The Perfect Traditional Nonpartisan American Apple Pie.
(Did I miss anything in its description?
Recipe for one 9" inch Pie. Double the ingredients for two.
You will need:
-9" Pie Pan. (The older the better. See if you can find a couple in a flea market. Pots and Pans have memories. I didn't just make that up. I made it up last week.)
-a 2-cup measuring cup
-2 pretty deep bowls for mixing
-Rolling pin (and a surface upon which to roll the dough)
-Measuring spoons
Pie Crust: *
-2 Cups of white flour
-1/2 Teaspoon salt
-1/4 Teaspoon sugar
-1/4 lb. of butter
-3 Tablespoons Corn Oil
-6 Tablespoons of Water (more or less)
*Now, someone might say, "Hey, I saw a recipe for pie crust very similar to that in Julia Child's "Art of French Cooking." My answer to that is, "Me too!" I confess to having checked her out on a lot of things over the course of three decades, but I was merely confirming what I already knew. My measurements may have become more precise, but as you will see, depending on the flour and other factors, you have to do a lot of improvising. What I did change, as the result of J.C's tome, is that I switched from lard to butter. And, to be perfectly honest, it tastes a lot better with butter, although what we are doing is swapping one animal fat for another; albeit, the butter is taken from the animal without causing it to lose its life in the process.
Mix the dry ingredients first, then, with both hands, work in the butter, when you think that you've mixed things pretty well, add the oil, mix some more. Gradually add the water a little at a time The mixture should turn into a firm ball in your hands. You will know that you have it right when all the dough on your hands comes off and has become part of the dough ball. (There are no hanging pieces of dough and the ball has no fissures.) It ought to feel smooth in your hands.
Squeeze or cut the ball into two equal halves. Put one ball aside, and start working on the other. Flatten it out, and then, lay it on a non-porous surface; a cool marble surface is perfect. Sprinkle some flour on the surface and the rolling pin, then proceed to roll the dough out in any direction. Have fun doing it. When you've gotten the dough much larger than the pan, sprinkle some flour on top of the dough, and roll the dough up on the rolling pin. Roll it out over the pie tin and fit and trim it. Cut away any large excess around the edges, leaving enough to trim off later.
The Filling Ingredients:
-9 to 10 nice size apples, peeled and sliced into quarter moon shapes about 1/4 to 1/2 " thick.
-1 Cup of sugar ( A few tablespoons less, if you like)
-2 Tablespoons of Flour
-3/4 Tablespoons of Cinnamon
-1/8 Teaspoon of Nutmeg
-1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
-2 Tablespoons of butter
-2 to 4 Tablespoons of Rum or Cognac (Optional) (For me it's never an option to sprinkle the cognac over the freshly peeled and cut apples. It gives the pie a Very Special Ol' Pie flavor. I let it stand that way for a few minutes, then, I add all the rest of the ingredients- Except The Butter- mix everything around.
Then, before going on, I have a choice. I can use the second piece of dough for a covering or if I am going to make a Crumb cover, use it for a second pie, failing that, powder it with flour and put it in a plastic sandwich bag and place it in the freezer for use some other day. When you need it, because of the butter and oil, it will defrost on handling.
Pour the apple mixture into the prepared pie tin and form it in an even manner. Take the 2 Tablespoons of butter and cut them up into small pieces and dot the top of the pie. Place the second rolled out dough and cover the top of the pie. Press the edges of the two pieces of dough (top and bottom) together. Then, with a fork, press down on the edge of the pie fluting and sealing the edges together. With a small sharp knife cut a small cross in the top and make three one inch incisions in each quarter of the top of the pie. This will let the steam out of the pie while it is baking.
Place in a preheated oven (425 degrees) for 50 to 60 minutes. Ovens don't heat evenly unless you have bricks in them, so check the pie, periodically, and if it seems that around the middle of the baking time, one side of the pie is cooking faster than the other, turn the pie around 180 degrees. (I didn't say lower the temperature.)
Take the pie out when it looks done and the juices are bubbling out and burning the crust.
