup as desired.

WHIPPED CREAMWhisk cream in a mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat until soft peaks form. Keep refrigerated if not serving promptly.

MYRA'S APPLE CHOICES

FOR EATING

1. Honey Crisp - Delicious tart apples perfect for snacking, sweet and crisp (because it is a relatively new variety (1991), it tends to be more expensive than other apples).

2. Jonagold - Sweet and tart, cross between a Jonathan and a Golden Delicious, available October through May

3. Braeburn - Great for snacking, baking and in salads, available October-July

FOR BAKING

1. Granny Smith - Green in color and tart, excellent for baking and available year round

2. Pink Lady - Tangy, sweet and crunchy, excellent for cooking

3. Gala-sweet apple - Pinkish stripes over a yellow background, good for pies and baking

Fuji-Sweet - Reddish pink snacking apple and good in salads, available October-August

Last weekend, our two boys came home from Waco, where they are attending college. I could tell that they don't communicate with each since neither one knew the other was coming home. Our conversation went something like this:

"Spencer, what time are you leaving on Thursday?" (Baylor had a fall break so the kids had off Friday).

"I don't know," said Spencer with a shrug in his voice.

"When will you know?" I asked inquisitively for the purpose of wanting to feed him something special for supper.

"I'll know when we are in the car driving."

"OK," I said. "I'll call Miles and ask him when you are leaving."

"How would he know?" stated Spencer now seemingly irritated that I was asking so many questions.

"Are you and Miles coming home together in one car?" I reasoned that surely they would save money and carpool together.

"No, I did not even know Miles was coming home. Oh, Mom, by the way, I am bringing some friends."

"How many?" I questioned so that I could have enough food prepared. Miles had already called and told me he was bringing a friend or two home.

"I don't know . either three or five," said Spencer.

"When will you know how many kids?" I inquired, thinking that this was a reasonable question, since I was to be the hostess to a large number of boys.

"I don't know mom, I have to go now," he said as he was hanging up the phone.

The conversation occurred Wednesday. I responded to his lack of information as I always do. I prepared for a crowd. I pulled out my notepad and began to make my grocery list; beignets for breakfast (three boxes), powdered sugar, hamburger meat, buns, fruit, chips, ham, turkey, bread for sandwiches, Dr Pepper (multiple liters), Oreos, popcorn, cheese for making queso ... and the list went on. Boys eat a lot of food.

I left work on Thursday thinking I might have hamburgers ready for the boys when they arrived since I thought they would be hungry.

My cooking preparation was somewhat premature, because Spencer said he wanted to eat at Jim's Big Burger with his friends for supper. According to him, they have the best hamburgers in town. I was silent, since I did not want to have to compete with Jim's for best burgers.

I called Miles. Maybe he would like to have hamburgers with his friends. He told me he was late getting away, and he planned to stay at our place in the country with friends and come in sometime on Friday. Oh well.

I awoke early on Friday morning ready to prepare beignets for breakfast. Spencer and his friends had stayed up well past midnight, and I felt bad about waking them, but not too bad. I prepared breakfast, and by 9 a.m. announced it was time to get up by knocking on the bedroom doors. He had arrived with two friends, Ace and Blake.

Blake is his roommate at Baylor, and Ace is a guy he hangs out with. I could tell the boys and Spencer wished I would go to work. They obviously have visiting with a mom very low on their things to do list.

But the beignets were delicious, and they patiently answered my questions between bites of the crispy, fried French donuts.

It is hard to get information out of teenage boys. Spencer is at the age when parents are on a need-to-know basis. The master plan for the weekend began to unfold and most of the plans did not include us. Several other boys (five or six) had gone home with a friend from Rockport, so the boys planned to spend the weekend there, at the beach and just hanging out.

Taylor and I don't mind being left out. We are getting used to our empty nest status, having enjoyed, I mean, suffered through almost three months of being without kids.

We enjoy our weekends alone or with friends, but seize every opportunity we have to be with our kids, even if it is just to cook for them or take them out to eat.

We decided to join them at a house in Rockport for the weekend. One can only imagine how excited the boys were at our plans. Actually, I think that Miles, our oldest son who is a senior in college, likes to be around us. He has matured in the last few years, and his independence doesn't seem too threatened by our suggestions or questions.

On the other hand, Spencer is a freshman in college and really enjoying getting to make all his own decisions. So, if we ask him what he is doing then perhaps he feels like we are trying to take control over him again. It is interesting to observe how those parent-child relationships evolve once the kids go off to school.

I continued to serve as chef du jour for the first part of the weekend, but in the end, Taylor and I retreated back to Victoria to our empty nest.

On Friday morning, I had offered the boys a choice of French donuts (beignets) or apple tart with cranberries drizzled with maple syrup, my choice being the latter since apples are in season. Their choices typically do not stray far from fried, so they chose the fried dough beignets.

I prepared a tart for Taylor and myself to enjoy with a café latte. This crisp fillo (phyllo) crust can be prepared for breakfast or for dessert. Serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or a bowl of vanilla bean ice cream and savor the fruits of the season.

I selected pink lady apples for this recipe, but gala would also be a great choice.

Myra Starkey lives in Victoria. Write her in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901, or e-mail myra@vicad.com.

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