Mom's Apple Pie

There is nothing more quintessentially American than apple pie.  It's the cliche standard, for cryin' out loud. 

My mother,  who raised 5 kids, and is in the process of spoiling 14 grandchildren, is an award winning pie baker.  Her crust, taught to her by her Czech immigrant Nana, is flaky, light, and perfectly browned.    Most of the time, her fillings are seasonally driven--peach and blueberry in summer, apple and pumpkin in fall, but she'll churn out a pecan, or chocolate cream or lemon meringue upon request.

For Mothers' Day, Mom baked a rainbow of pies, in spite of the fact that it should have been her 'day off'.  We shot the apple "in progress" and took notes on her methods.  Since she doesn't follow a recipe, we had to watch and record.

Mom's Apple Pie
Serves 8
Heat oven to 425
NOTE:  this makes 3 crusts, which means you can do a pie with a bottom and top crust (like the apple detailed here) as well as a single crust pie like a pumpkin or lemon meringue.  If you don't want to make the second pie, the dough can stay in the fridge for a few days or freezer for a few months.

For the pastry:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup Crisco
6 TBSP butter
9 TBSP ice water

For the apples:
5 or 6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced--Mom uses a variety of types for optimal flavor and texture.
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
2 TBSP butter


Cut butter and Crisco into flour with pastry cutter or two butter knives.  When it forms a coarse meal, stir in ice water 1 TBSP at a time, stirring until dough forms.  Knead briefly to completely blend.  Cut dough into 3 equal pieces, roll each into a ball and then flatten into a disk.  For the apple pie you will need 2 of the discs; reserve the other for another pie or quiche.  While you prepare the apples, refrigerate the dough.  Mix all ingredients except butter, and toss well.  Back to the dough:  roll out the disk on a floured surface or pastry cloth with a floured rolling pin.  The circle needs to be several inches larger than the pie dish and no more than 1/4 inch thick.   Carefully lift the pastry round and gently place it into a 9 inch pie dish.  Fill with prepared apples, and cut the remaining 2 TBSP butter into pieces; place atop apples.

Roll out second disk of dough and place on top of the pie.  Wrap the overhanging dough together and pinch it to seal.  Mom makes a sort of wavy, ruffle pattern, but she said you can also mash it down with a fork if you are not inclined to the decorative.  Once the pie is sealed, poke about 10 holes in the top crust with a fork; this will allow steam to escape and avoid a crack or worse.

 Bake pie for about 40 minutes.  You may want to wrap the crust edges with foil to prevent overbrowning.  Remove when crust is a beautiful golden color and edges are just slightly brown.  Serve warm, topped with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.


And now for the true confession:  I am not a great lover of pies, despite my mother's prodigious skill in creating them.  To me, if a dessert doesn't contain dark chocolate, it better have a caramel center, some rich, buttery cake or at least a hefty scoop something gooey and custardy oozing over the top.    Pies, to me, are an awful lot of work for something that kinda resembles breakfast.  But I am definitely in the minority; my mother's pies invoke raptures in most people.  Perhaps it is due to the fact that they were commonplace in my childhood; whereas scarcity breeds desire, their near daily presence in our kitchen made them not so rarified.   But that does not diminish my my appreciation for her gift, or my awareness that perfect pastry is really difficult to execute.  I strenuously disagree with the adage "easy as pie."

The BEST Macaroni and Cheese

Mac and Cheese, ready to bake.

Few dishes conjure up the universal rapture of mac and cheese, particularly for the minimal cost and effort it involves.   It's a sure fire crowd pleaser for kids, adults, vegetarians, and omnivores of all types.  It is economical, and is  great do-ahead option as it can sit in the fridge for a couple days before using or in the freezer for a couple of months.  I can be counted on most summer weekends to deliver a mammoth sized trough of this to the beach, and it is always a welcome addition to the inventory--kids often eat the leftovers (if there are any) for breakfast.  If you use  high protein noodles you have a pretty nutritious meal without meat, and even picky pasta palates won't recognize the subterfuge when the noodles are bathed in cheese.



Perfect Mac and Cheese

Serves 6


1 box pasta--Penne, rotelle, farfalle medium shells, elbows, or any short pasta shape.
1/2 lb Cooper Sharp cheese (available at the deli counter)
1/2 lb Super Sharp Cheddar cheese (also from deli counter)
1 1/3 cup milk
1/2 stick butter
Wondra flour as needed--approx 1/4 cup  (for thickening)
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs, panko, or crushed Cheese-it/goldfish crackers  (optional, for topping)
1/2 cup grated cheese (optional, for topping)
salt/pepper/garlic powder to taste

Cook shells according to package directions til al dente (usally one minute less than they recommend on the box.)

