Classic Apple

Classic Apple

Tried-and-true pie crust

Filling:

7 or 8 Granny Smith apples
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Topping:

1 egg white
2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Peel the apples and slice them into 1/2-inch thick slices. Mix in sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile roll out pie dough. Line the bottom of the pie dish with the dough and pour in the apple filling. It will seem like a lot of filling, but the apples shrink a bit as they bake. Dot with 2 tablespoons of butter. Roll out the remaining dough and cover the pie with either a pricked or lattice crust. Mix cinnamon and sugar for the crust topping and set aside. Separate one egg, and discard the yolk. Brush the crust with the egg white, and sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top. Finally, cover the edges of the crust.  

Bake at 425 for 30 minutes (this will bake the crust; it should be lightly brown after 30 minutes). Reduce temperature to 350 (to finish cooking the filling) and continue baking 30-45 minutes or until filling is bubbly.

Set aside for at least three hours or overnight before serving. If you prefer to serve the pie warm, place it in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.  

Share and enjoy!

Pecan Pie

According to the chart of pies I posted earlier, January was pecan pie month. Not a fan of pecan pie, I have been reluctant to make it. But particularly unpleasant January weather and a fancy new camera motivated me to make it anyway. Although I can't say that I enjoyed eating this pie, making it turned out to be a fun way to spend another night cooped up inside. Plus I tricked a friend into doing most of the work, and I even got the bonus of being introduced to the Traveling Wilburys.  

There are only a few ingredients in this pie. Eggs, sugar, salt, butter, corn syrup and pecans (plus the flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening you'll need for the crust). Thank you, Kristin, for giving me your mom's recipe.  

Make the tried-and-true pie crust, or buy a ready-prepared crust. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Beat 3 eggs, 2/3 cup of sugar, 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, 1/3 cup melted butter (not too warm because that will cook the eggs), and one cup of corn syrup in the totally-not-superfluous  KitchenAid mixer.   

You'll end up with this oh so appetizing yellow liquid that does not call to mind bile. Not at all.

Then mix in one cup of pecans. I crushed half and kept half intact.

Roll out your crust and line a pie dish with it. Then pour in the pecan-syrup mixture.

Bake 40-50 minutes, or until the center is set. It'll come out looking like this:

It turned out with a layered quality that didn't seem quite right, possibly because I overcooked it a bit (for about 55 minutes). There was a gelatinous layer on the bottom, a crisp sugar layer over that, and a layer of pecans on top. 

But it wasn't terrible with a touch of whipped cream. 

Pecan Pie

3 eggs 2/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup butter, melted 1 cup dark or light corn syrup 1 cup pecans, broken or whole is fine Prepare pastry in advance. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat eggs, sugar, salt, butter and syrup with rotary beater. Stir in nuts. Pour into pastry-lined pan. Cover the edge of the crust with foil to prevent it from burning. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until filling is set.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I am a major blogging slacker, but I haven't given up on this blog just yet. In my defense, I've been busy doing better things than blogging, like going to Paris, where I ate delightful pastries and pretended that if I wear a scarf I can pass as European. 

In short, the blog has been justifiably neglected. Not to mention April and May give us the best weather Missouri has to offer, so I decided to soak up the sixty-degree days when I could. Now that it's miserably hot, I might redouble my efforts with this blog. Or perhaps I will slack into blogging oblivion... 

Several weeks ago, I made strawberry rhubarb pie (when a display at Whole Foods told me to make it). Rhubarb is a rare find at your average grocery store, but it's common at places like Whole Foods and at farmers' markets. Needless to say, this pie can get a bit expensive, but it is worth every penny.  The best pie I've ever eaten was strawberry rhubarb pie at the Flying Star cafe in Albuquerque. When done right, this pie is sweet, tart and the desired soft-but-not-runny texture. 

As usual, I made two pies because one is never enough. So I gathered two containers of strawberries and five stalks of rhubarb, which is more than enough for two pies.  I also gathered sugar, tapioca, butter and salt.

