Apple Pie

Grocery shopping at a commissary on a military post can be interesting sometimes.  There are the unique international products and ingredients that families get hooked on when they are stationed overseas in Germany or Korea.  There are the people who apparently only shop every 3 months or so, dragging a convoy of 2 or 3 heaping cartloads of food.  There are products that appear out of the blue one day and are gone, never to be seen again, the next time you go in.  And there is often an extreme "hit or miss" quality to many things.  My current commissary will occasionally just not have any chicken for days on end.  Like, not one piece, anywhere.  When it finally gets restocked, or is rumored to be restocked soon, someone usually posts about it on the spouse's Facebook page; a chicken forecast, as it were.  Right before we moved here, our commissary had just finished a very extensive remodeling of the deli, and then all of a sudden it closed completely for several months because of some kind of issue with a vendor contract.

The produce is probably the biggest hit or miss item, though.  Some days it's gorgeous and plentiful.  Other days it looks like someone left it in the sun for a few days before putting it on display.  So while I always prepare a weekly menu and a list, I try to be flexible when I go there, because you never know what's waiting for you.  A few days ago I walked in to one of the pleasant produce surprises: beautiful Jonagold apples for 99 cents a pound.  I took just a few home, and my daughter, Violet, and I devoured them.  So crisp and juicy.  Sweet like candy.  All those adjectives that describe the best fall apples.  In January.  In the middle of winter, when really good fresh fruit seems like a distant memory.  A few days later I sent Marc back to the store with instructions to get 4 or 5 big bags to make apple sauce and stewed apples for canning, and I think he brought back about 35 lb.  Seeing all of those lovely, shiny apples reminded me--my last apple pie was really disappointing.  It was time to set that right.

I think every family has certain foods that they associate with specific relatives, whether that's for good reasons or bad.  For instance, Marc associates jello dishes with his grandma, and that doesn't always mean a fond food memory, if I can be diplomatic about it.  Well, in my family, apple pie means my Aunt Linda.  And luckily, it's a really good food memory.

Aunt Lin's advice for addressing my tragic pie situation was that it was all about the apples; you have to have good apples, she said.  Jonathan is the only variety she ever uses.  I already knew I had great apples, and Jonagold are part Jonathan, and good for cooking, so I figured that was a pretty good place to start.  From there, Aunt Lin told me that she just wings it, layering apples with flour, sugar and cinnamon.  That was pretty much the extent of her counseling, so I took it from there, but this recipe is, in fact, more of a method than a real recipe.

I may have mentioned before, I don't really like pie crust.  I don't like eating it, which is, I assume, why I don't really like making it either.  But it's also one of those things that I keep trying to master, because I feel like a good home cook should be able to make a decent pie from scratch.  I'm happy to report that I made a damn good pie crust this time.  Even *I* thought it was great.  And maybe what I'm most proud of is that the pie as a whole turned out awesome, even with my 2 year old "helping" me.  Which is to say that, in some ways, she really did help by doing things like throwing the sliced apples into a bowl, but more often she was creating extra challenges by, say, attempting to throw half chewed apple slices into the bowl when she decided she was done with them, sprinkling WAY too much sugar in one spot, or sticking her finger through the pie dough as I was rolling it out.

Two year olds aside, I find that a good pie is really not that easy of a thing to make, but I feel like I took a huge step forward with this beauty.  Maybe someday I can take over my family's Apple Pie Queen crown when my aunt is ready to relinquish it.

Pastry for 2-Crust Pie

Make sure your butter, shortening and water are all very cold.  I usually cut up the shortening and butter into little cubes, spread it on a plate and then throw it in the freezer for 10 minutes or so.  Also, you can use a manual method for cutting in the shortening and butter, like a pastry blender, or 2 knives, but I'm way too lazy for that nonsense.

2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. sugar
1/4 cup shortening, cut into cubes
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into cubes
5 or 6 Tbs. ice water

Put the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor and pulse several times to combine.  Sprinkle the pieces of shortening across the flour mixture and pulse several times until well distributed.  Add the butter and pulse it in the same manner as the shortening.  Dump the flour mixture into a bowl and sprinkle in 5 Tbs. of ice water.  Stir the flour mixture until the dough just comes together.  Add another Tbs. of ice water if it is still too dry and crumbly.  Divide the dough into 2 portions, shape in a disk and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate until it's very cold and solid, at least 30 minutes.