Serve. When it's real hot, it's fun to watch a scoop of ice cream melt on top, a coke with a twist of lemon, cup of coffee or, homemade lemonade with a mint leaf. Don't know how to make the World's Best Lemonade? Well, I have the recipe...
Crumb Cover.
Forget the dough cover and the butter that were going to use to dot the pie. Instead, in a bowl, mix:
-1 cup of flour
-1/2 cup of firmly packed light brown sugar
-1/2 cup of butter
Mix the ingredients, thoroughly, and make into a ball. Break the ball up into small crumb size pieces and sprinkle on top of the apples. Make sure that you cover the pie evenly with the crumbs. Place into a preheated oven (400 degrees) for approximately 50 minutes. Turn the pie around in the middle of the baking time if it looks as if it is turning brown faster on one side than the other. Take out sooner if you see dark caramelizing spots on top. You are done.
I will submit the other pie recipes, soon. However, I will not repeat the dough making process. Well, maybe.
Szia,
From Budapest,
Sunday, January 29, 2006
The Perfect Pumpkin Pie
Okay so this is Hungary (Europe) and North American Pumpkin isn't found except in a few exceptional specialties stores, don't give up. I have a secret, you can use Canadian Squash (Kanadai Tök) and it may even be more delicious than the unborn Jack 'O Lantern variety. Just don't call it a Squash Pie because no one will eat it.. Ertem?
Prepare the Pie crust ahead of time and fit it into the pie tin.
Pie Crust:
-1 Cup of all purpose white flour (sifted)
-1/4 Teaspoon salt
-1/4 Teaspoon sugar
-1/8 lb. (4 tablespoons) of butter
-1 1/2 Tablespoons Corn Oil
-4 Tablespoons of Water (more or less)
Mix the dry ingredients first, then, with both hands, work in the butter, when you think that you've mixed things pretty well, add the oil, mix some more. Gradually add the water a little at a time The mixture should turn into a firm ball in your hands. You will know that you have it right when all the dough on your hands comes off and has become part of the dough ball. (There are no hanging pieces of dough and the ball has no fissures.) It ought to feel smooth in your hands.
Flatten it out, and then, lay it on a non-porous surface; a cool marble surface is perfect. Sprinkle some flour on the surface and the rolling pin, then proceed to roll the dough out in any direction. Have fun doing it. When you've gotten the dough much larger than the pan, sprinkle some flour on top of the dough, and roll the dough up on the rolling pin. Roll it out over the pie tin and fit and trim it. Cut away any large excess around the edges, leaving enough to trim off later.
Now comes the fun....
Pie Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cup cooked or baked pumpkin (Firmly Packed)
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons of Flour
- 2 eggs slightly beaten
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl (Sugar, Salt, Flour, Ginger and Cinnamon). Then mix the ingredients into the pumpkin mixture which I assume you have already placed into a large bowl. Mix up everything well until the pumpkin mixture is liquidous.
Next, in a small bowl, break two eggs, add the 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and beat gently. You don’t want it to become frothy. Done? Mix the egg-vanilla mixture into the pumpkin mixture and stir real well until it become totally homogenous.
Okay, you are almost there. Now, add the cup of milk and whip or stir everything until it is smooth. It should be liquidy almost like a sauce.
Pour into the prepared pie shell. You didn’t forget the pie shell?
Tear off strips of aluminum and encircle the edge of the pie--shiny part out. This well prevent the edge of the pie crust from baking faster than the rest of the pie. Pinch and fold the aluminum so it doesn’t fall off.
Place the pie into a hot oven 400 degrees Fahrenheit (Celcius?).
The pie should be ready to remove in 45 minutes.
Place on a cooling rack and wait until it cools. It goes well with real vanilla ice cream.
N.B. Synthetic ingredients like vanillin leave a chemical after taste on the palette. It would be just as well if you had used paint thinner. N’est-ce pas?
Prepare the Pie crust ahead of time and fit it into the pie tin.
