FFwD: Marie-Helene's Apple Cake

I don't think it is any big secret here that I just don't enjoy baked fruit all that much.  What I find particularly hilarious about this fact is the flip side of just how silly I am sometimes when it comes to baking vs. what I'll actually eat.

You see, I don't like baked fruit much... but I just adore baking with it.  This puts me in a ridiculous situation at times where I make things that I have absolutely no intention of eating.  This cake falls into that category.

It was so fun to make!  I loved choosing the different kinds of apples and getting them all ready for the cake.  I loved mixing the miniscule amount of batter and seeing how the cake all cake together.  I loved baking it up and watching friends and family enjoy the cake.

I had a bite.  Just so I could say I did.

I'm a total dork.

I really loved making the cake though, so hopefully that counts for something.  I also did really love how the batter baked up and the buttery and sugary flavor of the cake itself - I'm just not into the baked apples.

Again.  I'm a total dork.

For better reviews of this week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe for Marie-Helene's Apple Cake, please visit the FFwD site and check out the LYL post with everyone's links.  I promise, they'll make much more sense than I do.

The only change I did make was to bake my cake in an 8-inch square pan.  There was a sad incident in the kitchen which has caused the demise of my smaller springform pan, (let's just say that when the bottom of a 9-inch pan gets firmly lodged inside another 9-inch pan, neither pan is going to come apart or survive.  It is very very sad) much to my dismay, so I had to get a little creative.  I basically just created two slings of parchment in the square pan and followed the rest of the directions as written.  It worked beautifully with no problems at all.  I still miss my springform though.  

In case you missed it, you can also check out many more recipes from Around My French Table that several of us got together and made for Dorie's birthday this last Sunday.  It was a great roundup and I'm so proud of all my fellow cooks and bakers who are so talented and giving to come together and put together such a beautiful spread to celebrate a truly gracious and lovely lady!

TWD: Tarte Fine + a Review & Giveaway

The Tarte Fine (aka apple pizza) was the recipe for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, chosen by Leslie at Lethally Delicious.  I have to admit, I generally am really not a fan of baked fruit.  I do however, really love me some puff pastry. With how simple this recipe was, I knew it would be a simple one to pull off, even with a busy week. Of course, with me, that usually just means that I'm going to complicate things for myself somehow.

A quick note before I get much further though - do you know what this Friday is? Besides being October 1st it will be the very first post for the brand spankin' new French Fridays with Dorie celebrating and cooking our way through her new book - Around My French Table (which she is incidentally out on tour with right now).  This week's first recipe is a favorite of mine and if you don't have your book yet, you really ought to go ahead and order one. You won't regret it!  Also, if you didn't see the article, you can read a nice article that the Post-Gazette did about our own Laurie & Dorie :) This group is going to be awesome!

This week's complication turned out to be by making the recipe twice so that I could perform my own little puff pastry test.  Back when we made the little parisian apple tartlets for TWD I made the rough puff pastry recipe from Martha Stewart's site (you have to watch the video with Michel Roux - it is so great and the perfect simple tutorial).

I made one version from the rough puff pastry and one from the Pepperidge Farms frozen puff pastry.  The rough puff once again beat out the frozen stuff hands down for flavor, flakiness, and texture.  The PF puff pastry was good, but the homemade puff pastry really made this dessert something special.

No surprise that I did the sweeter version over in the 'playing around' section of the book with the added butter and sugar under and over the apples.  I also added a little sprinkle of cinnamon since it is just always such a natural pairing in my book.  I was surprised how much I really enjoyed this dessert, but only the homemade pastry version (the other I ate a couple bites and was done).  As I mentioned, I don't like baked fruit all that much, especially apples, so I think that the fact that they were sliced so thin really made a difference for me.  I would definitely make this again... but probably only when I have some more homemade pastry on hand.

