In Diane Kelly’s Paw Enforcement series, Officer Megan Cruz and her K-9 partner are employed by the Fort Worth, Texas police department. One of my very favorite restaurants is Reata, located in Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth. The original Reata restaurant is located in far western Texas. The owner based the name on the Reata Ranch from the movie Giant. The Fort Worth location has been operating since 1996. After a tornado hit the tall building housing the original location, the restaurant moved into the old Caravan of Dreams building, complete with a glass dome and a rooftop patio with incredible views of Fort Worth.
I love Reata so much that my husband and I chose it to host my son’s rehearsal dinner. Before the wedding, Joe, Sarah, and I went to the restaurant one night to eat as many different things as possible to decide which items would make it onto the rehearsal dinner menu. We were lucky and got to sit in the dome that night. Here is a picture of the entrees we tried. Needless to say, we had lots of leftovers. Reata’s most popular items include Tenderloin Tamales, Blackened Buffalo Ribeye, Chicken Fried Steak, Stacked Chicken Enchiladas, and the all-time favorite Pan Seared Pepper Crusted Tenderloin.
All three of us fell in love with Apple Crisp with Cajeta that is served with cinnamon ice cream. This apple crisp is delicious by itself, but the Cajeta puts it over the top! Cajeta is a rich Mexican caramel made from goat’s milk. Don’t worry, you can easily substitute cream. The recipe says it will serve 8. I made a half recipe and had six large servings.
The Reata Legendary Texas Cuisine cookbook is absolutely wonderful. The photographs are guaranteed to make you drool. There are both new and used copies of the cookbook for sale on eBay. But of course, nothing is better than buying it from the restaurant itself. I’ll go with you!
| Servings |
to 12
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- 8 Granny Smith apples peeled and cored
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups Crisp Topping
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter ¾ cup
- 4 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cups to 2goat’s milk or heavy cream
Ingredients
Filling
Crisp Topping
Cajeta
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- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Butter a 9x13 pan. Slice apples into thin wedges. Toss the apple slices in a large bowl with the cream, sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon juice, and salt. Layer the dressed apples in the prepared pan and generally spread the Crisp Topping over the apples. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until the apples are soft and the mixture is bubbling. Drizzle with the Cajeta and serve warm. It is great with either vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.
- Combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and blend it with the dry mixture, using a fork being careful not to over the mixture. It should appear crumbly.
- Combine the sugar and water in a large, heavy saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar is dissolved and the mixture beings to simmer, do not stir again.
- Lower the heat and continue to cook at a slow steady simmer for up to 30 minutes. The mixture will turn light brown in color; just as the mixture begins to turn darker brown and starts to thicken, slowly stir in the butter, then add the goat’s milk or cream. The Cajeta will thicken as it cools, so this sauce is best served warm.