Pie day! Pie day! - Best Damn Apple Pie recipe

What is the day before Thanksgiving? Why, It's PIE DAY! 

Apple Pie cooling on the windowsill. (OK, not really, it's on the counter.) 

Pumpkin Pie baking in the oven!

Every surface in the kitchen, including the floor and the front of my shirt, covered in flour. Where the hell did that house keeper disappear to?

Last year I gave you the recipes for my favorite pumpkin pie and pie crust.

This year it is for my favorite apple pie recipe, what I like to call the Best Damn Apple Pie. I repeated the pie crust recipe below because I love you.

Best Damn Apple Pie

Ingredients

• Butter Flaky Pie Crust recipe below x2
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 to 2 teaspoonful(s) cinnamon
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoonful nutmeg 
•  apples - peeled, cored and sliced, enough to over fill your pie pan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar, brown sugar, and spices and bring to a boil, then simmer until a thick syrup forms.
2. Mix your apples with the sugar syrup from step 1.
3. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with the syrup coated apples, mounded slightly. 
4. Cover with the top crust.
5. Bake 60 minutes or until apples are soft.

This year I tried brushing it with an egg wash and dusting it with sugar crystals. I need a better pastry brush, but I think it gave it a nice rustic appearance.

Butter Flaky Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, frozen
• 1/4 cup ice water

A good pie crust is all about technique. 

1. Combine the flour and salt. Then grate the frozen butter into the flour with a cheese grater. 

Freezing, then grating the butter, is the key. The little bits of frozen butter are what makes the crust so flaky. After grating in the butter work quickly, because you don't want the butter to get soft.

2. Add the ice water a tablespoonful at a time and mix in until the mixture forms a ball. Do not be tempted to add too much water! Do not over work the dough!

3. If you've worked fast enough and the butter is still frozen you can roll out the crust now. If not, refrigerate it for a couple hours. It will roll out much easier if you have planned ahead and can refrigerate it.

I've also found that when you need enough dough for a top and bottom crust, it is better to make the recipe twice, rather than double it.

Try not to overwork the dough when you roll it out. And keep it cold. I used to roll mine out on parchment paper but I found it always stuck because bits of the butter would soften. Then the parchment would tear. Then I would get frustrated and let fly with a few F bombs. This year I tried rolling it out on a silicone pastry sheet and dusted it liberally (along with my floors and counters) with flour so it didn't stick. It rolled out like a dream. I'll let you know if it changes the texture or taste of the finished product.

The true magic ingredient in my pie crust is my great-grandmother Ninin's rolling pin. And since I'm not giving that up, I can't exactly guarantee your crust will turn out as awesome as mine. If you follow my instructions I bet it will still turn out pretty damn good. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's not Thanksgiving without Pumpkin Pie!

Tara at Feels Like Home shared her favorite pumpkin pie recipe with me a few years ago. I made it the first time and haven't used any other recipe since. 

Gourmet Pumpkin Pie

• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell (see recipe below)  

• 3 2/3 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground cloves

topping

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Blend the egg, pumpkin and condensed milk. Add sugar and spices to pumpkin. Pour mixture into the unbaked pie shell.
3. (topping) Combine the brown sugar, flour, chopped pecans, butter and cinnamon with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle crumb mixture on top of pumpkin mixture.
4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 50 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted in near the center comes out clean. Let pie cool before serving. 

A couple comments on the recipe:

I typically skip the topping, although it is to die for. I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to pumpkin pie. I also find I need to bake it longer than 50 to 55 minutes.

I also use quality spices, which I think makes a big difference. I typically get mine from Penzeys. 

And if one of your kids sticks their fingers in the finished pie and you don't realize it until after it has arrived at your nephews house for dinner and his wife unwraps it? Well, just consider it extra yummy.

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Now, I've tried a number of pie crust recipes over the year. At one point I gave up and just used Pillsbury's refrigerated pie crust. But then, I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and it changed my pie baking life.

Butter Flaky Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, frozen
• 1/4 cup ice water

A good pie crust is all about technique. 

1. Combine the flour and salt. Then grate the butter into the flour with a cheese grater. 

Freezing, then grating the butter, is the key. The little bits of frozen butter are what makes the crust so flaky. After grating in the butter work quickly, because you don't want the butter to get soft.

2. Add the ice water a tablespoonful at a time and mix in until the mixture forms a ball. 

3. If you've worked fast enough and the butter is still frozen you can roll out the crust now. If not, refrigerate it for a couple hours. I've heard refrigerating it helps prevent shrinkage, but I can't say that has always been true for me. 