As much as I loved making my own puff pastry, and how delicious it turned out, I haven't done it more than a couple of times.  Not so much because of the effort or even the time and performing the different 'turns'.  It was actually the mess.  As you can see in the video you dump a huge pile of flour and an equally huge pile of little cubes of butter onto your countertop and go to work.

homemade rough puff pastry version

In a house with three small children running around, as you can imagine, counter space is a precious commodity and it will come as no surprise to anyone out there that any time I want to make something that has any time on the counter I have to perform a deep cleaning to feel like I can use the space.  With little kids, believe me, a simple nice thorough wipe-down is never enough!

You may remember not too long ago I mentioned that I would be doing an upcoming review for CSN Stores.  They were kind enough to let me choose what I would like to review and after drooling over any number of things from their selection of Le Crueset and other dutch ovens to dining chairs (I particularly love the breakfast nooks - so cute!), baking rings, and lots of fun, harder to find restaurant and bakery style equipment. CSN Stores is actually comprised of 200+ stores though with just about anything you can think of, not just for the kitchen.

I spent quite a while going through their site browsing and when I found this huge, silicone pastry mat I knew I had to try it out.  The thought of having a sturdy, non-stick, easily cleanable surface to use for breads, cookies, pastries, etc - I had to try it.  Thanks to CSN Stores sending me one I was able to have one and try it out.
 

pastry mat with flour and butter ready to make rough puff

The main thing I can say about this pastry mat is that I can't believe I've gone so long without one! Oh, how much I love this mat.  It is huge for one thing - that is no small mound of flour and butter you see there either.  The work space was clean, plentiful and perfect.  Cleaning up couldn't have been easier since I just removed any left over mess to the sink and washed up, leaving my countertops clean as well.

The ordering process with CSN was simple and easy, and best of all, my pastry mat arrived promptly within a couple of days.  I really enjoyed going through their site and being able to read reviews of products from others as well as having all the product specifications right there.

If you have a baker in your life, or want to get started a little early on your holiday wish list, I definitely recommend that you put this pastry mat at the top of your list.  In fact, forget getting it for the holidays - you need this BEFORE then so that you can really pull out all the stops for your holiday baking! Just think of all the things you could do! I know I am.

THE GIVEAWAY!
To help you along the way, CSN Stores is offering a $25 gift code to one lucky reader to use off of anything in any of their stores.  All you need to do to enter the giveaway go check out CSN Stores and leave a comment on this post before Thursday, September 30 at midnight MST telling me what you would get.  That way, by the time all the comments are in, we'll have one heck of a wish list going right here I'll bet!  The winner will be drawn using Random.org.

For second entry in the drawing tweet about this giveaway and include @PheMom in the tweet so I know about it and in case I don't already follow you on Twitter.  Then LEAVE ANOTHER COMMENT telling me you tweeted so that it's in the drawing.

Good luck!

store-bought puff pastry version

homemade rough puff pastry version

TWD: Flaky Apple Turnovers

Dare I hope that since I am again participating this week instead of missing, and on time even, that this is an upward trend in my blogging? Well, since things here haven't stopped being wild and crazy, let's just say I hope they are on an upward swing. I actually have quite a few things backed up that I want to post, but haven't yet. I hope you will all continue to bear with me!

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe for the Flaky Apple Turnovers was chosen by Julie of Someone's in the Kitchen. The turnovers themselves consisted of what I thought was a very interesting dough, that took some extra effort, but had delicious results, and a simple filling of some diced and spiced apples. Though the recipe suggested Gala or Granny Smith apples, I had some just plain old Golden Delicious on hand and used those with wonderful results, so I can only imagine that a more tart and firm apple would have had wonderful results as well. Aside from making just a half recipe of the dough, the only change I made was to add a little dash of freshly ground nutmeg to the apple filling, pretty much just because I really like nutmeg.

Though I'm really not a big fan of baked apples, I was really pleasantly surprised by how much I really liked these little turnovers - due in no small part to the pastry. The dough was interesting to me because of the ingredients as well as the process. I'm pretty sure I've never made a dough quite like it before, but I know I'll make it again. The ingredients were nothing weird or scary - just different. Sour Cream, mixed with sugar. Added to flour and salt, rubbed with butter and mixed much like a biscuit dough. I think I was a bit heavy handed with the flour and had to add a bit of extra sour cream to get the dough to come together, and then it was even a little overworked I think. So, if I can mess up the dough a bit and still get such great results, that is awesome in my book. The amount of extra time and effort was a bit off putting - with all the hours of chilling and rolling and folding and rolling, etc. but not overwhelmingly so.

