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Salted Honey Pie

28 Jan

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I’m being forced to get a manicure.  Nail care is not my forte – it never has been.  Other than trimming my nails on a regular basis, I rarely, if ever, think about them.  My friend has embarked on a personal mission to drag me to a nail salon by espousing promises of wine and cuticle conditioning that will change my life.  What she doesn’t realize is that she’s up against a lifetime of non-interest in nail care.  The only manicure I have ever had was when a friend of mine took me to get one the day of my wedding.  Honest to goodness, the thought hadn’t crossed my mind until she scheduled an appointment for me.  I even have vivid memories of my mother yelling at me to do my nails and threatening to not let me walk out the door until my nails were filed.

My lack of interest in doing my nails is one of a handful of intrinsic habits that have followed me my entire life.  Do you ever look at your adult self and chuckle at the habits or traits that plagued you decades ago and are still front and center?  I rarely wear socks unless I absolutely have to, I tend to leave the house without a coat (or hat, gloves or scarf), and I still have a hard time keeping my room clean.

It makes me appreciate the fact that there will be things that I’ll want to change about my children that will be virtually impossible.  If only my mother had known that 20 years later I would still not be doing my nails.  She could have saved herself a lot of angst and energy.

My high school year book was recently unearthed in a raid on my bedroom by 4 and 6 year old boys.  I hadn’t seen it in some time, so I took a moment to flip through.  Initially, I was looking forward to the pictures but was sidetracked by the part I completely forgot about – the signatures.  As I read each signature, I began to wonder if, much like my aversion to nail care, any of those teenage perceptions still held true today:

“You’re a really nice, smart, pretty person.”  Well, at least he ranked them in the order that I deem important – kindness and brains before looks.

“You always make class fun when the teachers make class suck.”  I like to think that I can still infuse fun into the most mundane situations.

“You always look good…”  I’ll bet he didn’t know that I never did my nails.

“I hope you remain the same friendly, smart, sarcastic person you have always been.”  Sarcastic, huh?  I don’t think I’m sarcastic – maybe he didn’t know what the word meant.  I mean, let’s face it, 16 year old boys don’t have the best vocabulary.

And so I put away 1994 and smile, knowing that there are some things about myself that will just always be part of who I am.  My nails might not be done, but darn it I’m smart, pretty and sweet and I make class fun when the teachers make it suck.

Salted Honey Pie

A friend of mine posted this to my Facebook page with well wishes for my personal holiday – National Pie Day.  It was the pie I’d been waiting for – unique, simple and perfect for the winter months. The recipe is from a pie company in Brooklyn that I’ve been dying to try – Four and Twenty Blackbirds.  This pie is for honey lovers, so buyer beware.  It is sweet, but by scaling back amount of honey, the sweet calms down and is complimented by a splash of salt making it a fantastic pie.  Ingredient note – custard and honey are the stars of this pie.  If you are able, purchase the best products possible.  I used eggs from a local farm and local wildflower honey.

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Ingredients

1 recipe of choice for a 9 inch single crust or best of both worlds pie dough

1/2 c butter melted

1/2 c white sugar

2 Tbsp white cornmeal

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 c honey

3 eggs

1/2 c cream

2 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1/2 tsp extract and 1/2 tsp bean or powder)

1 or 2 Tbsp sea salt for finishing (Maldon or fleur de sel )

Directions

Make pie crust and refrigerate in a disc for a least an hour or up to two days. Roll out pie crust into a circle 1/4 inch thick and line a 9 inch pie plate.  Leaving about an inch overhang, tuck the ends under and sculpt the edges.  Place in refrigerator while preparing the custard (at least 20 minutes).

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Preheat oven to 350

Place sugar, salt and cornmeal into a medium bowl and mix.  Pour in the melted butter, making a thick mixture.

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Mix in the honey, vanilla and vinegar.  Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating well with each addition. Pour in the cream and blend well.  Pour mixture into prepared pie shell.

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Bake for 50-60 minutes on the center rack of the oven.  You will want to be sure that the middle has puffed up and just slightly jiggles when you shake it.  The top should be beginning to brown.

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Let cool completely and then top with sea salt.  Don’t be too shy on the salt (I ended up putting more on after I took these pictures) – it’s a great compliment to the sweet honey.  Refrigerate and serve cold.  Enjoy!