Apple Pie

I used a big, deep 9 1/2" pie plate.  It took about 8 cups of apples (7 medium apples) to fill it.  Those smaller, thin Pyrex plates that are sometimes sold 3 to a package would probably require 2 or 3 less apples.  That's a guess on my part.  Basically, you want to fill the plate up entirely with apples and have it mounded slightly in the middle.  Jonathan or Golden Delicious--the 2 apples that you cross to get a Jonagold--both make a good pie, too.  With a lot of apple recipes, I've also done a mixture of half Granny Smith, for tartness, and half a sweet variety.  You don't need much nutmeg, but the freshly ground stuff is infinitely better than pre-ground, if you have the gumption to seek it out.

6 or 7 medium apples, peeled and sliced  (See above note)
dash of fresh ground nutmeg
flour, sugar and cinnamon as needed
1 egg white, beaten

Place a sheet pan in the oven and preheat to 425 degrees.  Roll out the bottom pie crust and place it in the pie pan.  I put the bottom crust in the pan and then put it in the fridge to chill while I peeled and sliced the apples.  Spread a layer of apples across the bottom of the crust and sprinkle with nutmeg, flour, sugar and cinnamon.  Only use the nutmeg on this first layer or the flavor will be too strong.  Continue layering apples, flour, sugar and cinnamon until the pan is full and mounded a little.  Roll out the top crust and place it on top, crimping the edges and beautifying them however you choose.  (I did a rope style edge on mine)  Brush the entire top of the pie with egg white and sprinkle with sugar.  Cut several steam vents in the crust.

Put the pie in the oven on the preheated sheet pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden.  Lower the heat to 375 degrees F and rotate the pie.  Bake another 25 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack for a few hours before slicing.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  With ice cream.  It's the law.

Apple Cake

It's officially fall now, and you know what that means?  Apples!  You know what else I love about fall?  Cakes!  Fall and winter are prime cake baking time because it's finally cool enough to actually enjoy having the oven on, and the cozy feeling that comes with it.  As opposed to summer when, unlike my parents, I will indeed turn my oven on, but when I do, I'm often chased into the basement to get some respite from the heat.  To recap, 2 great things about fall: apples and cake.  There is an obvious next step staring us in the face here, and it's called apple cake.

There must be some kind of apple cake high council that met long ago and ratified the master version of this recipe, because the many variations I encountered were all basically the same at their core.  The amount of oil, sugar, eggs and flour was very similar from one to another.  I saw one that called for half butter and half oil.  I saw a few that called for a bit more flour or a bit less apples than I used.  A few contained nutmeg in addition to or in place of cinnamon.  One more contemporary version called for serving a butterscotch sauce on top, which seemed cloyingly sweet and unnecessary to me.  I love butterscotch as much as the next girl, but do you want to taste the apples or not?  And there was one that called for canned apple pie filling, which is an absolute travesty any time of year, but especially now.  In the end, I went with a version that my mom has always made and has been in her recipe file for decades.  Since it is very similar to most of the recipes I found, and because it was always so good, I changed absolutely nothing.  Who am I to argue with the National Association for Apple Cake Integrity?

Apple Cake

As you can see, I used a 9 x 13 pan, but my sister-in-law makes a similar recipe and uses a Bundt pan.  I like to make a foil liner for the pan when I make a snack cake like this so I can lift the entire cake out of the pan to cut it.  That way I don't scratch up my bakeware with a knife.  I used Granny Smiths because their tartness complements the sweetness of the cake nicely, but the choice of apple is obviously up to you.  The batter will be very thick; it's almost more like a cookie dough than a cake batter.  You will need to smooth it out into an even layer before baking.  I served mine for dessert along with coffee or milk, as the diner preferred, but it was great the next morning for breakfast, too.  Also works well as just an anytime snack. 

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups apples, peeled and chopped (if using Granny Smiths, this is about 2 or 3 of the jumbo ones, or 4 to 5 smaller ones)

1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Prepare a 9 x 13 baking pan by lining with foil and spraying the foil with vegetable oil cooking spray, or leave out the foil and grease and flour the pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and whisk until well mixed.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla.  Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.  Add the chopped apples and nuts, if using, and fold into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, making sure to spread it out into an even layer and into the corners of the pan.  Bake for 1 hour at 300 degrees.  Allow to cool before slicing.

