I consider myself very lucky in that I have fabulous co-workers. And I don't just say that because some of them read the pie blog. Our office is an incredible mix of smart, funny, sweet people with an amazing array of talents and interests. Not least among these is my boss, Jeff, who has contributed many fine articles and recipes to the pie archives. He and his family are true pie aficionados. On Friday, we had an office birthday party for our two wonderful March birthdays, and Jeff made a really super apple pie. I figured that I should write it up, because it has caused me to reevaluate a few things about how I approach apple pie.
Overall, it was a lovely, sweet pie with a beautiful and tasty crust. Jeff tried to claim that the crust was not up to his standard, but it was certainly a million times better than any crust I have ever made. For apples, he used one each of the following: Pink Lady, Jazz, Sonya, Braeburn, and Granny Smith. It was a really interesting mix of apple flavors - you could really taste the sweet apples (I'm thinking Pink Lady?). I had been leaning towards the tart apples in my mixes, but now I'm reconsidering. Another thing that was a revelation for me was that he diced his apples, so that they all mixed really well, and every forkful of pie had pieces of every apple. It was super! Despite the smallness of the pieces, they retained their shape and that slight crispness that is so important. I think I need to be cutting my apples smaller. I had found some recipes for grated apple pies and just couldn't understand how that could be appealing - I think now that it must be a lot like the diced apples? Hmmmm. Experimentation is necessary. Oh, and also? Jeff didn't use any cinnamon, so the apple flavors really came through. Maybe apple pie doesn't need any spices at all? Well, it was a delicious pie and it reminds me that I need to get back in the kitchen soon. I have some recipes all picked out; now if I could just find some time.....
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Promoting the baking and consumption of pie in Virginia and beyond.
About Me
Aspects of Apple Pie to Be Investigated in the Pie Odyssey
- 1. Type of crust: double crust, crumb top, meringue or other
- 2. Variety of apple, or dare we suggest, combination of varieties of apples
- 3. Apple piece shape: chunks, slices, or other
- 4. Amount of sugar
- 5. Combination of spices
- 6. Necessity of miscellaneous other ingredients
Apple Pie Count:
- 3
Non-Apple Pies Made:
- Green Tomato Pie
- Concord Grape Pie
- Pear Raspberry with Crumb Topping
- Pear Tart
- Sour Cream Pear (2 varieties)
- Helen's Strawberry Birthday Pie
- Sour Cream Strawberry
- Strawberry experiment pie (scorched)
- Rhubarb with Crumb Topping
- not a Derby Pie
- Mock Apple
- Lemon Chess
Crisco used to date by the Pie Odyssey
- 1 cup
6 comments:
This has nothing to do with your apple pie post, but I thought of you when I saw some beautiful meringue pies at a gas station/Czech bakery in La Grange, TX today. They had big curls of meringue. There was also some sort of crumb-topped pie. I didn't buy a pie, but I did get a sausage kolache.
Awww, now I'm homesick for Texas! Pie and kolaches are an unbeatable combination. And at a gas station! This could only be more Texas if you 1. were driving your truck, and 2. saw some bluebonnets, both of which seem like very strong possibilities
What a lovely blog, Ellen!
This is very interesting. I recently made an apple pie with a pastry school student, and she sliced the apples super thin, like in a French tart, and it was a completely different experience. I too am wondering if my apple chunks are too big, but I had never hear of diced apples. How small were the pieces, exactly?
It's hard for me to imagine an applie pie without cinnamon. Did Jeff use any other spices?
Marie! So good to see you, as it were!
Jeff cut his apples about the size of a pencil eraser, or maybe slightly smaller. All he used, if I remember correctly was butter and sugar. It was pretty amazing; my thought was that the pie odyssey would involve continually adding more ingredients, not taking them away!
Wow. I have to try this! I am also surprised about the removal of ingredients, but I guess less is more. Ellen what are you doing awake at 4:54 am? Snacking on pie, I hope.
I think pie is in fact the only thing that could get me out of bed at 4:54 am...but no, my timestamp seems to think we're on the West Coast so at 7:54 I was still slurping down corn chex and wishing it were pie.
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