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Dark Chocolate Pudding Cups

6 Jan

January 2013 073

The lens through which I come up with ideas is admittedly a tad off the grid from what your average person might consider normal. I’m rarely surprised that when I throw an idea out there, I’m often met with looks of skepticism or, in most cases, advice not to do it.  But, in most cases, I still do it and the result always creates a story or memory for me to bookmark into my life.

This week was a perfect example.  My friend went through a devastating break up this past month ending with a move out of the house she shared with her boyfriend of two-years and starting over in a new apartment.  One of the few things that has made her smile and laugh over these painful weeks has been a local Cleveland comedian, Mike Polk, Jr.  His claim to local fame are some funny You Tube videos that have garnered millions of hits.  His Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video and now infamous Factory of Sadness rant about the Cleveland Browns also landed him an opportunity to publish a novelty book entitled, Damn Right I’m From Cleveland.

Cleveland book

My friend gave us all this book for Christmas and it is hands-down a required read for anyone who lives in or understands Cleveland, Ohio.

As I sat pondering what I could get as a housewarming present for the big move, the perfect thought crossed my mind.  Mike Polk, Jr.!  How awesome would it be if Mike Polk, Jr. would show up at her new apartment as her housewarming gift? I promptly sent him a message explaining the situation and asking him if he would consider my crazy idea. And you know what?  He said yes!

As the day came closer, my friends started to question my judgement.  “It’s a little weird” one would say.  “It seems a bit stalkerish,” said another. “I would never do that,” said yet another.  By the day of the planned visit, I was so worried that this idea was too outlandish, I emailed Mike Polk and offered him an out.  He declined the out and reinforced that he was happy to do it, so I followed my gut and stayed the course.  The surprise went off without a hitch.  Mike Polk arrived exactly as planned and the look on my friend’s face was priceless as she watched in confusion and excitement as he walked through her door.    He was gracious enough to stay for a drink and within minutes, her empty apartment was overflowing with the sounds of friends and laughter. And more importantly, we all watched as the empty, sad look on her face transformed into smiles and excitement.

So what was the moral of this long story?  Everyone has varying degrees of “normal” and I need to trust my judgement and not suffocate my excitement or creativity just because it’s outside of someone else’s comfort zone.  But an even bigger lesson for me here is to not be the one to squash the excitement of others.  I saw myself begin to do this with my 6 year old son.  Since I was just coming off of my own crazy idea stunt, I was a little more tuned in to this dynamic.  I have a tendency to tell him why an idea might not be good when he suggests something a little outside of the box. So, instead of jumping immediately to the reasons why his ideas might not be good, I’m making a conscious effort to just roll with them.  Take these recent examples:

1.  Leaving food on the back deck for Bigfoot

What I wanted to say:  No, Bigfoot hibernates in the winter and I don’t want to go outside in the snow.  What I said:  Sure, let’s see what happens.

2.  Bringing flowers to school tomorrow for a girl’s birthday

What I wanted to say:  I don’t think that’s appropriate (as visions of the Say Anything boombox scene cross my mind).  What I said:  That’s very thoughtful of you, go for it.

3.  Painting a sled for the man down the street that yells at his dog

What I wanted to say:  I don’t even know his name, and he kind of scares me.  What I said:  What I nice idea, I’m sure he’ll love it.

I see glimpses of a familiar zest for life in my children.  A hint of crazy and the constant awareness that today could bring more excitement than yesterday. We seem to share an understanding that life won’t happen if you don’t seize the opportunity to make it happen.  So we go forward into the new week.  My friends and I have a new story to tell and a memory to share.  Tomorrow, a little girl will remember the time her classmate brought her flowers for her birthday.  And the trail of corn on the back deck has solidified my son’s hypothesis that Bigfoot does, in fact, like corn and live in the woods.

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Crust or bust: A ridiculously detailed tutorial for those who are scared to make crust

17 Nov

“I could never make crust.” That is the #1 reason people give for not making pie. The prepping, making filling and the baking all pale in comparison to how worried people are about making crust. No judgment here – I totally get it. Crust was the bane of my existence for easily the first six months of my year of pie. I poured over books, scoured the internet, and ate more chewy crust than most people do in a lifetime.

I’ve found crust to be more forgiving than most cookbooks make it out to be if you stick to some simple intuitive guidelines. So here is my best shot at giving you some blog-induced courage to go make yourself some crust this Thanksgiving.  You can find my recipe on the main page where it says “crust recipe” or click here.