 

Stewed Apples

School has been kicking my butt the last few weeks, hence my lack of posting.  But I have no complaints because I can't imagine a better reason to be kept out of the kitchen than learning about bacteria.  If that sentence makes no sense to you, enroll in a microbiology class and tell me it's not fascinating.  So I've been away for too long and we've eaten too many frozen skillet dinners in that time, but for good reason.

Two really awesome things happened since I last posted.  One, Don't Ask Don't Tell officially bought the farm.  Good riddance to a hateful, discriminatory policy, in this lowly military spouse's opinion.  Two, fall arrived!  Let the apples roll!

As soon as I saw Jonathan apples at the store I knew it was time for stewed apples.  Jonathans are wonderful to cook with.  They are often as sweet as candy, and they break down into a great chunky applesauce type texture.  The combination of Jonathans and Granny Smiths together make for perfect stewed apples.  Incidentally, the next time I went to the grocery store after the Jonathans made their appearance, the Honeycrisps had arrived, which are one of my favorites for eating out of hand.  Man, I love apple season!

The combination of brown and white sugar might seem a bit fussy, but it's a great pairing.  The brown sugar gives a lovely caramely type flavor, but cutting it with the white sugar makes sure the flavor of the apples can still take center stage.  Finished off with a little cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, it's like apple pie in a bowl.  These apples make a great side dish to a fall supper.  I served mine with cider glazed pork chops and roasted sweet potatoes and carrots.

Stewed Apples

3 cups peeled and chopped Granny Smith apples, about 3 apples
3 cups peeled and chopped Jonathan apples, about 3 apples
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup apple cider
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cloves
Pinch fresh ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan.  Bring to a simmer, turn heat to low and cook, covered, for about 45 minutes or until the Jonathan apples have broken down and the Granny Smiths are softened.

Apple Roll

Would you like a piece of apple roll?  I'll answer for you.  YES.

Fall is just a few weeks away and I freaking love fall.  The crisp, cool air and the jackets on chilly nights, the changing leaves, the respite after months of ridiculous heat and humidity....  Ahhhh......  Love it.

I have a very sweet friend, Lindsey, who just started her own company making some delectable creations called cake balls.  Remember how I don't like the word balls associated with my food?  When balls is preceded by the word cake, I'm totally on board.  Besides, check out these things she makes!  They're gorgeous!  If you live in St. Louis metro area and you need a unique treat for a wedding or shower, please give Lindsey a call.  But I digress.  I remember from way back when in maybe 5th grade or so, I was complaining about how hot it was in the summer to Lindsey's mom, Bev.  Bev was a teacher, and full of worldly wisdom.  I remember she said to me, "We live in the Midwest because we love all four seasons."  True.  Of course Bev didn't mention that sometimes we get all four seasons in one day, but her point remains valid.  Every season brings its own special treats, especially in the kitchen.  Autumn is an awesome time to cook.  Pot roast with root veggies, roasted sweet taters and carrots, maybe some baked acorn squash with a little butter and brown sugar, or my favorite, apples.  I love to cook with apples.  So even though fall isn't quite here yet, I wanted to get a jump on apple cooking with this tasty creation.

I discovered a recipe for something called Apple Roll in an old cookbook called The Victory Handbook for Health and Home Defense loaned to me by my father-in-law.  This little cookbook is a World War II era gem which I am sure I will mention again in the future.  It's the only cookbook I've ever seen that explains how to properly display the American flag.  It also contains a list of ways to help conserve sugar for the war effort, such as to "educate your family in the spoon-stirring club," as undissolved sugar at the bottom of your cup of tea or coffee is wasteful.  Can you imagine our entire country being so united now that we would cooperate with having our coffee or our sugar or our gasoline rationed?  It's almost impossible to fathom my generation making a cake with honey instead of sugar, or saving a tiny bit of grease from a package of bacon so that it could be used to make explosives.  It almost seems romantic.  But maybe I say that because I happen to be married to one of the 1% of the population that has actually been asked to sacrifice anything as a result of a decade's worth of war.   But again, I digress....