Try not to overwork the dough when you roll it out. I roll mine out on parchment paper so it's easy to move it to the pie pan. 

The magic ingredient in my pie crust is my great-grandmothers rolling pin. And since I'm not giving that up, I can't exactly guarantee your crust will turn out as awesome as mine. I still bet it will be pretty darn good though! 

Mommy makes Latkes!

One of the best parts of having married into a Jewish family is the food.

Mmmm....until you have tasted brisket, or true kosher chicken soup you haven't lived.

I've learned to cook a few things over the last ten years. I make a mean hamentaschen! I can throw together a delicious brisket. And my Jewish apple cake is to die for, seriously!

But one of my favorite things to make is latkes at Hanukkah. I don't really follow a recipe anymore, but I thought I'd show you how I make them.

This year I decided to use purple potatoes.

First grate the onion (I used one large sweet onion) and the potatoes (five medium to large sized purple potatoes plus one sweet potato). I have an electric mandoline which makes it easy.

After you have the onions and potatoes grated you need to drain the liquid from them. I use a colander and press out what liquid I can with my hands.

Then I get aggressive and using a clean dish towel I twist and squeeze out the rest of the liquid. 

I put the liquid aside and let the potato starch settle out.

Then I add a couple eggs, some matzo meal or flour (this time I used both) and some beer.

I use the beer as a leavening agent instead of baking powder or baking soda to help hold things together. It adds a little extra flavor too. Just don't use too much if its a dark or strong beer or the latkes will end up bitter.

Let's not tell Rich this time I used one of his fancy ales because that was all we had.

You add salt to taste. And yes, you really should taste it to make sure you have enough.

Let's pretend this is Kosher salt. It would make a better visual I'm sure.

Now, remember the liquid from the potatoes that you set aside. Most of the potato starch should have settled out by now. Pour off the liquid and add the starch to the potato mixture. The starch helps everything stick together and firms it up.

Now mix everything all together.

Heat up your griddle or frying pan. I use olive oil that I brush on with a pastry brush. I admit it tastes better if you use a lot of oil (doesn't everything?), but I control the amount by using the brush. 

I scoop it out with an ice cream scoop then flatten it down.

Flip,

and flatten to get out any excess moisture.

Don't rush them or you will be serving raw potatoes.

Purple Potato Latkes!

I serve them with sour cream and apple sauce.

I've been known to make my own apple sauce, but that didn't happen this year. Plus, Rich prefers the cheap version out of the jar (high fructose corn syrup anyone?) and Noah would probably freak out if I served apple sauce with chunks in it. Kiel doesn't touch the stuff either way.

This year he ate the sour cream. That's it. Don't try and trick him with purple potatoes.

Everyone else enjoyed them though!

Consider this my gift to you!

Kiel is the worst eater I have ever known. If the boy could get away with just drinking milk and juice with an occasional yogurt thrown in there he would.

The only fruit he will eat is an occasional banana, and the only vegetable is pees.

I've started trying to hide pureed vegetables in what little he will eat, like mac and cheese, but with mixed success.

One thing he will always eat though is pancakes, so a few weeks ago I had a brilliant idea of throwing some pumpkin in with a new recipe I had tried a few times that also included ricotta.

I played around with it a few times and this is what I've come up with. Both my boys like them and they are the tenderest pancakes I've ever had. With the ricotta and soy milk they are packed with protein and calcium. The pumpkin is full of all kinds of good stuff including fiber and lots of vitamins.  I don't worry too much about the fat content with my skinny boys, but you can trim the fat down by using low or no fat ricotta) This may be one of the healthier meals I can count on both of my kids eating.

 MNT's Sneaky Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups high fiber pancake mix (I've used both Krusteaz wheat and honey and Fiber One's buttermilk      mixes with good results)
1 cup ricotta
1 cup pumpkin (I've also used 1/2 c butternut squash and 1/2 c pumpkin)
1 egg (optional but I like to push the protein as much as I can)
1/4 cup (plus or minus) sugar or honey (also optional, I like a sweeter pancake)
1 1/2 to 2 cups milk (I use soy milk because that is what my kids drink)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix everything together and add milk until it is the consistency you prefer. Cook on a griddle like any other pancake. It makes somewhere around 24 two to three inch pancakes. Maybe I'll actually count next time I make them.

I use sugar free syrup for the boys (Rich and I save the real stuff for ourselves - we told Noah it had beer in it so he never asks for it).

I imagine if I took some time to search I'd find a similar recipe out there, so I know I'm probably not as brilliant as I'd like to think, but I can pretend.