Pie Crust:
-1 Cup of all purpose white flour (sifted)
-1/4 Teaspoon salt
-1/4 Teaspoon sugar
-1/8 lb. (4 tablespoons) of butter
-1 1/2 Tablespoons Corn Oil
-4 Tablespoons of Water (more or less)
Mix the dry ingredients first, then, with both hands, work in the butter, when you think that you've mixed things pretty well, add the oil, mix some more. Gradually add the water a little at a time The mixture should turn into a firm ball in your hands. You will know that you have it right when all the dough on your hands comes off and has become part of the dough ball. (There are no hanging pieces of dough and the ball has no fissures.) It ought to feel smooth in your hands.
Flatten it out, and then, lay it on a non-porous surface; a cool marble surface is perfect. Sprinkle some flour on the surface and the rolling pin, then proceed to roll the dough out in any direction. Have fun doing it. When you've gotten the dough much larger than the pan, sprinkle some flour on top of the dough, and roll the dough up on the rolling pin. Roll it out over the pie tin and fit and trim it. Cut away any large excess around the edges, leaving enough to trim off later.
Now comes the fun....
Pie Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cup cooked or baked pumpkin (Firmly Packed)
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons of Flour
- 2 eggs slightly beaten
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl (Sugar, Salt, Flour, Ginger and Cinnamon). Then mix the ingredients into the pumpkin mixture which I assume you have already placed into a large bowl. Mix up everything well until the pumpkin mixture is liquidous.
Next, in a small bowl, break two eggs, add the 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and beat gently. You don’t want it to become frothy. Done? Mix the egg-vanilla mixture into the pumpkin mixture and stir real well until it become totally homogenous.
Okay, you are almost there. Now, add the cup of milk and whip or stir everything until it is smooth. It should be liquidy almost like a sauce.
Pour into the prepared pie shell. You didn’t forget the pie shell?
Tear off strips of aluminum and encircle the edge of the pie--shiny part out. This well prevent the edge of the pie crust from baking faster than the rest of the pie. Pinch and fold the aluminum so it doesn’t fall off.
Place the pie into a hot oven 400 degrees Fahrenheit (Celcius?).
The pie should be ready to remove in 45 minutes.
Place on a cooling rack and wait until it cools. It goes well with real vanilla ice cream.
N.B. Synthetic ingredients like vanillin leave a chemical after taste on the palette. It would be just as well if you had used paint thinner. N’est-ce pas?
Great Grandma's Classic Pancakes
Even the most dedicated cannibal occasionally hungers for a vegetarian dish-- especially pancakes. The ingredients are basic and can be found in even the most neglected of pantries. What has taken Great Grandma's perfect pancakes out of the reach of most working parents, besides the recipe, are the accouterments, condiments and accessories that Great Grandma used, and, that you (or Grandma or Ma) were too busy to take notice... but I did! That was lucky for you and the rest of humanity.
For starters: any one who has known me for any period of time, I have made these pancakes every Sunday for more than 30-years. Even a continental shift and six thousand miles did not cause me to skip a beat. On my first Sunday in Budapest, I made them. Conversely, I made them on the first Sunday after returning to the State.
Pancake Ingredients for (3 to 4 people):
- 1 1/2 cups of flour
- 3/4 -to- 1 to teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/2-to03/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1 1/2 cups of milk
- 3/4 to 1 cup of water, depending if you like them as I do, crepe-lite
- 4 table spoons of melted butter
- 1 egg well beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional... but take the option)
-Fresh raspberries (the best choice), sliced strawberries or sliced banana or a mixture of both to be sprinkled on your pancakes before eating.
-Genuine pure Maple syrup!
I am biased toward upstate New York maple syrup, however, I understand Vermont makes it, too. But, unless I can really avoid it, I stay away from Canadian Maple syrup (CAMP is one brand). Sometimes, however, you don't have a choice and you must go Canadian. The thing is, they mass cook their syrup for export using gas stoves in steel pots. I've sat in a sap house with farmers making an extra buck in late winter, when the sap is running, usually late February - early March (When the ground thaws during the day and freezes up again at night).