My half batch yielded 7 turnovers and I sprinkled some pearl sugar on a few of them, just for fun, before baking. When the time came to bake the turnovers, it was also time to pick Aidan up from school. I decided to live a little dangerously and put the turnovers in the oven to bake unsupervised while I went the two blocks to get Aidan. As my safety net for not wasting all the ingredients and effort I adjusted the temperature to 350 degrees F instead of 375. Since my turnovers ended up getting about an extra 10 minutes in the oven I'm really glad I did. I pulled them out as soon as I got home and they were golden and delicious.

Check the TWD Blogroll for everyone's results here!

So, I figured I would try to fit in a little update on things here for those that are still checking in on me. I am so grateful that you are. It really means the world to me. I have such a backlog of visits that I want to make and see what you have all been up to and say hello, but it seems that since I am almost always either sick or only have my phone (which is ridiculously difficult to comment on blogs from via text!) that it will take me a while to do so. Please know that each and every one of your comments are like little presents to me and that they really help pull me through the days.

I've been feeling sick all the time still, but have been trying really hard to pay attention to what helps and keeping ahead of it. It works part of the time, and then part of the time nothing works and I'm just bound to be sick. I'm 16 weeks along now and into the second trimester far enough to know that no miracle has happened where I am going to get to escape being sick the entire pregnancy again - it is what it is I guess. I am just grateful to be able to say that, hey, silver lining, as long as I'm feeling sick and miserable, things are progressing normally for me!

On the craziness with the job front, I've found a new job, still working from home, thanks to some wonderful friends who are giving me the opportunity to work for them. I'm actually really excited about the job because it is something new and different for me and in a field I find interesting. They have a small construction company, that they want to grow - and think I can help get them there - by taking over a lot of the office / bookkeeping / marketing type work. Lucky for me, I really like running an 'office' - even though it was a law firm before, not construction. The hours are flexible and again, most importantly, from home, so our life can start trying to get back to normal once I figure out how to really do my new job anyway. I will be eternally grateful when I can get back to some semblance of a routine because the stress of being all topsy turvy drives me absolutely crazy - and not the good kind of crazy either.

I can't say enough how grateful I am that I have my foodie and blogging friends for support - I'm sure I would have spontaneously combusted by now without you all!

TWD: Applesauce Spice Bars

Tuesdays with Dorie is brought to us this week by Karen at Something Sweet by Karen. I made these bars last week to serve along with the Brownie Buttons at our open house. I wasn't there for the open house, but there were hardly any goodies left when we got home, so I'd say they were a hit.

The changes I made to the original recipe were fairly minimal - I browned the butter and used pecans. I also used a Fuji apple because it was what I had on hand, and left out the raisins because I didn't have any on hand. My toddler really loved these, but wasn't as big of a fan of the nuts in them. I would most likely made these again, but may try making them without the nuts and just add some more apple or something instead - or maybe cinnamon or toffee chips for something a little different!

All in all, we really enjoyed these (the glaze was of course the best part for me :)

Make sure to check the TWD blogroll for lots more apple-y goodness!

Not much of an update on the preggers front here at this point. Still sick, still tired. Still job searching and still being stressed out (but trying not to be). Anyway, I don't really want to dwell on it too much today, but I did want to say that I'm so grateful to you all for being here and for your support! I really hope to get a bit more back into the swing of things soon! I have several things that I've made when I've felt up to it that I want to share with you, so hopefully the energy to get the posts done and think of something even remotely inspired to say will start sparking in my brain soon.

Love you all! Thanks so much!!

TWD: Parisian Apple and Peach Tartlets + Homemade Rough Puff Pastry

Tuesdays with Dorie this week is hosted by Jessica of My Baking Heart. Jessica chose the Parisian Apple Tartlet. This dessert couldn't be simpler to make... so leave it to me to try to complicate it!

