Friday, November 8, 2013

Apple pie


Yesterday. An utterly useless day till about 5.30pm when I crawled out of bed, washed my hair and put some clothes on. Whatever my cold is, it's a happy houseguest and has no intention of leaving soon. Wheeze. The most productive thing I did all day was help distribute 100 saffron crocus that Friend Frank had left over. Now they're being re-homed in Brooklyn and Maine.

At 7pm I thought that apple pie was a good idea. So I made one. A bag of local McIntosh apples had been lurking in the crisper drawer. I used them. 

Don't use McIntosh apples for your pie. You put them to steam and the next thing, poof! - you have a collapsed cloud of apple sitting there. For this pie you need apples that maintain their integrity under light duress. 


Still. I scraped them up and into the pastry and added some raisins to cheer myself up.


This is our classic family recipe, oft repeated, and the nicest pie I know. The pastry needs no resting and is quite forgiving.  If you need pie today, the recipe is over at 66 Square Feet (the Food) - where it has been for about three years.

Just use the right apples. Jonagold, Gala, Granny Smiths, Fuji, Pink Lady, Honey Crisp...

7 comments:

  1. Honey Crisps and Granny Smiths...make a lovely apple pie. Feel better!

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  2. I hope you feel better soon. You're collapsing apple pie reminds me of the first time I made tomato sauce. I was "gifted" several pounds of tomatoes and all I could think to do with them was make tomato sauce. It takes a lot of tomoates to make a jar of tomato sauce :-)

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  3. Sounds like just what the doctor ordered. I love the flavor of McIntosh, they're so apply, so I use them with pies anyway. But if you use McIntosh and Granny Smiths you get good flavor McIntosh and and an apple that holds its own. The crust is the thing I haven't mastered. You have to eat an awful lot of pies to master that and we just don't eat that many. My husband would love me to master that crust!

    Nancy Mc

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    1. Good evening: The last of the artwork is hanging, and after two months I feel we've moved in....heard you on WNYC tonight (pre-recorded?) I too wash my mushrooms! If you feel like a walk tomorrow,check out http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/jazz-colors-returns-to-central-park. Good weekend! GH

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  5. well, i made your pie just now. for dinner. i'm a new englander so the idea of an egg and baking powder in a pie crust is odd, plus baking it in a springform pan: wow! it does look pretty, and i look forward to sampling it later this evening...thanks for the inspiration! debra

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  6. Your cold has just traveled down my way and after a day at work the best I can make is a cup of tea.....sure wish I had a piece of slumped apple pie to go with it.

    Feel better.

    xo J

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