Old Friends & Apple Pie

Raelyn & Ben @the Lion King

Over the Labor Day holiday, we had a fun filled weekend packed with family time and catching up with old friends.  Saturday night, Eddie, Benjamin and I met up with my best friend, Rhiannon, her husband, two children, and her parents, niece and nephews.  Rhiannon and I have known each other since junior high, after I moved to Buffalo, Mo, and started attending youth group at Calvary Chapel.  However, our friendship didn't blossom to the deep connection we have today until after high school.  Through my close relationship with her mother, Shirley, the former youth leader at Calvary Chapel; and similar life events, not to mention our mutual appreciation for Aerosmith, Cher and chocolate, Rhiannon and I bonded.  The bond hasn't been broken and continues to deepen as we've married, moved several hundred miles away from each other, celebrated and sympathized with one another through the pregnancies and births of four children (two for her, two for me:), and encouraged each other through our spiritual walk with Christ.  Needless to say, seeing all of them this weekend was revitalizing, to say the least.  We attended the Broadway production of Disney's the Lion King at the Fabulous Fox Theater, this is a MUST SEE, and the theater itself is breathtaking.  On Sunday we survived a family trip to the Magic House, (note to self: holiday weekend+rainy weather+free entry with school supplies=MADNESS at the Magic House).  We concluded the day by unwinding and refueling at one of our favorite St. Louis pizza places, Fortel's Pizza Den.
On Monday, Eddie, the boys and I met his parents at Suson Park for a family picnic.  Eddie's mom insisted on not just bringing the meat (fried chicken), but the sides as well.  She told me all I needed to bring was the desert.  Of course, I must go all out and bring one heck of a desert if she's doing the rest of the work.  Homemade apple pie sounded appropriate, so I sat out to find the best homemade apple pie recipe possible.  I had two requirements: it must use a double crust recipe, and it has to include fresh apples, not canned.  It wasn't hard to find a tantalizing recipe via Pinterest, and below is a link to the recipe as well as a picture.  I made only a few modifications: I added a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (can't have apple pie without cinnamon in my opinion), and I used salted butter and butter flavored shortening in the crust recipe.  The family was impressed and I received rave reviews.  I'll definitely file this recipe away to use at Thanksgiving.  Thank you, Pinterest, and CountryLiving! 


Apple Pie Recipe (Country Living via Pinterest)

Pastry:

• 2 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 10 tablespoon(s) cold butter (salted) or margarine, cut up
• 6 tablespoon(s) vegetable shortening (butter flavor)
• 6 1/2 tablespoon(s) ice water

Apple Filling:

• 2/3 cup(s) sugar
• 1/3 cup(s) cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
• 3 1/2 pound(s) Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, and/or Braeburn apples, each peeled, cored, and cut into 16 wedges
• 1 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoon(s) butter or margarine, cut up
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon(s) sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

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Directions

1. To prepare pastry: In food processor with knife blade attached, blend flour and salt. Add butter and shortening, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until large moist crumbs just begin to form.
2. Shape dough into 2 balls, 1 slightly larger. Flatten each into a disk; wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight. (If chilled overnight, let stand 30 minutes at room temperature before rolling.)
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place cookie sheet on rack in lower third of preheating oven to bake pie on later. To prepare apple filling: In large bowl, combine sugar with cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add apples and lemon juice, and toss to coat evenly.
4. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll larger disk of dough into 12-inch round. Ease dough into 9 1/2-inch deep-dish glass or ceramic pie plate. Gently press dough against bottom and up side of plate without stretching. Trim dough edge, leaving 1-inch overhang; reserve trimmings. Spoon apple mixture into pie crust; dot with butter.
5. Roll remaining disk for top crust into 12-inch round. Center round over filling in bottom crust. Trim pastry edge, leaving 1-inch overhang; reserve trimmings. Fold overhang under; bring up over pie-plate rim and pinch to form stand-up edge, then make decorative edge. Brush crust with some egg white. Reroll trimmings. With knife or cookie cutters, cut out apple and/or leaf shapes; arrange on pie. Cut short slashes in round to allow steam to escape during baking. Brush cutouts with egg white, then sprinkle crust and cutouts with sugar.
6. Bake pie 1 hour 10 minutes or until apples are tender when pierced with knife through slits in crust. To prevent over-browning, cover pie loosely with tent of foil after 40 minutes. Cool pie on wire rack 3 hours to serve warm. Or cool completely to serve later.

Not bad for my 1st homemade apple pie