Apple Torte wows the judges

We have a winner-she's Noreen Harbison, a genuine aficionado of good food and cooking, whose Bavarian Apple Torte wowed the judges of the Reporter's annual Holiday Recipe Contest.

This year, News Services' staff served as judges-looking over the entries that came by mail, e-mail and fax from North and South campus cooks. Many thanks to all who participated-we wish we could have given prizes to all-the entries were that good.

The winner of our prize, "Southwest, the Beautiful Cook Book," is a Secretary I in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in Farber Hall on the South Campus. Noreen has been at UB for 23 years, 11 years in pharmacology and before that, in health related professions. About seven years ago, Noreen won a third prize in the Reporter contest for a chicken dish, she recalls.

But desserts are her favorite-for this recipe, her husband, George, always peels the apples ("Make sure George gets the credit for that") and he's the one who does the cleanup-willingly: "He benefits by eating my wonderful cooking."

A friend gave Noreen the recipe-and the flan pan. "I received the recipe from a former co-worker, Gerry Richtand, who retired about five years ago at age 70!" Noreen wrote in submitting her recipe. "This is a spectacular-looking dessert that looks like you bought it at a bakery! It is a perfect dish to serve at holiday parties and you will get rave reviews on its appearance and taste.

"I make it at least 25 times a year," says Noreen, who notes that it can be made ahead and frozen. And if you're counting calories, you can even use nonfat cream cheese, she says.

A recipe collector, Noreen cuts out recipes from magazines and subscribes to Taste of Home, a bimonthly magazine that she says she gets lots of cooking ideas from.

Now that she's won first prize, she expects her colleagues at UB "to join the flan fan club." Everybody in News Services who tasted it, already has.

Here's Noreen's winning recipe, followed by a few of the others that intrigued the judges.

The Winning Recipe

BAVARIAN APPLE TORTE