Apple Charlotte

• 3 pounds apples
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Juice 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon peel
• About 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 loaf homemade-type white bread, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Peel and core apples and cut them into thin slices.
3. Melt two tablespoons of butter in a saucepan and add apples, lemon juice and lemon peel.
4. Add the sugar, (the amount depends on the sweetness of the apples) and cook the apples over low heat until they begin to get soft.
5. Meanwhile, put the remaining butter in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, gently, without browning.
6. Remove the foam that rises to the surface and keep the butter warm.
7. Remove crust from bread.
8. Dip the slices of bread into the melted butter and with them line the sides and bottom of an ovenproof dish four inches deep and about eight inches in circumference (a souffle dish is perfect).
9. Add the softened apples to the dish (it can be prepared ahead up to this time) and bake uncovered for one hour.

apples, unsalted butter, lemon, lemon peel, brown sugar, bread

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/5331 (may not work)