Once I saw the Apple Roll recipe listed in the Victory Handbook, I noticed that it popped up in a couple other places.  One book called it Apple Roly Poly.  All the books where I found it were of the 1940s and 50s vintage, and they all called for a dough made from biscuit mix.  The dough was rolled out into a rectangle, then apples, sugar and cinnamon were sprinkled all over and the entire thing was rolled up and sliced into pinwheels.  I loved the idea, I just didn't like the biscuit mix thing.  I decided to roll mine up in a flakier, pastry type dough.  More like what you might use for a turnover.  I also decided to cook the apples a bit first to drive off a bit of their moisture.  But to make sure they didn't just turn to mush, I used Granny Smiths, which hold up really well to cooking and have a pleasant tart flavor.  After all that, my filling was still a little too juicy, but I didn't want to get rid of all that yummy, sugary, cinnamony flavor.  So I separated the apples from the cinnamony goo and put that in the bottom of the baking pan, and then placed my little apple pinwheels into it to bake.  After letting them cool for a few minutes, I decided to guild the lily a bit by drizzling them with a bit of icing.  The result was a bit like a cinnamon roll with apples in it, and that is exactly as awesome as it sounds.  Enjoy!

Apple Roll

You'll need to give the dough at least an hour to chill after you prepare it, or you could start well in advance (or even a day ahead) if you like.  I actually made my dough and filling in the morning, stuck them in the fridge during the day while I ran my errands, and then assembled and baked it in the evening.  An apple corer / slicer is a good gadget to have for a dessert like this, and if you're in the market for one, I suggest this version.  It's a great little tool because it can do 8 or 16 slices and it's super sharp.

Dough

2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, divided use
1/2 cup ice water, +/- a Tbs. or 2 more

Filling

3 cups diced Granny Smith apples, about 2 to 3 apples, depending on size
4 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice

Icing

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs. milk

Cube 1/2 cup (1 stick) of the butter and place the cubes onto a plate.  Freeze for 15 minutes.  Combine flour and salt in a food processor and process until well combined. Scatter the cold butter cubes over the flour in the food processor and pulse until the mixture becomes crumbly.  Pour the flour and butter mixture into a bowl.  Add the ice water, starting with 1/2 cup and stir to combine until the dough comes together.  If it seems very dry, add a bit more water a little at a time until it just comes together.

Flour your counter top, rolling pin and hands and roll the dough into a 10" x 18" rectangle.  The first time you roll it out it will probably be pretty oddly shaped; just get it as close as you can.  It will form a better rectangle each time you roll it out.  Take 1/4 cup of the remaining butter (half a stick) and place little slices of it all over the dough.  Fold one third of the dough over onto itself, then fold the other third on top of that.  (See my picture below to see how I positioned the little slices of butter, and to see the first third of the dough folded over.)  Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll out again into a 10" x 18" rectangle.  Repeat the process with the remaining 1/4 cup of butter, then fold into thirds and roll out again into another rectangle.  (It ought to look pretty rectangular by now.)  Fold up again by thirds, then fold in half.  Wrap your little square of dough in some plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.

For the filling, heat the 4 Tbs. of butter in a 12-inch skillet.  Once the butter is hot and has stopped foaming, add the apples and saute for several minutes until softened.  Add the brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened a bit.  Remove from the heat and strain the sauce into a small bowl.  Set the apples and sauce aside until the dough has finished chilling.

When ready to assemble, preheat the oven to 425 and place an oven rack in the middle position.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it set at room temperature for 10 or 15 minutes.  Spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking spray and then spread the brown sugar / butter sauce evenly over the bottom of the pan.  Mix the icing ingredients together and set aside.

Roll the dough out into a 10" x 18" rectangle one last time.  Lay the dough on the counter top so that the short side is parallel to the edge of the counter and the long sides are perpendicular to it.  Sprinkle the apples evenly over the entire surface, leaving a few inches bare at the very top of the rectangle (the short edge furthest away from you).  Roll the dough up tightly and pinch the end to seal it as best you can.  Use a very sharp knife to slice the roll into 12 equal pieces and place each roll into the baking dish.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until dough appears to be flaking into layers.  Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a serving platter, flipping each pinwheel over so that the saucy part is on top.  Let cool an additional 30 minutes, drizzle with icing and serve.