Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share a virtual kitchen table with other readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by to talk about music, your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper…. Newcomers may notice that many who post in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table and hope to make some new friends as well.
It’s apple season. And it’s getting chilly so it’s baking season, too.
Who doesn’t like apple pie?
Apple pie was one of the first things I tried and failed at. Seems that using lard in crusts is tricky. Then I just eschewed the lard, learned a good crust recipe from Susan G. Purdy’s excellent book, As Easy As Pie: From Basic Apple to Four and Twenty Blackbirds. She uses a combination of butter with a little Crisco to make a good, flaky crust. I kept Crisco in the fridge — only for pie crust. How did I moisture proof my crust? Apricot jam smeared all over the bottom crust in a thin layer before filling the crust with the fruit. It’s easy and it works. And for thickening the fruit? A bit of tapioca.
I stopped eating wheat some years ago and haven’t made a pie since, sadly. But there are some good gluten free alternatives now. Here is a recipe I may try very soon. I like that it does not involve Crisco. Nope. Sour cream for tenderness! And no trans fats.
There are so many types of apple pie. Pie with two crusts, pie with crumb topping, pie with custard under the apples, apple galette, or little, hand-held apple turnovers. When you say “as American as apple pie”, which one do you mean? So many apple varieties, so many ways to put them in a pie…
I understand store-bought gluten free puff pastry is available now, making a puff pastry sheet pan “slab pie” easily possible — check this out: Apple Cheese Slab Pie from Better Homes & Gardens. The cheese in question is cream cheese, not cheddar — it’s more of a cheesecake apple pie.
I am really intrigued by the concept of slab pies. There are cookbooks devoted to the concept. (I think I want a book of slab pies. Just because. I just need to figure out the gluten free crust problem first. Slab pies are largely crust, after all.)
But let’s get back to pie pans. How about this genius idea baked in a regular pie dish? Bacon-Latticed Apple Pie. Now that takes the idea of apple pie for breakfast to a whole new level!
Please share your apple pie tricks if you have them. Do you mix apple varieties? Use an egg wash? Put anything extra in the crust like cheese or brandy?
Here’s Max Miller with some history:
The weekend begins now. Come in, be comfortable, and share your day, your weekend plans, your menus! This is an open thread.