#1 Be prepared

Before you even think about diving in, make sure you have what you need:

  • Food processor – I know, I know, grandma made it in a bowl with a fork. I don’t care. The food processor has been my best friend. Unlike the bowl/fork method, a food processor builds in less room for error, and that’s what I’m all about when making my crust. I want the road of least resistance and the most forgiveness.
  • Flour – Gold Medal, all-purpose flour. Another brand I’m sure would be fine, but I’m superstitious now.
  • Butter – Land-o-Lakes unsalted butter. NO GENERIC BRANDS. Superstition reigns again. If I’m putting all this time into making crust, I’m sticking with what I know.
  • Shortening – Sorry, I had to go there. Buy the trans-fat free Crisco or if you really want to justify it, get the fancy non-hydrogenated Spectrum Palm Oil shortening (you might have to find a Whole Foods). Crisco is a little more forgiving for beginners, but I like them both.
  • Apple cider vinegar – I have no strong feelings here. I’m sure you can drum some up in your pantry.
  • Sugar – granulated sugar (just making sure no one considers brown or powdered sugar good for crust-making)
  • Salt – regular table salt. I realize it’s all the rage, but NO CHUNKY SEA SALT!
  • Plastic wrap/press-n-seal – something to put the crust in when done. Or if you’re like me and have been out of plastic wrap for months, use a Ziploc freezer bag.

#2 Freeze your fat

If you want crust-making to be as low stress as possible, prep your butter and shortening days or even just hours before you want to actually make the crust. For some reason, making crust seems much less complicated when I do this. Cut it up into small pieces, put it in a Ziploc bag or wrap in plastic wrap and throw it in the freezer.

I make packets of these so they are ready when I am.

#3 Trust your instincts

Let me impart a little wisdom – you have the force, young pie-maker. The process of making crust takes mere minutes, but there can be so much angst wrapped up into those brief moments. If you pay attention to a few nuances of the dance, you’ll be ok. Here is a break down of EXACTLY how to do this (for one recipe of dough for a 9-inch pie): Continue reading →

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Black and Blue Pie

30 Jun

I have a change addiction.  Not change like shiny quarters and pennies, but actual change, as in the verb.  I find myself always working towards the next big thing.  In my 20′s it was easy.  Change came around every year or so.  A new apartment, a new job, an engagement, a wedding – I was reveling in what life had to offer and embracing new adventures annually.  Once we were married, changing partners was off the table, so it was a change of scene.  We bought our first house and a year later we bought our second house.  It was such a high counting down the days until the landscape of my life shifted dramatically.

Once we moved into the second house, the market plummeted and house-hopping was no longer a responsible thing to do.  So what would the next year bring?  Babies.  Changing it up every year was easy – get pregnant, raise the kid, get pregnant again, raise two kids.  Most people would feel perfectly content at this point, but nooo, not us.  Off to get a new house….again.

I take full responsibility for most decisions in our life.  My husband is always on board, but I push us off each cliff.  I can feel it coming and before I know it, I’ve uncovered something new for us to start working towards.  I started to panic after we were settled in this last house.  I loved my job, I loved our new house, the boys were great…now what?  Obviously a dog.  A year after the dog, I got the itch again and convinced myself (and my husband) that we needed a third child.  And off we went, getting pregnant.  It wasn’t until we lost that pregnancy that my change addiction caught up with me.  We were sad – we truly were excited and had embraced the idea of a third child.  But as we walked out of the doctor’s office, a strange feeling of relief came over me.   It was like the universe had stopped me in my tracks and gave me an out – pushed me back a step and told me to sit tight.  So I did what any reasonable woman would do in that situation – told my husband to get a vasectomy.  And he did what any reasonable man would  – he got one.

I thought that was the grand finale of my change addiction.  I started baking pies, and was content.  Until a year passed and I felt that familiar feeling – I was on the cliff and so I jumped into a new job.  Not four months had passed after starting my new job and I was on the edge again, laying down on the ground hanging my head over searching for exciting things below.  I tried to get us on board with adoption – I even sat in on a webinar about adopting from the Ukraine.  But my husband had the sense to draw the line and not give in to my pleas for an international baby.  As a compromise, he resurrected an idea that we had years ago to start hosting exchange students when the boys were old enough.  Sold!  I threw myself into researching the process and I kid you not, we were matched with a 15 year old girl from Germany within one week.  She’s coming in a month and we are so excited. What a fun adventure we are all in for!

