Apple Pie with Whisky

The whisky in this recipe is nuanced, not overt. Its smokiness blends beautifully with the apples and spices. 

Inspired by the Little House on the Prairie books when I was in grade school, the first thing I ever attempted to bake was an apple pie. I had picked some wild apples that grew in the woods. In my mind, I was already there. My chance came when my parents left for the evening. Needless to say, I gave up with the crust and when my parents arrived home, it wasn't to a pie and I was scolded for making a mess.

Now, I'm usually the family designated pie maker. Time and practice . . .

When I had my small art studio and had to compete with bigger and better-funded businesses, I used apple pie as a lure for special events. I couldn't afford a caterer, but I could cook. For one art opening, I borrowed a client's kitchen and made a half dozen pies. With cheese and wine, it was a hit. Later, I switched to apple cobbler which was easier to prepare. And then soups in the autumn and winter.

Apples, of course, are the key to a good pie. You want apples that are crisp, not soft and mealy. I usually use and recommend a variety of apples with at least one or two being Yellow Delicious. The only exception are Honey Crisps, and that is what I now try to use whenever possible. 

I'm not a believer in a large two-crust, fruit-filled pie. They get soggy in the middle and are often under baked. I prefer a six or seven-inch pie which has a great ratio of crust to fruit. A pie plate is measured from the bottom, side to side; not from the top, rim to rim.

The recipe for pie crust is below.

Makes one seven-inch pie

• 5 cups peeled, chopped apples (about 3 lbs before peeling and cutting), preferably Honey Crisp or a blend which includes one or two Yellow Delicious
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons of flour (start with one tablespoon)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh-grated nutmeg
• 4 allspice berries, crushed
• 2 tablespoons whisky
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (optional)
• 1 tablespoon cold butter

Peel your apples using a plastic shopping bag. It makes cleaning up much easier. It's not necessary to core your apples. Just begin slicing around and around the apple. And then chip away and the top and the bottom.

Mix the flour, white and brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice in a small bowl. Set aside.

Mix the whisky and vanilla in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the apples and allow to sit several minutes. If your apples are on the sweet side or just a bit bland, add a bit of lemon juice.

Roll our your bottom crust and place in pie dish. Sprinkle two tablespoons of the spice/sugar mixture over the bottom. Add remaining to the apples in the bowl and toss well to coat. Taste. Re-adjust seasonings, if necessary. If your apples are unusually juicy, sprinkle with a bit more flour.

Add apple mixture evenly to pie plate. Do not mound it in the center, you want the apples to cook evenly. Dot with the butter. Place top crust on top and gently press around the rim of the plate.

Gently press dough around rim of plate
to create a tight seal so filling
does not seep out while baking.

Crimp the edges. Cut a vent hole in the center (planet Earth) and make four slashes around it (one for each direction of the compass).

Using strips of tin foil, cover the edge of the crust to prevent burning.

Place in a pre-heated 400 F degree oven and bake for 40 minutes. Remove tin foil strips and bake for another 10 minutes until juices begin to appear.

Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Notes: Whiskey is the British and Canadian spelling. Whisky is the American version. Brandy is fermented grapes. Whisky is distilled grain.

PIE CRUST

Nothing instills greater fear in a a cook or baker than the dreaded words "pie crust." It's almost become a "voodoo" recipe replete with a strange dance of ingredients from vinegar to egg white to vodka. It's now possible to buy wonderful dough premade, a real convenience, especially around the holidays. But when the package costs as much as a bag of flour, I'll make my own. And the food processor makes it pretty easy.

I also use lard. That's right. lard. It's actually healthier for your than butter. Here's my usual spiel: 

One tablespoon of lard has 10 mg of cholesterol. By contrast, one tablespoon of butter has 30mg of cholesterol. What about fat content? Well, one tablespoon of lard has 13% fat, of which six is saturated fat. By contrast, one tablespoon of butter has 11% fat, of which seven is from saturated fat.

One tablespoon of Crisco all-vegetable shortening is 12g of total fat of which 3 is saturated fat but contains no cholesterol.

I've mixed equal parts of lard and butter, which works well, too. But now I just use all lard. It makes for a great-tasting, flaky crust. And it makes it easy to roll out.