The recipe only calls for a 4-inch round of puff pastry, half an apple, some brown sugar and some butter. Easy, peasey. On top of that Dorie says you can use apples, peaches, pears, plums or apricots to make these. I decided to make two with apple and two with peach.

I added a little extra brown sugar, just because that's how I roll. The pastry was flaky, tender, buttery and the best I've ever had. The fruit was just so-so for me. Of course, that is in large part due to the fact that I am not a big fan of baked apples. I am a fan of baked peaches, but the only peaches at the store were small and not very ripe. They really didn't stand up to the potential of the tartlets.

These were too fun and easy to just set the recipe aside though. DH really liked the apple tarlets, and I will definitely be trying these again when peach season really rolls around here.

Dorie suggests that if you can find all-butter puff pastry, it is the way to go. The thing is that when I searched for all-butter puff pastry a while ago, the only place that I found it was at Whole Foods. It was, if I remember correctly, around $10 for a very small package. I just couldn't bring myself to pay that when I have seen so many delicious looking recipes for a "rough" homemade version of puff pastry which only called for four ingredients that I ALWAYS have on hand - butter, flour, water and a little sea salt. Add to that the fact that we made the danish dough for Daring Bakers a while back and it seemed that it was a similar technique.

So, I made my own rough puff pastry and now, honestly, I don't know that I'll ever buy puff pastry again. It was a bit of work, but totally worth it and what work there was was actually pretty fun.

After all, I think it was pretty fun to pile equal amounts of flour and tiny cubes of butter in the middle of my counter top, plus a sprinkle of sea salt. Then I got to play with my food by crumbling, rubbing and mixing it all together by hand. Dump in some ice water in and mix some more and knead to make a nice dough ball.

After that it was just a matter of patience while the dough chilled in the fridge before rolling it four more times. Yup, four times. They are called turns. As in roll, then fold like a letter, then turn the dough, roll it again, fold it again and more time to chill. Repeat the rolling and folding two more times, then chill a bit more, and voila! You have rough puff pastry.

Make sure to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll for more lovely tartlets!

For the rough puff pastry recipe go here (there is video also). It can also be found in Pastry by Michel Roux.

Happy Halloween! I give you DOUGHNUTS!!

For Halloween, I am sharing with you my very own recipe for Apple Cider Yeast Doughnuts. I used Thomas Keller's recipe from The French Laundry Cookbook as my 'jumping off' point but adapted it quite liberally, so it is definitely very, very different from the original (which I'm sure is wonderful in its own right).

Now, first off, I may as well tell you that these doughnuts, if made along the lines of Keller's process, are a real, well, process. I chose to think of it as a real labour of love. In the future, I plan to try making them again and try to figure out a good way to make them with a faster method, but I like to think that the longer method helped the flavors in this really meld and concentrate.

I almost hate to admit this, but I haven't ever had an Apple Cider Doughnut. Until a couple of weeks ago I didn't even know that we had any cider mills here in Utah. I did find one though and bought two half gallons of their extremely delicious and incredible cider and while we drank the pasturized one, I had great things in mind for the 'raw' half gallon. Anyway, when Mark (aka Manggy) entered this incredible dessert offering in the Art You Eat - Autumn! Event I was obsessed all over again with the idea of apple and doughnuts.

See, here's the thing. Someone says 'cider doughnuts' and I'm just filled with a severe craving... but, for what? I don't know what they are like. Sure, I've seen some other recipes around, but I haven't had them myself. Until I started doing some more research recently I didn't even know what kind of doughnuts they were.

So... now that you know that I really don't know anything at all about cider doughnuts, if this is sacred ground I am about to stomp all over, I hope you will keep in mind that this is just one girl's opinion and should be treated as such. Don't go getting all up-in-arms at me for not knowing. I am just coming in with my own craving and seeing if I can make something to satisfy it.