They used wood (0ne-year-old seasoned maple, what else?), and cooked it slowly (40 gallons of sap for one gallon of syrup). The Canadian geese were returning and could be heard overhead. The fragrance of the cooking sap was divine. Then, to hear two old guys tell stories while eating the jarred food that their wives had made the summer before was enough for me to write a story about them. Having said all that, I have to admit that I use the only maple syrup that I can get in Hungary... Canadian imported to Hungary via German at $25 a liter.
Utensils:
-Spatula
-Large plate
-Ladle
-Cake cover (If you are going to make 10 to 30 pancakes you need to cover them as you take them out of the skittle two by two).
-And, MOST IMPORTANT, two 10' cast iron frying pans. It's important to know and remember that Great Grandma was never anemic. To put it another way, Great Grandma never had Iron Deficiency Anemia, but Grand Ma probably did. The reason? Grand Ma bought the advertising hype and switched from iron to stainless steel pots. Mom probably went one further and switched to aluminum. Bad moves.
People a hundred years ago didn't suffer from iron deficiency because they cooked in iron pots. And, enough easily absorbable iron leached out into the food to keep them rich in iron. This is not a myth, it's good provable science. On the other hand, Popeye could never have gotten strong from the iron in spinach because the iron in spinach is not absorbable in the human gut. But, if it's calcium that you need: then, spinach is one of the richest sources of calcium.
Stainless steel is good for boiling water, but that's it. Aluminum just sucks outright. And, by the way, aluminum leaches harmful amounts of aluminum into your food.
Process:
Mix the dry goods in a large mixing bowl. Then, switch your attention to the stove. The pans should be on slightly more than moderate fire. Melt the four tablespoons of butter in one pan and put a little tab of extra butter in the other. When the butter is melted, pour into the milk which should have been waiting in a two-cup measuring cup. Mix well.
Add the beaten egg to the milk and butter mixture. Mix well. Add the optional, non-optional vanilla: Mix.
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix. Now, this is important. Do you want thick pancakes? If so the mixture should pour off a ladle like a cake mixture. If you like them crepe-lite (I think that I coined that word), add water and thin out the mixture.
Have you been watching the stove? Take a piece of paper towel and wipe of the excess butter (mostly burnt butter fat). Make sure that the pan is well greased. When the pans start to SMOKE, they are hot enough to try your first batch. I remember Bill Safire once saying that children are like the first batch of pancakes you have to throw them out. Bunk! I have never had to throw out any pancakes. They have come out perfect from start to finish. I can say that, too, about my children..
When the topside of the poured pancakes start to dry (They bubble and lose the glistening sheen), it's time to turn them over. When, you see steam rising up, check them out. They should have brown splotches. Take them out, pour in the second batch. You should not have to grease your pan again. However, if the pans are new and you have not seasoned them properly, you might have to add more butter to the pans, but wipe it off right away.
Don't forget to smother your pancakes with fruit and maple syrup (They don't need any more butter)
I usually eat ten or more crepe-lites stacked up. One can, also, roll them up filled with fruit and syrup.
Treat your pot(s) right. When you are done, wash them in warm soapy water. Never use a metal scrubber or Ajax (scouring powder) on your pans. If you have to, let them soak in water. Dry them, put them back on the stove, HEAT them up and add a little vegetable oil on them. Wipe them thoroughly with paper towel. Make sure you have oiled the entire inside, Then let them cool off before putting them away.
Szia,
From Budapest
For starters: any one who has known me for any period of time, I have made these pancakes every Sunday for more than 30-years. Even a continental shift and six thousand miles did not cause me to skip a beat. On my first Sunday in Budapest, I made them. Conversely, I made them on the first Sunday after returning to the State.
Pancake Ingredients for (3 to 4 people):
- 1 1/2 cups of flour
- 3/4 -to- 1 to teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/2-to03/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1 1/2 cups of milk
- 3/4 to 1 cup of water, depending if you like them as I do, crepe-lite
- 4 table spoons of melted butter
- 1 egg well beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional... but take the option)
-Fresh raspberries (the best choice), sliced strawberries or sliced banana or a mixture of both to be sprinkled on your pancakes before eating.