I don't make large pies, especially fruit-filled pies. They can get soggy and be difficult to cut and to serve. I'd rather make two, seven or eight-inch pies than one ten-inch pie. To me they offer the perfect ratio of crust to filling. And I never mound the fruit a mile-high. Why? Again, I like a good ratio of crust to filling and the sides of the pie bake quicker than the middle. A pie is not a cake. It does have to rise in the middle.

Makes one crust for a 6 or 7-inch pie plate

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons cold lard (or one tablespoon cold butter and 3 tablespoons cold lard)
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1-2 teaspoons white sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons cold water

Place the flour and salt in processor. Whirl to combine. Add the cold lard/butter and pulse just until crumbly and lumpy.

Remove top and add 3 tablespoons of the cold water. Replace top and pulse for several seconds. If needed, drizzle in the the last tablespoon of cold water a little at a time while pulsing until a dough balls forms clean from the sides. Done. 

Remove to a floured surface and knead once or twice. Cover in shrink wrap and refrigerate until needed. 

Repeat process for second batch. No need to clean or wash the food processor.

To roll: Sprinkle your work surface with flour. (I use a sheet of plywood and when I'm done I just take it outside to whisk off the flour etc. for easy cleaning). Begin pressing and shaping your ball of dough into a round using your hand.

The key to rolling our your dough is to keep it moving. Flip over several times and sprinkle with a bit more flour. If you keep it stationary in one spot, it will usually end up sticking to the surface. As it thins out, you should still be able to shift it from the flour beneath it.

Roll to one inch larger than your pie plate.

Gently lift the dough and fit into plate. Fill with filling and proceed with top crust. Crimp. Vent. Bake.

If you have scraps of dough, which I did here, re-roll and make into leaves. Wet the bottoms with water and gently press on top of crust.

My New Breville Counter-Top Oven

This isn't your ordinary "toaster oven."

For about a year now, I've had my eye on a Breville counter-top, convention oven. With some Christmas money, I finally purchased it a week ago and finally set it up a few days ago. I couldn't be happier.

Why a counter-top oven? For one thing, since I'm single, I don't need a standard-sized oven for most of what I bake, roast or broil. I hate having to turn on the oven to bake a small casserole or to cook a frozen entree. Second, since I rent, the ovens are never that great. The current oven isn't self-cleaning and, when I have to dial high temperatures, I find it gets too hot. I can take the counter-top oven with me when I move. It will save a lot of time having to get used to a new one.

And I'm still getting used to my Breville. But, so far, so good. Yesterday I baked a pie and it came out great--evenly browned on top without having to turn it around halfway through, thanks to the convection feature. Roast three chicken legs for dinner? No problem. 

I baked this apple pie in the Breville and it was
evenly browned all over. Just look at that crust!

The only downside is that it comes with just one rack. Eventually, I'll order another one. The top of the oven can get hot, but it's really handy to put your finished dish on top to keep it warm (and it prevents you from cluttering it up with junk). You can also order a special bamboo cutting board that fits on top. I'll probably do that, too. The broiling pan is extra-heavy duty and sturdy. It also comes with a 12-inch pizza pan.

Is it complicated? Not in the least. I thought it might be, but I was dead wrong. Simply dial what you want to do, such as bake, toast, pizza, re-heat, and the temperature and time is automatically configured for you. But you may manually change it just as easily. It weighs less than my microwave oven even though they are comparably sized.

Overall, I'm very impressed the way it cooks food so evenly. And it heats up in less  time than a standard oven. And, it just looks good.

It also toasts bread, but I'll do that in my toaster unless I'm going to do bagels or thicker slices. 

On the flip side, I can certainly see this in kitchens where a standard oven is not adequate and a second one is not an option because of financial or configuration issues. For those who entertain a lot, it's a must. And around the holidays when everyone needs more oven space, this is the perfect solution.

Breville makes several models, but I chose this one based on user recommendations from around the Internet. It's 1800 watts and has the convection feature.

I had a store coupon for 20% off the 250.00 price. A bit steep but, in the long-run, I think it will have been a good investment.

