Pie #1: Control Pie

Okay, we're starting with a pretty standard recipe, both for filling and crust in order to establish a baseline to compare all future pies to. For the filling, I used a modified version of the basic apple pie recipe in the 1962 edition of the Joy of Cooking. The crust derives from Auntie Sue's friend Sis, who is an excellent pie baker. It's basically flour, salt, crisco and ice water.

Pie profile:
Apples: 1 part Golden Delicious, 2 parts Stayman
Lemon juice: none
Sugar: small amount, white sugar only
Spices: a mix of cinnamon and nutmeg
Crust: rolled pastry, top and bottom.

Things I learned while making the control pie: Don't lick crisco off your fingers. It's time to buy a pastry knife. When it says to dot with butter, that should happen before the top crust goes on. It's time to go through dough rolling 101. The edges on this pie are irregular, and I had to repair a minor crack.

Predictions: The pie will be slightly tart, with a very traditional spice profile and a moderately juicy consistency.