About 12 years have passed since I first took notice of my addiction to change.  Looking back over what I have acquired through jumping off cliffs, I am grateful for it all.  I think it’s time to reframe this addiction I have.  Rather than feeling like it’s unhealthy to always be seeking change, I’m going to regard my life as a constant state of forward motion.  A forward motion that propels us to to the next adventure and uncovers excitement, joy and shapes what is the life we call ours.  If the past 12 years have brought 6 pregnancies, 3 houses, 3 jobs, 2 kids, 1 dog and 1 exchange student, I cannot wait to see what the next 12 have to offer.

One thing that has not changed?  Pie.  And boy do I have a good pie to share with you.

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Straight Up Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

27 May

One pie that everyone needs to have in their back pocket is a full-on strawberry rhubarb pie.  I’m starting to bore myself with so many posts that mention rhubarb, but whether you like this flavor or not, it’s a show stopper in the late spring and early summer months.  So, I figured I should put an official recipe on here for an actual pie – not just the mini pies or the pie in a jar.

The pie filling is exactly the same as the mini pies and the jar pies, just prepared differently.  For the non-traditional pies, you need to pre-cook the filling, but for a full pie, you keep your filling uncooked.  This is an adaptation of my grandmother’s recipe, and in my humble opinion, I think it’s the best one you’ll find.

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Pie-in-a-Jar: Strawberry Rhubarb

6 May

Pie is my zen. Time and again, I’m always surprised by the random thoughts that enter my mind as I clear my head and focus on making pie.  Over the past few weeks, my pietifications have centered around a funny phenomenon that I now affectionately call the Disappearing Mommy.

I’ve been seeing articles recently about how social media – Facebook specifically – can lower your self esteem and influence your self perception in more negative than positive ways (thank GOODNESS Facebook did not exist when I was a teenager).  While I’m sure these articles make very good points, I just usually shrug them off and feel grateful that I would never allow something as trite as Facebook to influence how I feel about myself.

As usual, I’m a walking contradiction and have realized that Facebook has actually begun to affect the way I see my life as told through photos.   Not a day goes by that I don’t see a beautiful picture posted of a friend in my newsfeed. In the age of Instagram and Hipstamatic i phone apps, beautiful, artsy pictures are being posted left and right.

These women post new profile pictures of themselves more frequently than I can come up with something witty to say in my status update.  The photos are cool – maybe a profile of her staring off in the distance, or a sassy head tilt accompanied by some sun glasses.  Or they are with their children, lost in a gaze or walking in the shadows.  These are not the same pictures that I have of myself – mostly in the middle of talking, chewing or eyes shut.  That’s when I even come across a picture of myself.  See, I wonder who is taking pictures of these women?  Do they take them themselves?  Do they have husbands or partners who fawn over them and carry a camera at all times? Is there a well kept secret that families are hiring professional photographers on a regular basis much like the revelation I just had that a majority of my friends hire housekeepers?

The reality is, even if I wanted to post pictures of myself, I don’t have many to choose from.  And to make matters worse, I don’t have many pictures of me with my children.  I discovered this when my son had an assignment to bring a picture of himself and his Mom to show and tell.  As I was tearing the house apart looking for a picture, I realized that photos of him and his Dad were in abundance, but other than the “just born” photos, the pictures of the two of us were slim.  I finally found one from three years ago, but at least it was the two of us.

And so the photos of my friends and their children flood my Facebook news feed and I wonder what my photo legacy has become.  If something happened to me tomorrow, what snapshots would tell the story of my life with them?

I’ve become the disappearing mommy whose time behind the lens has had the unintended consequence of cheating her out of the opportunity to document her life.  Will they remember how I buried my face under their ear to kiss their necks and smell them?  Will they remember our dance parties in the living room before dinner?  Will they remember that I liked to jump on trampolines and sing karaoke?  I don’t know – no one is taking pictures of that stuff.

I do not have many photos of me and my own Mom.  I have a few family photos, but I honestly don’t know if I have a photo of just the two of us.  Has she always been the one behind the camera?  And if not behind it, avoiding it?  My family is facing generations of disappearing mommies.  Mothers who have created countless photos of the life that happens around them, yet appear all too infrequently on the other side of the lens.

To remedy the disappearing mommy syndrome, I decided that I just need to start asking people to take my picture when the situation warrants.  So, for the past couple of weeks, I have done just that and, you guessed it… posted the pictures on Facebook.