I tried a strawberry huller for the first time when I made these pies. Switching back and forth between the huller and a knife slowed me down; it was more efficient (though admittedly a bit more wasteful) to chop off the top of the strawberries before slicing them in half.

Then I cut the rhubarb into one-inch pieces. It's fine if the rhubarb is a bit green; the pie will still look and taste amazing.

 The red filling looked very pretty.

 Until I added half a cup of tapioca.

And two and a half cups of sugar. 



Then I added the filling to a pie dish that I lined with my tried-and-true pie crust and dotted the filling with two tablespoons of butter.



And I made a lattice crust for a classic look.



Then I brushed the crust with egg whites and sprinkled it with one tablespoon of sugar. This pie is an excellent candidate for a topping of coarse white sugar (which is how it was made at the Flying Star Cafe).  You can get this sugar at fancy stores like William Sonoma and Sur la Table.

When the pie came out of the oven, it had the perfect rustic look I am going for with a classic pie like this.  The touches of red filling make this pie look quite appetizing.

And when cut, this pie came out in perfect slices that were not runny. It was delicious with vanilla bean ice cream.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (for one pie)

Tried-and-true pie dough
2 1/2 cups strawberries
2 1/2 cups rhubarb
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup tapioca
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (alternatively, leave out the pinch of salt and use salted butter)

Remove the stems and cut strawberries in half.  Chop rhubarb into one-inch pieces.  Mix with sugar and tapioca. Add a pinch of salt. Roll out pie dough and line the bottom of a pie dish with it. Pour in filling and dot with 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter.  Roll out the remaining dough, and add a pricked or lattice top.  Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is soft but not mushy.

Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

At long last, here it is - chicken pot pie - just in time for...next winter.  Chicken pot pie seems like soul food to me, so naturally I listened to the most soulful artist I know - Al Green.  Alas, I was so enraptured by his smooth voice that I forgot that I'm actually supposed to post my recipes on this blog.

I made up this recipe as I went along (so I am working out some kinks as I write this post).  The day before I made this, I prepared 2 chicken breasts as described below.  Then I started with a roux that consisted of 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour.



I melted the butter over low heat, then added the flour and whisked.  Then I used about a cup of chicken stock to thin the roux into a gravy.  I didn't think of it, but I should have also added 2 tablespoons of milk or half and half.  I continued whisking and added a dash of salt and several dashes of white pepper.

I kept that simmering over low heat, stirring occassionally, while I chopped 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, and half of a white onion.

Next, I diced 2 chicken breasts that I cooked the previous day (drizzling them with olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper, and baking them at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes).  I added the chicken, 1/4 cup of frozen peas, and the chopped veggies to the gravy and mixed.

I set this aside while I rolled out my tried-and-true pie crust, lined the bottom of two individual pie dishes with it, added the filling, and covered the top. 

Much to my surprise, I made exactly enough filling for two individual pies, so I was like:

Next, I pinched the edges shut and trimmed the excess dough, then brushed the top with egg whites and sprinkled the pies with salt.

Finally, I baked it at 425 degrees for 45 minutes, until the top was golden brown and the filling was bubbly. 

Chicken Pot Pie (makes 2 individual pies)

2 chicken breasts or three thighs
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons half and half or milk
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
Half of a white or yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup frozen peas
Tried and True pie crust
1 egg, separated
Salt and white pepper, to taste

Drizzle chicken with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and bake for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees until cooked through.  Set aside to cool.  Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat and whisk in flour.  Add chicken stock as you continue to whisk, then add half and half or milk.  Allow gravy to simmer, stirring occassionally while you dice the carrot, celery, onion, and chicken.  Add the diced vegetables, chicken, and peas to the gravy and mix.  Set aside.  Roll out pie crust and line 2 individual pie pans with it.  Pour in filling, cover with the top crust and pinch the edges.  Vent the top crust with a knife or fork.  Brush the top with egg whites and sprinkle with salt.  Bake at 425 for about 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. 

Best served piping hot with an ice cold beer. 