So. Did I? Satisfy that craving I mean? Well. Oh YES. The research I found looked like most cider doughnuts are fried cake doughnuts - which isn't that appealing to me, but I tried anyway. So, for research purposes I used this recipe and while they were very good, they weren't even close to what I wanted. This photo is proof that I made the original, without any fiddling before stomping on that sacred ground and tradition of cider mills. I did give it a chance.

The problem was that when I thought of cider doughnuts I envisioned light, but not too airy, tall yeast doughnuts, flavored liberally with spices and tasting of apple cider and having a sticky apple cider fragrant glaze and sugary crumbs. I basically wanted to smell and taste the cider and spices in a yeast raised doughnut.

So, since I didn't find that anywhere else (but if you know of another recipe - please share!) and set out to create something to fill that void for me.

These were insanely good. I couldn't stop eating them. They were tall, with great spice and flavor, a hint of apple, but the taste of sweet candy apple on the outside. These are not diet doughnuts. These are not baked. They don't apologize for being anything but what they are - really, really good and probably getting as far from being good for you as an apple can get.

So, that is why I am introducing my Apple Cider Yeast Doughnuts to you on Halloween. That traditional day of all things sugary. Think of all the trick or treating you miss out on now as an adult - how nice would it be to show up at your family's house and be handed some fresh, hot apple cider and a nice warm, sticky doughnut while watching all the kids in their costumes.

Doughnuts are always very kid friendly in our house, so here is proof that the kiddo at my house still loves doughnuts on a Kid-Friendly Friday - and hey, there is apple involved... oh, don't look at me like that!

Since these lovely doughnuts are absolutely beautiful in my opinion, well, they are my entry into my own Art You Eat - Autumn Event. You still have until next week - November 5th - to enter your Autumn entry. It can be something you make especially for the event, or something you have already posted. You can enter as many times as you want. Read here to find out all the details!

Apple Cider Yeast Doughnuts

Day 1:
- Reduce the cider, cool to room temperature
- Using the cider, start the sponge, allow to rest
- Combine the starter and make the dough, refrigerate overnight

Day 2:
- Remove from the refrigerator, allow to rest
- Roll, cut and proof doughnuts
- Fry the doughnuts, glaze or dip in cinnamon-sugar, or do both!
- Eat, enjoy and repeat

The Starter:
1 1/2 cups fresh apple cider, reduced to 2/3 cup by bringing to a boil and then simmering for about 30 minutes over medium-low heat
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 cup all-purpose flour

The Dough:
1 Tablespoon instant yeast
4 tablespoons milk, at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour, more as needed
3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
4 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Canola oil for deep-frying

Cinnamon Sugar Mixture:
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine in a small bowl and mix together well.

Apple Cider Glaze:
1/2 cup fresh apple cider
3 cups confectioners' sugar

Whisk together in a small saucepan and bring to a low boil. Whisk well, and simmer for 5 minutes or until golden, clear, thick and syrupy. Remove from heat and pour into a shallow dish to allow to cool slightly before dipping the doughnuts.

For the Doughnuts:
Place the reduced cider at room temperature in the bowl of a mixer. Sprinkle the yeast into the cider and whisk to dissolve. Add the flour to the bowl and, using the dough hook, mix slowly until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Transfer this sponge to a bowl, cover, and let rest and proof at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, until it has doubled. (You could also place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight at this point if you want.)

Part 2: Combine the yeast into the milk in a small bowl, stirring to dissolve. Place 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, the spices and the salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mixing on low speed, pour in the milk and yeast mixture, followed by the egg yolks and butter. Mix for a minute to combine.

Add the proofed sponge and the remaining flour. Continue to beat at low speed until combined. Turn up the speed slightly and knead the dough for 4 to 5 minutes, or until it has formed a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl. If the dough seems wet, it may be necessary to add 1 to 2 more tablespoons flour. Cover the bowl and let the dough proof overnight in the refrigerator.

To shape the doughnuts:
Place the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to a 3/4-inch thickness. Cut out the doughnuts and place them and the doughnut holes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover the doughnuts with a sheet of plastic wrap that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.

