the recipe...

I have heard your cries...

A handful of you have asked for the apple pie recipe. So instead of responding individually, I'm going to please the masses in one post. You can thank me later. :)

AWESOME APPLE PIE:
-6 cups apples, peeled and thinly sliced (takes about 6 medium-large apples. My favorite combination is 4 Fuji and 2 Granny Smith)
-1 T lemon juice (I usually use closer to 2 T though...)
-1 c sugar (no more, no less)
-3 T flour
-1 T cinnamon (that's what the recipe calls for, but I usually eyeball it. Just enough so that each apple has a hint of cinnamony-ness)

-Mix all the deliciousness with your hands to spread the dry ingredients evenly over the juicy apples

-Fill your bottom crust with the aforementioned goodness; top with pastry dough and bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes. DON'T forget to put aluminum foil around the edge of your pie, so as to avoid burnage. (I usually put the foil on for 35 min and then take it off for the remainder of the baking time.)

And just in case you don't have a great pie crust recipe, here goes...

SCRUMTRULESCENT PIE CRUST:
-1 c shortening
-2 c flour
-dash of salt

-Use a pastry cutter to combine the ingredients. (Seriously, use a pastry cutter, not a fork. I used a fork until last Christmas when my other dynamite roommate, Brooke, gave me a pastry cutter. The pastry cutter makes a huge difference!) When the ingredients are combined and the crumbs are done, they are roughly the size of peas. Then add:

-5-7 T cool water. (My crust always turns out better when I use 7 T; it may feel a bit wet, but at least it sticks together when you have to move it to the pie plate. You can add flour as necessary when rolling it out.)

-Use pastry cutter again to incorporate the ingredients. Divide the dough in half and add extra flour as necessary. Flour the counter top and rolling pin and...you know what to do from here. Just try not to handle the dough too much with your hands once you've added the water or else the crust gets tough rather than flaky. Tasty with any fruit pie.

-2 T melted butter to spread over the top crust, then dust with cinnamon sugar

-Don't forget to poke holes on the top crust (aesthetically-pleasing designs make for a pretty pie)

BON APPETIT!

They've gotten prettier with practice...
This pic was in my May 2008 file, so I must've made it in May.
And it was delicious.

Apple pie, anyone?

Ok, so I'm not trying to brag. Really, I'm not. But I make a mean apple pie. I was never really a fan of apple pie until my mom and I came across this incredible recipe. And now...I'm hooked.

I never used to be a big fan of the making of pie, though. Making the perfect crust can be so difficult! Seriously. But I quite enjoy the eating of pie. A lot. So last year when my singles branch did a Thanksgiving dinner, I signed up to make an apple pie. Strike that; I signed up to make two of them. (Yeah, get comf. I always make these stories longer than necessary.)

I had the incredible recipe; but I had been out of practice. I hadn't made a pie since...I don't know when. But I wanted to try. And I wanted to stun the heck out of my singles branch in the process. (I'm not sure it was pride, per se...ok. Yes, yes it was. If you look at definition #4, that was my intention.) Anyway...I made my pies. And they were delish! Oh, so tasty!

Side story; I'm no Martha Stewart and I wasn't necessarily pleasant while making the pies. Although the pies tasted most excellent, their appearance was less than stellar. I actually called my mother up to whine and moan and complain about the unsightly state of my pies. She then told me, "It's what's on the inside that counts, Gina." Isn't she charming? I knew she was right; I had helped her make some rather ugly, yet delicious, pies in the past. But I was uber-disappointed in the aesthetics of my two apple pies. No one in the branch seemed to notice or care...

Anyway. The pies were a big hit; the praise from my branch helped heal the self-inflicted wounds of serving (not one but) two unattractive apple pies. So I thought I'd give it another go.

But I decided I'd never make 2 pies at once. Ever. Again. It wasn't just the pie crust; I knew that I could learn to make them prettier with practice. It was the consumption of 2 hours in the kitchen that really bothered me. Two hours to make 2 pies. Ouch!

Because peeling and slicing apples takes quite a while, my friends. Seriously. A. Long. Time.

Anyway, I've never really needed to make 2 pies at once since that point in time. But I've continued to make this awesome apple pie throughout the year. (Whoever said that apple pie is a "fall food" is ridiculous. I'll have you know that it tastes just as wonderful in May as it does in November.) So yeah, I've made a LOT of apple pies over the past year. One at a time. (Except for that one time when our branch celebrated Johnny Appleseed Day...)

So. Last night after work, my wonderful roommate Lisa said that she wanted to give me part of my Christmas present early. I told her I could totally wait, but she didn't want to. So she went to her room and brought out a large-ish red gift bag. And here's what was inside:

It's an apple peeler!

This bad boy peels, cores and slices! We used it last night. Lisa made apple dumplings. And it only took like 5 minutes (maybe less) to peel, core and slice 6 or 7 apples! I made an apple pie last Sunday and it took me approximately 45 minutes to peel, core and slice that many! Shoot! I am very excited!

Isn't it a lovely sight?!
It's even lovelier to realize it (peeling, coring and slicing)
didn't, in fact, take the better part of an hour!

Thank you, Lisa!!!