Big Apple Pie (page 233)
3 pounds red or golden apples, 2 or 3 different kinds,
peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider, or apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
several grindings of black pepper
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
pastry for pie shell and top
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. water
Whipped cream or ice cream for serving
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place apples in a large bowl. Add sugar, apple cider or vinegar, cinnamon, salt, pepper and flour. Mix well.
2. Line a deep-dish 9 or 10 inch pie pan with half the pastry, leaving a generous top edge. Prick bottom of pastry shell with tines of a fork. Transfer apples to pie pan, mounding slightly in center. Cut butter into bits, and distribute over apples.
3. Cover apples with the other half of the pastry. Trim around edges, and crimp the top and bottom pastry together. Using a pastry brush, paint the top of the pastry with the egg wash.With a sharp knife, make a hole in the center of the pastry. Make 5 cuts, each about 3 inches long, radiating from the center hole.
4. Put the pie pan on a baking sheet, and bake on the lower level of the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees, and bake for about 50 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown. Cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream. Serves 8-10 people.
Key Lime Pie (page 249)
1 cup plus 2 1/2 Tbsp. graham cracker crumbs
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp. grated lime zest, pref. Key lime
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2/ 3 cup Key lime juice, pref. fresh
1 cup heavy cream
3 Tbsp. confectioner's sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine graham crackers, butter and granulated sugar. Press mixture into bottom and sides of a buttered 9-inch pie pan, forming a neat border around edge. Bake crust until set and golden, about 5 minutes.
2. Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat egg yolks and lime zest at high speed until very shiny, about 5 minutes.
Gradually add condensed milk, and continue to beat until thick, about 3-4 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add lime juice, and mix just until combined.
3. Pour lime mixture into crust. Bake until filling has just set, about 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.
*disclaimer: I used a store bought graham crust*
4. Place pie in freezer for 15-20 minutes before serving. In an electric mixer, combine cream and confectioner's sugar. Whip until nearly stiff. Cut pie into wedges; serve very cold, each wedge topped with a dollop of whipped cream. Serves 8.
Slightly tart, with a mild lime flavor.
Sauteed Apple Pie (page 236)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
10-12 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and
sliced 1/2 inch thick
3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
pie crust pastry
1 Tbsp. heavy cream
1. Melt butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet, preferably not nonstick. (Apples will not caramelize as well in a nonstick pan.) Add apples, sprinkle with 3/4 cup sugar, and saute, turning apples, about 10 minutes, until tender and lightly caramelized. Fold in cinnamon. Spread cooked apples on a platter to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Divide pastry into two unequal halves; roll out larger portion on a lightly floured board, and line pie pan. Spoon in cooled apples. Roll out remaining pastry, and cover pan; seal and crimp edges.
3. Brush pastry with cream, and dust with remaining sugar. Bake about 40 minutes, until pastry is golden. Cool briefly, then serve with ice cream. Serves 8-12.
Comment: Not too sweet, just the right amount of cinnamon, and better than Marie Calendar's!
Double Crust Peach Pie (page 248)
5-8 large, ripe freestone peaches
peeled, pitted and sliced 1/2
inch thick
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup plus 2 tsp. sugar
Butter pastry, chilled (page 520)
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Combine peaches with cornstarch, butter and 3/4 cup
sugar.
3. Divide dough into two equal portions. Roll one on a
floured surface into a 11-inch circle. Place rolled dough
in a 9-inch pie pan. Spread peach mixture in pan.
4.Roll second ball of dough into an 11-inch circle. Place over
top of pie. Crimp edges. Make six cuts on top of pie with
knife. Sprinkle handful of sugar over top.
5. Bake on bottom rack for 10 minutes, and then reduce heat
to 350 degrees and bake for 50 minutes longer.
Serve warm or cooled. Serves 8.