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt butter, milk and cheese together over low heat, stirring frequently. When totally melted, sprinkle Wondra flour into sauce, whisking constantly til creamy and slightly thickened.  Drain pasta, pour into greased 13x9 rectangular pan and pour sauce over pasta. Mix well. Top with bread crumbs and grated cheese if desired. Bake 30 minutes at 350 til top begins to crisp, or cover and place in fridge or freezer til needed.  Enjoy.

A FAST American Classic: Monkey Bread

Why is Monkey Bread so named? It's a great name. I'd never heard of it before moving the U.S., and according to Wikipedia, no-one outside the U.S. eats it.

Casting my mind back to parties/brunches at which I'd seen this delicious baked pastry served I had a theory about how this sweet treat might have earned its name. It's 'cos everyone jumps on the pastry the minute it's pulled from the oven.  And because the bread is piping hot which means it is thrown from hand to hand in order to cool it down, those eating the bread look less like ravenous wolves and more like a group of monkeys eating communally.  Well that was my theory.  (And it's shared by several others according to my very superficial internet research.)

Another site, however, offers a more learned suggestion.  It may be related in some way to the appearance of the monkey puzzle tree, or even look like monkey brains.  Feel free to pick the story you like best.

This recipe, lifted from People magazine, has a scant four ingredients.  This is my type of baking!  Quick and very few dishes to wash up as you go along...

Here's how to do it...

• 4 z 7.5oz cans refrigerated biscuits
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 tbsps cinnamon
• 1 1/2 sticks of butter

Monkey bread in the raw - who knew baking could be so easy...?

1. Preheat oven to 350degrees
2. Combine 1 cup sugar and 2 tbsps cinnamon in a ziploc bag
3. Cut biscuits into quarters, add to bag and shake until coated
4. Transfer to a greased 12inch tube pan/ring
5. Melt remaining butter and sugar and cinnamon and bring to the boil.  Pour over the biscuits in the tin.
6. Bake biscuits until dough has risen and they are all nicely puffed up - approx 35-40mins.
7. Remove fromn oven and allow to cool.
8. Invert onto a plate and watch your guests tear the bread apart!

People started tucking into this before it got out of the baking pan!

Now I'm a believer.

Voila.

An American Classic with a Twist: Meatloaf Minis

Meatloaf minis..doused in ketchup

As a transplant to the U.S., many of the dinner staples - the "meals like Mom made" - have passed me by.  I didn't grow up dining on such dishes as meatloaf and mac 'n' cheese.  It's been an interesting process acquiring these recipes for my own family.

I found the latest addition to my repertoire of "American classics" while waiting in a doctor's office, perusing a copy of People magazine.  In the food section of the magazine is a 'Great Ideas" page, which is basically a cook-it-quick recipe that anyone can make. 

This recipe earned a place at our table because while my son adores meatloaf, my daughter won't touch it because the meat is just too dense. 

This recipe keeps all parties happy;

• it's a souped up meatloaf (you wouldn't know that it's crammed with healthy veggies!);
• it's much lighter than a standard meat-heavy meatloaf - the recipe uses grated vegetables and rolled oats which seem to break up the density of the meat itself;
• and I like the aesthetics!  The meatloaf minis look more like oversized meatballs, which I prefer to having a slab of meatloaf on my plate. 

Win, win, win.

The meatloaf minis I made looked just as gorgeous as the (no doubt digitally enhanced) photo in People  magazine, but I promise you they come out of the oven looking most pretty...

Although this recipe uses turkey, I substituted the same quantity of ground beef.  Likewise, rather than using shredded broccoli, I substituted already grated carrots (see above).

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup grated onion (I didn't fancy grating an onion - and ruining my nails in the process - so bought a pre-chopped pack of diced celery and diced onion).
• 7tbsp ketchup
• 1 1/4lb lean turkey mince
• 3 cups shredded broccoli coleslaw, chopped
• 1/2 cup fat free liquid egg (I didn't have these in my pantry so used a real egg instead!)
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt

Method

• Heat oven to 350degrees
• Line 9-10 compartments of a muffin tin with baking cups or spray with a non stick spray
• Combine all ingredients except 3tbsp of ketchup in a bowl and mix thoroughly (I actually pre-fried the onion and celery I was adding, in order to ensure that they were nicely softened, but the recipe doesn't call for this...)
• Divide mixture evenly among the cups.  Brush each muffin with 1tsp of ketchup
• Bake for 30-35 mins.

Now on to dessert - cheat's Monkey Bread! 

This is more an assemblage than real baking. 

But that suits me perfectly. 

This too from People mag.  It was a pretty productive trip to the Dr. that day...

Recipe to follow.