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Cherry Pielets (How to make pie during the weekday)

17 Mar

I dread baking during the work week for one simple reason – dishes.  I love the baking part, but the aftermath is just so overwhelming when all I want to do is call it a night and go to bed. My M.O. each time I’m in the kitchen is to use as few utensils and cookware as humanly possible.  That ceramic ramekin?  It only had grapes in it – clean.  The stainless steel mixing bowl?  It only had some batter in it for like 30 seconds – quick rinse and it’s clean.  The spoons – shoot, they just stirred for all of 10 seconds – swipe them under the faucet and they’re as good as new.  No dishpan hands here.

This week was one where I had a double dose of pie-making during the work week.   Early in the week I needed to make these pielets for my friend – it was her daughter’s birthday on Pi day, so of course she needed to take these pies to her kindergarten class!  Then I signed up for the bake sale at work to raise money for a Liver Walk.  I’m all for healthy livers, so to show my support I of course offered up some more pies.

With a little planning, making pie during a busy work week can be pretty easy and the dishes can be managed in stages – not ending in one big heap at 10pm destined to sit there until Saturday.  Here’s a timeline for how to make these pielets and wow anyone, anytime:

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Ruby Red Grapefruit Pie (Community Project!)

28 Feb

I’ve been in a phase where it’s all about the short cut.  With a new job and now a cold to go with it, the past two weeks have been all about taking the easy way out.

I hit bottom this weekend when I was standing at the sink staring at two non-stick pans that had set up shop days earlier.  One had met it’s match with some sloppy joe and the other sported the remainder of some overcooked scrambled eggs.  These pans had been taunting me with threats of stuck-on grease each time I entered the kitchen, to which I only responded with a cold shoulder.

I stood, staring at the pans again, and could not summon the energy to wash them.  Instead, I remembered (thanks to an infomercial earlier that morning) that word on the street was that non-stick pans are not good for you and the coating could emit harmful chemicals.  I had been meaning to transition to more stainless steel pans!  Of course, I will just throw these away and it will motivate me to remember to buy new pans.  Voila!  I grabbed a trash bag, stuck the food-laden pans inside and carried them out to the bin leaving behind a clear sink (I should mention that I also added a plastic kid plate that was caked with ketchup – come on, I can’t have BPA seeping into my children’s chicken nuggets!).

My choice of pie experiment also reflected my state of being this weekend.  I didn’t want to tackle anything too fussy and my cold had me craving citrus like crazy.  This felt like the perfect time to begin formulating the pie I have been fantasizing about – a refreshing, creamy, ruby red grapefruit pie.  With a now clear sink and clean kitchen, I began whipping up my first attempt.

Calling all pie lovers – I need your help!

Calling all creative pie lovers – I’m on a mission to create a recipe for an amazing grapefruit pie.  There’s a version floating around out there that calls for grapefruit segments and gelatin, but that’s not exactly what I’m after.  I think (and I stress think, because I’m not quite sure I’m thinking of the right thing), that I’m aiming for something in the family of key lime pie.  Creamy, tangy, popping with grapefruit flavor, but refreshing and not overwhelmingly sweet.

So, here’s what I did…

Ruby Red Grapefruit Pie

Ingredients

1 homemade or store bought graham cracker crust

1, 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice

3 egg yolks

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1 Tablespoon grapefruit zest

Directions

If making a homemade graham cracker crust, prebake crust at 375 for 12 minutes until brown.  Cool completely.

 

In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, yogurt and grapefruit juice.  In a small bowl, whip egg yolks until creamy and add to milk mixture.  Fold in grapefruit zest.

Pour into prepared pie shell and bake at 325 for 15-17 minutes.

Watch closely – you want to remove the pie when the filling is just set and tiny little bubbles form on the surface.

Can you see the tiny, tiny bubbles?

Remove from the oven and cool completely.  Place in refrigerator to chill before serving.  Cover with a thin layer of fresh whipped cream if desired.

Here’s the thing – this was a good pie, although I totally went overboard with the whipped cream.  Sadly, it wasn’t quite what I was thinking.  It was a little too rich and not as firm as I had anticipated (maybe another egg yolk?).  Actually, the part that seemed too rich was the graham cracker crust.  I’m stumped – I really think there’s a good pie somewhere in here, but I need to keep brainstorming on what the perfect combination is.