At this point, the doughnuts can be frozen for several days, refrigerated, or allowed to rise at room temperature. If they're frozen, defrost them and then allow them to rise at room temperature for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. They can be refrigerated for several hours or overnight, to rise slowly. When you remove them from the refrigerator, uncover them and let them finish proofing in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes. If they have not been refrigerated or frozen, they should rise at room temperature in about 15 minutes. Once proofed, they will have risen to approximately 1 inch.

To cook the doughnuts:
In a deep heavy large saucepan, heat canola oil for deep-frying to 325 degrees F. Add a couple of the doughnuts and holes to the oil - don't crowd them in - and cook for approximately 30 seconds on the first side. Flip the doughnuts and fry for 1 minute on the second side, then turn back to the first side to cook for an additional 30 seconds, or until a deep golden brown. Remove the doughnuts, drain them briefly on paper towels, and toss them in a bowl with the cinnamon sugar. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts.

Dip the doughnuts while still warm directly in your choice of the glaze, the cinnamon-sugar, or both and place on a cooling rack to set for a minute. Serve while still warm.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Apple Cheddar Scones

So, I'm going to have to keep this post short and sweet because as usual lately, I am running behind - and it feels like I'm running in a million directions. So, while I have no clever words I can think of this week, I did make some little tweaks to this week's recipe choice from Karina of The Floured Apron for Apple Cheddar Scones.

Bacon. Oh yeah. In my humble opinion, there are few things that aren't better with bacon.

I also switched things up a bit by using about half of a fresh Granny Smith apple instead of dried. I just diced it really small and sauteed it with about 1 tablespoon of butter and about a 1/4 cup of chopped pecans.

As for the bacon I just rendered some small pieces of bacon in a skillet and added about 1 tablespoon of brown sugar here too til nice and cooked, then just chopped it a bit smaller - it was about 1/4 cup too.

There was plenty of moisture in the dough to incorporate all my little additions and these were pretty simple to make. We served them warm with some butter and they were great. They would definitely make a great little breakfast edition for a nice change.

Don't forget to check out the others over at Tuesdays with Dorie!

Under Pressure - Caramel Apple Rice Pudding

I have had this idea for a rice pudding for a few years now. I wanted to use risotto rice (arborio), apples, nuts and a kind of caramel flavor. So, why haven't I tried it before now? Well, to be honest, I'm not a rice pudding fan. Rice pudding while I was growing up consisted of left over white rice with some milk and cinnamon. I really didn't like that, so I just never got around to trying something else.

A few years ago was the first time I had any kind of risotto and I was hooked. I was intimidated at first because everything said you had to stand and babysit the arborio rice while it cooked. Stir, add broth, stir, etc, etc, etc. Well, I don't often have time to consistently babysit any dish without having to take several breaks. Then I had heard about a way to make risotto in a pressure cooker. This sounded intriguing, but I'm often a bit of a purist when it comes to making things the traditional way. I don't like taking shortcuts because I always think it will somehow detract from the dish.

Here's the thing though. Over the past few years being a mom, I've come to discover that shortcuts aren't always a bad thing, and aside from that, sometimes shortcuts are just another way to make something. Not traditional, but still good.

So, I finally decided to get around to making this rice pudding idea thanks to Lis over at La Mia Cucina. The lovely Lisa is the host this month for Weekend Cookbook Challenge.

Lis decided that we should all break out the dutch ovens, crock pots and pressure cookers and see what we could come up with. Thanks to her I finally made this and it was well worth it.

Caramel Apple Rice Pudding
1 cup arborio rice
4 cups (1 qt) apple cider
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 granny smith apple, peeled, diced
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
dash of kosher salt
2 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream

whipped cream and ground cinnamon to garnish

Melt butter over medium heat, add the rice and cook, stirring occassionally, until slightly opaque, about 3 minutes.

Add the diced apple, pecans, spices, and brown sugar. Stir to combine, and allow the sugar to melt. Add the cider and stir. Clamp on the pressure cooker lid. Allow to heat up to low pressure level. Turn heat down low enough to maintain pressure. Cook for 5 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the pressure to release naturally.

