Thread: Food Thoughts (feel free to prod my brain)

The bread turned out AMAZING, for anyone who wanted to know XP Apple pie filling Note, this spice mix is also excellent in pumpkin pie when adjusted for it! 4 large granny smith apples or 6 small granny smith apples 10 oz sugar 2 tbsp cinnamon 2 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp allspice 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp flour 1. Combine all dry ingredients. If it doesn't feel 'soft' like magic sand, kind of, add another teaspoon of flour. But just one! The flour is what helps turn the leftover apple juicesyrup into... well, a better syrup. 2. Cut apples into quarters, peel and core them, then slice them into 14 inch pieces. If you have an apple slicer, even better, let that do the work for you. Toss these into the bowl with the dry spice mix. 3. After all apples are sliced and in the bowl, toss thoroughly to coat and set aside. Note These are DELICIOUS to snack on this way. Be warned. Pie crust 16 oz flour 2 tsp sugar 1 tsp salt 10 oz shortening crisco or store brand, butter flavor is also fine 4 oz milk 1 oz lemon juice or apple cider vinegar Oven should be at 385F if using a standard convection oven. If gas oven, 375 is enough. 1. Combine milk and lemon juice in small bowl or measuring cup, set aside. If making vegetarian or vegan, substitute this with an equivalent amount 5 oz of water and do use butter-flavor shortening. 2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Add shortening and proceed to mix carefully until most lumps of shortening are about the size of a quarter, no smaller than the size of a penny. 3. Add the clabbered milk and mix until just blended. On floured counter, dump out dough and mix until smooth and streaks of shortening are visible in the dough. 4. Roll into a log and cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight if making ahead of time. Assemblage 1. Cut the log into two large disks one a bit larger than the other and set the smaller half aside. Laying the larger of the two on the flat side you just cut, on a floured counter, take a well-floured rolling pin and begin rolling the dough out, turning occasionally. You want this to be thin but not super-thin. If you feel it's sticking, don't be afraid to add more flour. It's your friend here. 2. When it's ready about 14 inch thick, carefully fold it in half, then in half one more time and pick up the folded dough without squishing it and set it into the pie dishpan. Carefully unfold it and use a basting brush to fluff out most of the flour, then make sure the dough is touching all corners. If there are some cracks, that's fine, you can use some of the overhanging dough to patch that up. 3. You can either put the apple slices in nice and pretty and evenly, or you can dump them in. Either way works, since this is a closed top crust pie, but the nice and even version makes it bakes more evenly. Once those are in, if the juice left inside is reasonably thick drag a finger through, does it leave a clear trail on the edge?, just pour that on in. If it isn't, pour it into a small pan and let it reducegently simmer for about five minutes. Allow it to cool, then pour it over the apples. 4. An optional step here is to take some butter, cubed, and tuck it in between some apple slices. This doesn't really do anything as far as I can tell but the original recipe has that in it. 5. Take the other half of the dough and roll it out as well, though when you're done rolling this one out, use the rolling pin to carefully drape the top crust over the pie. Crimping is something that is learned through practice so I really have no idea how to explain this, just use Youtube I guess. But use your hand or a pair of clean kitchen shears to trim off the excess first. Use a knife and lightly score the top of the crust in any way you see fit this will allow the crust to vent, which prevents the top from becoming an empty dome. 6. Take an egg and a splash of water and beat vigorously, and use a basting brush to eggwash the top crust. Sprinkle sugar brown sugar, regular sugar, sanding sugar - whatever floats your boat across the top and pop this sucker in that oven! 7. As mentioned above, the oven should be at 385F if it's a convection or electric oven, and bake the pie for 45-50 minutes or until the crust is a rich golden color. If using a gas oven, 375 for 50 minutes is just fine, just check it periodically. My current gas oven is a temperamental bitch. LET THE PIE COOL FOR AT LEAST TWENTY MINUTES BEFORE SERVING, THIS THING IS GOING TO BE LIQUID MAGMA ON THE INSIDE. Can be enjoyed as is, with vanilla ice cream, Cool Whip, or homemade whipped cream. I recommend drinking a tall cold glass of water because milk may be too much unless you eat a smaller slice.