So, that’s where you come in.  What is your vision for a grapefruit pie?  Let’s put our heads together and come up with an amazing recipe!  Back to the drawing board…

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Apple Cherry Crumb Pie

12 Feb

I always have the best results when I don’t over think things.  Take my hair, for instance.  The days that I’m late, half-showered and furiously drying my hair to get out the door are usually the days that people tell me my hair looks good.  “What did you do to your hair?” they will ask.  And my answer is always the same – I have no idea.

On the other hand, the days that I plan and try really hard to do my hair tend to be a disaster.  I learned this in a big way a couple of years ago.  The night before I had an important meeting, I decided that my hair needed to be totally revamped.  I was nervous about the meeting and my split ends were just not going to cut it (no pun intended). I decided to get a very last minute cut and ended up with a 7pm appointment at Fast Eddie’s Chop Shop (red flag #1).  The night started out with promise – the place was edgy and the stylist’s name was Emily.  She was new (red flag #2) and eager to style my hair.  She washed my hair and started to cut.  All of a sudden, the lights went out (red flag #3).  The entire street blacked out and we couldn’t see a thing.  I sat there, with a half-cut wet head praying for the lights to come back on.  The emergency lights cast a blue glow across the studio as I watched the clock close in on 8pm. Word soon reached us that there had been an accident on a nearby street which had knocked out blocks of electricity.

I was in a mild state of panic, but Emily assured me that we could do this (red flag #4).  By the glow of the emergency lights and a flashlight she continued to cut my hair.  I went home with a wet head, tired and ready for bed (it was 10pm).  Needless to say, I woke up the next morning, showered and dried my hair.  It was awful.  Just terrible.  Uneven with a hint of a mullet.  I was devastated, but had no option but to summon some confidence and go to my meeting.  Then, I crawled back to my regular stylist and confessed that I cheated on her in the name of vanity and begged her to fix it.  $80 later, my hair was short but at least the mullet was gone.

I keep learning this lesson time and again in various parts of my life.  Over thinking and trying too hard cause me to lose perspective and get caught in the weeds.  How many times do I need to learn to simply rely on my instinct and relax?  I have no idea.

The point of this story?  Apple Cherry Crumb Pie!  When I make pie, I’m very focused.  I read and re-read directions and over think everything.  Recently, I had accomplished all of my planned pies and had one recipe of dough left.  Not wanting it to go to waste, I started scouring my cupboards and fridge to see what I could come up with for a pie.  I had 4 apples, one can of Oregon Sour Cherries and some oatmeal.  Apple cherry pie with an oatmeal crumb topping!  I chopped and stirred adding a dash of this and a sprinkle of that.  Not a care in the world entered my mind as I effortlessly made this pie without following a recipe.  What resulted was an amazing pie that everyone who had a piece said was my best one yet.  “How did you do it?” they asked.  I have no idea.

But, I’m going to recreate it and share it with you!

Apple Cherry Crumb Pie

Ingredients

1 recipe for a 9 inch pie crust (or best of both worlds pie dough)

4 Apples (2 Granny Smith, 2 Jonagold or Fuji)

1 can Oregon Sour Cherries (the kind canned in WATER!  NO SYRUP)

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons corn starch

1 squeeze of fresh lemon juice (barely a teaspoon)

Oatmeal crumb topping

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) cold unsalted butter but into 1/4 inch pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 400

Prepare your crust.  Roll to a 13 inch circle, place into a 9 inch glass pie pan. Gently tuck the dough into the pan and sculpt the edge.  Place in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 Tablespoons corn starch. Set aside.

Peel and slice apples into 1/4 inch thick slices.  You can cut some of the slices in half so that the apples lay more compactly.  Toss with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest.  Place in a large dutch oven (or large skillet) and cook, covered, over medium heat for about 15 minutes.  Stir often and remove from heat when apples are soft but still hold their shape.  Place apples into a colander over a bowl to remove excess moisture.  Let cool to room temperature.

Open Oregon Cherries and drain well.

While waiting for the apples to cool, make crumb topping.  Put the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor and pulse several times to mix.  Scatter the butter over the top.  Pulse repeatedly until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.  Empty the crumbs into a large bowl then rub them together between your fingers until you have large, buttery crumbs.

Turn apples and cherries into a bowl.  Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and toss with the remaining sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch mixture.  Give the mixture a quick squeeze of fresh lemon juice (you don’t want too much) and turn the mixture into chilled pie shell.

Place the crumbs on top of the pie and gently press them into place.

