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Something weird has been happening to me lately (besides the fact that this is my 3rd post this week. I know. The world just might explode). I think I've been domesticated. Like a wild creature of some sort, captured and... trained to bake...? In addition to having baby lust, I've been baking all kinds of things lately, from bread to brownies to pies. I learned how to make pie crusts (and if I'd realized ten years ago it wasn't going to be as hard as all the hype says, I would have made a lot more pies in the last decade) and am working on perfecting fillings.
So anyway, back when I went to New England for Rhinebeck, I got to spend an evening hanging out with my friend Eliz. Eliz is synonymous in my head with "food," as she is an amazing chef and I'm convinced she can make anything. During our evening together, she whipped out an apple pie (I helped peel and slice!) like it was nothing. It tasted fantastic.
It looked pretty fantastic, too, so that was when I decided I'd better learn how to make pie crust.
Smitten Kitchen was the first place I went, because, besides Eliz, the other person I trust to know everything about food is Kristy, and to do as Kristy does is to, as she says, "Trust Deb." So I followed Deb's crust instructions (all butter) and hey! I ended up with a fantastic crust.
Look at the flaking!!
Unfortunately, the pumpkin filling wasn't so stellar. It had a great texture, but the taste was... lacking. It was just... plain. Way too light. Discussion with other pie-makers has led to the conclusion that I need to add cloves and ginger in the future, so I will do that.
In the meantime, I got antsy and made another pie. This time I tried the apple thing on my own.
I learned that an apple corer is an invaluable tool and that I need to get one. And that I would kill to have an apple corer/peeler/slicer like my mom has. Also I learned that a simple eggwash over the top of the crust is an ingenius trick that makes you look like a pie goddess without having to do any real work.
Next on my list will be another apple pie (the last one went straight to a friend's house - the one with the unfortunately adorable little boys - and Jim didn't get to even taste it), for Jim. After that will be a pumpkin pie, I think. And after that will be a lemon meringue pie for Thanksgiving. Or, if I need to make candied yams for Thanksgiving, a lemon meringue pie a few days later. Which will also be when I cook a turkey for myself. Because turkey leftovers are mandatory for the first week of December.
Anyway, yeah. The apple pie recipe:
6 cups diced (or sliced) apples (this means 6 apples in my head, though I used only 4 when I made it)
3/4 cup of sugar
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon
Peel, core, slice apples.
Combine sugar and cinnamon.
Mix apples with cinnamon-sugar mixture, and layer in pastry shell.
Place several pats of butter on apple layer and cover with top crust.
Bake at 450F for 10 minutes.
Reduce temp to 350 and bake for 30 more minutes (or until bubbling)
Eliz showed me a cool and easy way to make the lattice top, too, though I don't know how to explain it. I'd have to draw a diagram...
So anyway, back when I went to New England for Rhinebeck, I got to spend an evening hanging out with my friend Eliz. Eliz is synonymous in my head with "food," as she is an amazing chef and I'm convinced she can make anything. During our evening together, she whipped out an apple pie (I helped peel and slice!) like it was nothing. It tasted fantastic.
It looked pretty fantastic, too, so that was when I decided I'd better learn how to make pie crust.
Smitten Kitchen was the first place I went, because, besides Eliz, the other person I trust to know everything about food is Kristy, and to do as Kristy does is to, as she says, "Trust Deb." So I followed Deb's crust instructions (all butter) and hey! I ended up with a fantastic crust.
Look at the flaking!!
Unfortunately, the pumpkin filling wasn't so stellar. It had a great texture, but the taste was... lacking. It was just... plain. Way too light. Discussion with other pie-makers has led to the conclusion that I need to add cloves and ginger in the future, so I will do that.
In the meantime, I got antsy and made another pie. This time I tried the apple thing on my own.
I learned that an apple corer is an invaluable tool and that I need to get one. And that I would kill to have an apple corer/peeler/slicer like my mom has. Also I learned that a simple eggwash over the top of the crust is an ingenius trick that makes you look like a pie goddess without having to do any real work.
Next on my list will be another apple pie (the last one went straight to a friend's house - the one with the unfortunately adorable little boys - and Jim didn't get to even taste it), for Jim. After that will be a pumpkin pie, I think. And after that will be a lemon meringue pie for Thanksgiving. Or, if I need to make candied yams for Thanksgiving, a lemon meringue pie a few days later. Which will also be when I cook a turkey for myself. Because turkey leftovers are mandatory for the first week of December.
Anyway, yeah. The apple pie recipe:
6 cups diced (or sliced) apples (this means 6 apples in my head, though I used only 4 when I made it)
3/4 cup of sugar
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon
Peel, core, slice apples.
Combine sugar and cinnamon.
Mix apples with cinnamon-sugar mixture, and layer in pastry shell.
Place several pats of butter on apple layer and cover with top crust.
Bake at 450F for 10 minutes.
Reduce temp to 350 and bake for 30 more minutes (or until bubbling)
Eliz showed me a cool and easy way to make the lattice top, too, though I don't know how to explain it. I'd have to draw a diagram...
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no subject
Date: 2010-11-12 12:27 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2010-11-12 04:23 am (UTC)From:Kayla and I had huge trouble drying to make a friggin pie crust last month. Maybe your link will save our butts. I am still bummed over our pie-disaster.
I want that diagram. I'm holding you to it.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-12 03:11 pm (UTC)From: (Anonymous)Welcome to the domestic side. We have AWESOME BROWNIES.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-12 03:12 pm (UTC)From: (Anonymous)