Carefully remove the lid and add the cream and cream cheese, stir to combine and melt the cheese.

Spoon into serving dishes, top with some lightly whipped cream and sprinkle with a little cinnamon.

Pi Day - Apple Infinity Pie

This pie comes to you as the result of watching too much Fine Living Network. I watched a woman by the name of Twinkle Van Winkle make an "Apple Ribbon Pie" on "The Best Of." Here's the thing though, they talked about the pie and showed it, but didn't actually give a recipe.



So, I thought I would try to come up with one myself. This is where, up to a certain point, things came together beautifully, and then, my brain on sleep-deprivation kicked in.



Well, not exactly horribly, because it still tasted really good, but it didn't look half as pretty as I wanted it to. Yes, taste is more important, but when you see what it took to make this pie (and all the time it to to make it) you'll see why the end result was anti-climatic, even if it did taste good. Thanks brain for forgetting the thickening agent in the mixture so that I sprinkled raw flour on top. Doh! Now what have I done!

So, I'm going to go back to the drawing board and tell you what I should have done. Bottom line, I tried to add a "custard" like filling to the pie, which would have been fine, had I not been once again baking under sleep deprivation. One of these days soon I will have to tell you about all of the fabulous flops and near miss catastrophes that have been occurring in my kitchen. It should make for a good laugh if nothing else.

Here is the process for the Apple Infinity Pie (the way I should have done it with the ingredients - the procedure stays the same). This pie is a labor of love because it took just over an hour to get all the apple slices to look this way - granted this was inbetween taking care of the baby and making dinner too, but it still took forever to do). The process below comes from what was described on "The Best Of" and the crust recipe does come from Ms. Van Winkle's at the Bottletree Bakery. They did publish their "Chess Pie" recipe on Food Network. I made this pie for Pi Day, so this is the entry I'm sending over to the pie celebration of Pi at Kitchen Parade with a homemade crust recipe that was probably the easiest I've done (and really turned out nice). The crust was easy to prepare, only had three ingredients and was easy to just press into the pan and chill til ready. No rolling, no cutting the butter in, etc. And it was still tender and had great flavor.


Crust Recipe:

3 oz cream cheese
8 oz unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Cream together the cream cheese and butter until well combined and softened. Add the flour and combine to make a dough.



Press into the bottom and sides, place in the refrigerator to chill while preparing the filling.



Apple "Infinity" Pie
(I used a (9-inch tart pan)

4 Granny Smith apples, washed and cut into 4 pieces in a square around the core



2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted

juice of one lemon

Using a vegetable peeler, cut thin slices (peel on) of apple. Place them in a bowl full of cold water with the juice of 1 lemon (to keep from browning).



Using toothpicks, roll each slice of apple into a swirl and secure with toothpick, fitting a line up of approximately 4-6 rolled pieces per toothpick. Place these back in the water to keep while you continue rolling.



Arrange the toothpicked apple slices as tightly as you can in the pastry shell in the tart pan. Once they are all in, remove the toothpicks carefully.



Combine all of the spices with the melted butter and brush liberally over the apples in the tart pan. (The pictures from here show the pecan / custard steps).



Place in a 350 degree oven and bake until the apples are cooked and the edges of the tart shell have pulled away from the side slightly and are browned (approximately 35 minutes - if the apples are browning too much before the crust is done cover the entire pan with tin foil).





(So, are you still be curious as to what I did wrong? I combined all the spices with a bit more butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, one egg, 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon heavy cream and sprinkled in some pecans. Those pictures are at the very bottom. In theory all of this should have worked. Why didn't it? I was impatient and actually FORGOT the flour in the mixture. Yippee! It was not thickening at all and took about 1 hour to cook. It really did taste good, but I ended up having to sift flour onto the top of the pie and all of it didn't get absorbed, so it didn't look so good. However, that said, the custardy center was nice). I'm just picky. Anyway, the easiest solution? I just dusted it with powdered sugar before serving and no one was the wiser. Sneaky, huh!?