Place the pie on the center rack of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and the juices bubble.  Use a pie crust shield to prevent the crust from browning too much if necessary.  Let cool for at least an hour before slicing.  May this also be the best pie you’ve ever made!

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As American As They Come Apple Pie

23 Jan

What better to commemorate National Pie Day then a big, deep-dish,  double-crust, packed to the brim, all-American apple pie?  And a darn right perfect one at that!  Yep, let’s just skip to the end – I did it and it was awesome.

Week after week, I sit here behind my keyboard and espouse my latest pietifications.  I’ve conquered fruit pies, lattice crusts, mini pies and butter crusts. Cream pies and custard pies – shoot, they ain’t got nothin’ on me.  Crimped edges?  Crispy bottom crust?  Bring it.  But there is one pie I have steered clear of.  One pie that threatens to topple all of the pie skills I have acquired over this past year.  The one, the only… DOUBLE CRUST APPLE PIE.  As if getting one crust right isn’t hard enough, this monstrosity demands perfection on the top and bottom!  I haven’t had the courage to take it on until now.  But a pie holiday calls for the most serious pie I can make.

This recipe is the collision of Grandma Ople’s tried and true and the America’s Test Kitchen 2006 scientific experiment.  I figured old school meets new school would be a good mash up.  Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie is one of the highest rated on Allrecipes.com.  If you know me, then you know that I swear by the four and five star recipes on that site.  On the rare occasion that I cook, you can pretty much bet that I found it on Allrecipes.  I also LOVE America’s Test Kitchen because really, why do your own experimenting when someone has already done it for you?

From Grandma Ople, I adopted her technique of making a caramel sauce to toss with the apples instead of the usual sugar/brown sugar mixture.  I also adopted the suggestion of saving some of that sauce and brushing the top crust with it.  America’s Test Kitchen confirmed what I had begun to notice about apple pie – cooking the apples first ensures that they don’t shrink away from the top crust and that you minimize the moisture that threatens to make your bottom crust soggy.  Voila – my perfect apple pie!

As American As They Come Apple Pie

Ingredients

1 double crust recipe of Best of Both Worlds pie crust.  Follow this link for the recipe and instructions.  Refrigerate the discs of dough for at least one hour or up to two days.

10 apples or about 5 pounds (6 Granny Smith, 4 Braeburn or Fuji)

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

3 Tablespoons flour

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 egg white, slightly beaten (for bottom crust)

Directions

Roll one disc of dough into a 13 inch circle.  Place into a 91/2 inch deep dish pie plate.  Trim dough to leave a 1/2 inch overhang.  Return to refrigerator to chill.  Next, roll the other disc of dough into a 13 inch circle and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and return to the refrigerator.

Place a baking sheet on the lowest rack of the oven.  Preheat oven to 425 (or 400 convection).

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.

 

Peel and slice apples into 1/4 inch thick slices.  You can cut some of the slices in half so that the apples lay more compactly.  Toss with sugar/spice mixture and 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest.  Place in a large dutch oven (or large skillet) and cook, covered, over medium heat for about 15 minutes.  Stir often and remove from heat when apples are soft but still hold their shape.  Place apples into a colander over a bowl to remove excess moisture.  Let cool to room temperature.

While apples are cooling, prepare caramel sauce.  In a medium saucepan, melt 4 Tablespoons of butter.  Once melted, add the flour and cornstarch to make a paste.  Add water, 1/2 cup brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Once the mixture reaches a boil, lower the heat and simmer for three minutes.  Remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Toss apples with 1 Tablespoon lemon juice then add 2/3 of the caramel mixture.  Reserve some of the sauce to glaze the top crust.  Remove pie plate from refrigerator and brush bottom crust with slightly beaten egg white.  Pour apples into chilled pie shell and arrange so that they lay compactly.

I could have used more apples!

Cover gently with the top crust and trim the edges to 1/2 inch overhang.  To achieve an even edge, fold the edge of the top crust and tuck it under the edge of the bottom crust so that the smooth, folded edge is flush with the pie plate.  Create a decorative edge and then use a knife to cut four vents into the top.  Brush crust lightly with reserved caramel sauce and sprinkle with turbinado sugar if desired.

Place pie on baking sheet and bake for 35 – 45 minutes or until golden brown and juices bubble.

Use a pie shield or foil if crust begins to brown before pie is done.  Enjoy with ice cream, by itself, for breakfast, for a snack or all of the above!

 

 

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