Happy Thanksgiving!
Hello f-listers! I'm thankful for you all today, even those who don't celebrate the holiday.
Baking pies was fun last night, although I didn't get to watch Pushing Daisies until I was finished. And then I watched Project Runway, which rocked!
Speaking of Pushing Daisies (which I'm loving, although I didn't adore last night's episode as much as some of the others - I think it could have used one more draft at the script stage, but we all know why it didn't get one), space_oddity_75 requested my apple pie recipe, which I happily share with you all under the cut.
This is an adapted recipe from a lovely little restaurant called The Apple Pan in L.A. I've found it's the perfect balance of juice, spices and apple. Unfortunately, it's not metric, so I hope that doesn't throw you off.
Dough
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable shortening (butter flavor, if available)
1/2 cup cold water
Mix the flour and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the shortening until the mixture gets crumbly. Gradually add the water until the dough forms a ball. Don't overmix, you should see little globs of shortening in the dough. Divide into two equal balls and wrap each separately in plastic. Chill for a minimum two hours before starting the filling (can be made and frozen in advance).
Filling
8 cups apples, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp butter, cold
1 egg white (optional)
Put apples in large bowl and pour lemon juice and vanilla over them. In another bowl, mix dry ingredients and then add to the apples.
Assembly: Roll out the dough halves to an 1/8-inch thickness. Lay one into a pie pan with a little bit overlapping the sides. Put apple mixture into pie shell, mounding it higher in the center. Cut cold butter into 1/2-inch cubes and place on top of the apples. Moisten outer edge of bottom crust, place the other crust on pie and press down. Cut slits in top to vent.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Bake on lower rack until the crust starts to brown, about 10 minutes. Bush egg white onto crust. Turn down to 375 degrees and bake an additional 40-50 minutes.
Tip: Choose tart apples, if available. Green ones like Granny Smith are good. The flavor mellows in the baking process, so you want them to have a lot of flavor to start out with.
This year, inspired by Pushing Daisies, I grated a little white cheddar into the crust. I believe Chuck used gruyere, but my dad likes to eat his apple pie with a slice of cheddar cheese on top, so I thought he'd appreciate it. I'll let you know how it came out later!
Baking pies was fun last night, although I didn't get to watch Pushing Daisies until I was finished. And then I watched Project Runway, which rocked!
Speaking of Pushing Daisies (which I'm loving, although I didn't adore last night's episode as much as some of the others - I think it could have used one more draft at the script stage, but we all know why it didn't get one), space_oddity_75 requested my apple pie recipe, which I happily share with you all under the cut.
This is an adapted recipe from a lovely little restaurant called The Apple Pan in L.A. I've found it's the perfect balance of juice, spices and apple. Unfortunately, it's not metric, so I hope that doesn't throw you off.
Dough
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable shortening (butter flavor, if available)
1/2 cup cold water
Mix the flour and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the shortening until the mixture gets crumbly. Gradually add the water until the dough forms a ball. Don't overmix, you should see little globs of shortening in the dough. Divide into two equal balls and wrap each separately in plastic. Chill for a minimum two hours before starting the filling (can be made and frozen in advance).
Filling
8 cups apples, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp butter, cold
1 egg white (optional)
Put apples in large bowl and pour lemon juice and vanilla over them. In another bowl, mix dry ingredients and then add to the apples.
Assembly: Roll out the dough halves to an 1/8-inch thickness. Lay one into a pie pan with a little bit overlapping the sides. Put apple mixture into pie shell, mounding it higher in the center. Cut cold butter into 1/2-inch cubes and place on top of the apples. Moisten outer edge of bottom crust, place the other crust on pie and press down. Cut slits in top to vent.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Bake on lower rack until the crust starts to brown, about 10 minutes. Bush egg white onto crust. Turn down to 375 degrees and bake an additional 40-50 minutes.
Tip: Choose tart apples, if available. Green ones like Granny Smith are good. The flavor mellows in the baking process, so you want them to have a lot of flavor to start out with.
This year, inspired by Pushing Daisies, I grated a little white cheddar into the crust. I believe Chuck used gruyere, but my dad likes to eat his apple pie with a slice of cheddar cheese on top, so I thought he'd appreciate it. I'll let you know how it came out later!