Caramelized Apple Slices with Armagnac

If you have ever attempted the Chinese restaurant dessert of caramelized apple wedges, whereby the already-tired cook runs to the stove, batters and deep-fries the apples, simultaneously caramelizes the sugar, coats the apples, prepares ice water, and sprints to the table before the apples cool and the water warms, then you will doubly appreciate this luxurious, leisurely alternative. It is the recipe of my French-cooking friend, Michael James, whose desserts have al