Butter Crust

I have been biased against butter crust because it is difficult to work with, so I usually stick with shortening.  However, I got a wonderful gift - a marble rolling pin, which can be chilled prior to use, thereby making the dough easier to roll out. So I decided to give butter crust another shot because I think a more flavorful crust is preferable for bite size pies.  In taste tests like this one, butter crust wins the flavor contest.  Although, I think the methodology in this test is flawed because the crust was tasted alone, and crusts really should be taste tested with filling because pie is a marriage of flavors and textures, so no individual component should be judged alone.  Lawyerly enough for you? 

This is my tried-and-true pie crust but with 1 cup of butter rather than shortening.  In addition to the butter, you need 2 cups of flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1 egg and a touch of water.

Mix salt and baking powder into flour with a fork.

And add 2 cold sticks of unsalted butter.

Then cut the butter in with a pastry blender.  If you do not have a pastry blender, you can cut the butter into half-inch cubes and pulse the mixture in a food processor.  I find it is easiest to press the pastry blender against the back of the bowl in order to break up the butter.

It should form an uneven mixture that resembles a coarse meal.

Then break one egg into a measuring cup and add cold water until it reaches 3/4 of a cup (this took a bit more water than my shortening crust). Whisk and add to the flour mixture.

And mix gently with your hands until it forms a ball.  It doesn't have to look perfect; you can use the plastic wrap to help form it into a ball.

A trick I learned from Martha Stewart Living (god, I hate myself for saying that) is to flatten the dough slightly after you wrap it up because that will allow it to chill faster.  Clever, Martha, clever.

After it chills for at least 3 hours, generously flour your surface.  Very generously.

And roll out the dough.  This rolling pin is amazing because it's heavy, so it's very effective.  The key with butter crust is not to handle it too much with your hands and work quickly, so it will stay cold.  It is more pliable and seems to break less easily than shortening crust.  (I might be a butter crust convert.)

Butter Crust

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 egg

about 1/4 cup of cold water

Mix flour, salt, and baking powder with a fork.  Break egg into a measuring cup.  Add water until it reaches 3/4 cup.  Whisk slightly, and pour over flour mixture.  Blend gently with your hands until it forms a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  If you want it to chill more quickly, flatten slightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.  

Favorite Pumpkin Pie

I am getting a little bit pumpkined out. But this post is for you, Mary E. - it's my family's favorite pumpkin pie. It's actually called "Favorite Pumpkin Pie" and is the first recipe in this cookbook my parents bought in the early 1980s:

Because this pie is perfect, we have never made it past the first recipe in this book. 

When I make pies that only have crust on the bottom, I often cheat by using these:

They are pretty good. Prebake the crust according to the instructions. Be sure to cover the edges of the crust when you prebake it because it tends to burn. 

Then cook a pumpkin like this, and put 2 cups of cooked pumpkin in a food processor.

Add 3/4 of a cup of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. Using pumpkin pie spice is not cheating, by the way. I've tried it both ways, and it tastes the same. But for your benefit, I'll put the breakdown of the spices below.

Blend.

Then add 1 cup of half and half as you continue to blend.

And add three eggs, slightly beaten. 

Blend until smooth.

And pour into your crust and cover the edges.

Bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes, until a knife inserted off-center comes out clean.

Chill (best if chilled overnight). 


Favorite Pumpkin Pie

1 deep dish 9-inch pie shell, prepared according to instructions

2 cups cooked pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. ground cloves. I increased the amount of spices by 1/4 teaspoon to make it an even 3 teaspoons.)

1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup half and half
3 eggs, slightly beaten

Combine pumpkin, sugar, spices, and salt in a food processor and blend. Blend in half and half and eggs. Pour into pie shell. Bake in a 400 degree oven until knife inserted off-center comes out clean. Bake about 40 to 45 minutes. (Warning: this pie can take more than 45 minutes, so check it periodically after 40 minutes. It may take up to and hour and a half.)

Serve with canned whipped cream or make the spiced whipped cream seen here.