Stale Bread for Breakfast

A local grocery store carries a brand of fresh-baked Semolina bread I like very much. They'll usually only put out a few loaves, so when I see one, I grab it. I keep it in the paper wrapping to preserve the crisp crust. (The wrapper also reminds me of something my grandmother would have had around her kitchen from a loaf she purchased at a Chicago bakery.) Needless to say, it goes stale in a few days. No matter. That's when I have it for breakfast. Yes, breakfast. Don't turn up your nose!

This only works with a quality artisan bread that adapts well to soaking up the liquid. Anything else will turn into a paste.

• Stale, artisan bread, broken apart
• Olive oil (use a good quality olive oil)
• Salt and pepper
• Boiling water
• Onion powder (optional but recommended)

Place your stale bread in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper and just a pinch or two of onion powder. Now begin pouring the boiled water over the bread. It will immediately begin to soak through like a dried sponge. Turn pieces over and drizzle with more hot water. Heel ends require a bit more soaking. Stir. Taste for seasonings. If crusts are still hard, add a bit more water so it sits in the bottom of the bowl and turn bread crusts so they rest in it. Break apart and enjoy. 

With a bit of grated hard cheese, this makes for a quick lunch. It's warm and filling. Sometimes I'm tempted to use milk, sugar and cinnamon, and for children, that would be great. But I enjoy the plain simplicity so much, I never deviate from the original plan. Enjoy, and remember your grandma!

Below is a video showing how Clara from "Great Depression Cooking" makes this:

More Tales from the Grocery Store: Trash Talk

Dear Grocery Shopper:

Thank-you for choosing our store for your shopping needs. We really and truly appreciate that you visit us and spend your hard-earned money. There is just one thing. Please take all your trash with you as you exit the store and parking lot.

I'm really happy that you took the time to compile a shopping list. But it has a limited reading audience. Trust me on this. It is not a best seller and never will be. STOP leaving them behind. I'm tired of taking them out of carts, picking them up off the floor and chasing after them in the parking lot. Just throw the damn thing away!

Printing flyers costs a lot of money. I'm glad you picked one up when you entered the store. But when you are finished, either put it back, throw it out, or take it with you.

Shopping carts are not trash cans. Below is a list of the most common items left behind:

• Sani-wipes
• Kleenex
• Out-dated coupons
• Sample cups
• Napkins and toothpicks
• Scratched-off lottery tickets
• Empty cigarette packs
• Candy wrappers
• Beer bottles and cans
• Empty chew tobacco cans
• Water bottles
• Toy wrappers
• Receipts

The cart should be returned in the same condition upon entering the store: empty!

Please do not use the carts in the parking lot to clean out your car! And whomever left that king-sized, stained bed pillow in the cart a few months ago, well, that was just GROSS! We're not Goodwill. Old license plates, single mittens and gloves do not belong in grocery carts. If you fill a cooler with beer or soft drinks, do not leave the packaging in the cart. 

I'm glad you enjoyed your meal at McDonald's and Bo Jangles, etc., but the parking lot is not a garbage can. When you throw the used wrappers and bag outside the car door, things happen to it: like wind blowing it all over.

Speaking of fast meal joints, a science primer: a liquid is neither plastic nor paper. So when depositing drink containers in receptacles clearly marked "Plastic Only" or Paper Only" please empty them of whatever liquid remains in them. The only thing that is plastic on most soft drink cups is the lid and the straw. If it's a coffee cup, its just the lid. 

I know it's difficult to shop with children, but if you use the kiddie carts we provide, and if you feed your children while you shop, please clean up cookie crumbs, cracker crumbs, snotty tissues etc. from the cart before returning it.

Grocery carts are not cages. Leave your pets at home or in the car (someone once brought a rabbit!). This applies to humans. Please remove your children from the basket of the cart so we can fill them with your bags of groceries.

Spills and accidents are embarrassing. But please don't walk away from one if you created it. The quicker we can clean it up, the easier (and safer) it is on everybody. 

A store is no different than a home. That applies to you, guys, who work outside. Working boots covered with mud, clay, tar, grass belong outside, not inside. Don't make me tell your wives.

And to those few who think it cute to shop barefoot, you will be told to exit the building.

And, as always, leave your dirty, germ-infested recyclable bags at home.

Thank-you for shopping at our store.