-Genuine pure Maple syrup!
I am biased toward upstate New York maple syrup, however, I understand Vermont makes it, too. But, unless I can really avoid it, I stay away from Canadian Maple syrup (CAMP is one brand). Sometimes, however, you don't have a choice and you must go Canadian. The thing is, they mass cook their syrup for export using gas stoves in steel pots. I've sat in a sap house with farmers making an extra buck in late winter, when the sap is running, usually late February - early March (When the ground thaws during the day and freezes up again at night).
They used wood (0ne-year-old seasoned maple, what else?), and cooked it slowly (40 gallons of sap for one gallon of syrup). The Canadian geese were returning and could be heard overhead. The fragrance of the cooking sap was divine. Then, to hear two old guys tell stories while eating the jarred food that their wives had made the summer before was enough for me to write a story about them. Having said all that, I have to admit that I use the only maple syrup that I can get in Hungary... Canadian imported to Hungary via German at $25 a liter.
Utensils:
-Spatula
-Large plate
-Ladle
-Cake cover (If you are going to make 10 to 30 pancakes you need to cover them as you take them out of the skittle two by two).
-And, MOST IMPORTANT, two 10' cast iron frying pans. It's important to know and remember that Great Grandma was never anemic. To put it another way, Great Grandma never had Iron Deficiency Anemia, but Grand Ma probably did. The reason? Grand Ma bought the advertising hype and switched from iron to stainless steel pots. Mom probably went one further and switched to aluminum. Bad moves.
People a hundred years ago didn't suffer from iron deficiency because they cooked in iron pots. And, enough easily absorbable iron leached out into the food to keep them rich in iron. This is not a myth, it's good provable science. On the other hand, Popeye could never have gotten strong from the iron in spinach because the iron in spinach is not absorbable in the human gut. But, if it's calcium that you need: then, spinach is one of the richest sources of calcium.
Stainless steel is good for boiling water, but that's it. Aluminum just sucks outright. And, by the way, aluminum leaches harmful amounts of aluminum into your food.
Process:
Mix the dry goods in a large mixing bowl. Then, switch your attention to the stove. The pans should be on slightly more than moderate fire. Melt the four tablespoons of butter in one pan and put a little tab of extra butter in the other. When the butter is melted, pour into the milk which should have been waiting in a two-cup measuring cup. Mix well.
Add the beaten egg to the milk and butter mixture. Mix well. Add the optional, non-optional vanilla: Mix.
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix. Now, this is important. Do you want thick pancakes? If so the mixture should pour off a ladle like a cake mixture. If you like them crepe-lite (I think that I coined that word), add water and thin out the mixture.
Have you been watching the stove? Take a piece of paper towel and wipe of the excess butter (mostly burnt butter fat). Make sure that the pan is well greased. When the pans start to SMOKE, they are hot enough to try your first batch. I remember Bill Safire once saying that children are like the first batch of pancakes you have to throw them out. Bunk! I have never had to throw out any pancakes. They have come out perfect from start to finish. I can say that, too, about my children..
When the topside of the poured pancakes start to dry (They bubble and lose the glistening sheen), it's time to turn them over. When, you see steam rising up, check them out. They should have brown splotches. Take them out, pour in the second batch. You should not have to grease your pan again. However, if the pans are new and you have not seasoned them properly, you might have to add more butter to the pans, but wipe it off right away.
Don't forget to smother your pancakes with fruit and maple syrup (They don't need any more butter)
I usually eat ten or more crepe-lites stacked up. One can, also, roll them up filled with fruit and syrup.
Treat your pot(s) right. When you are done, wash them in warm soapy water. Never use a metal scrubber or Ajax (scouring powder) on your pans. If you have to, let them soak in water. Dry them, put them back on the stove, HEAT them up and add a little vegetable oil on them. Wipe them thoroughly with paper towel. Make sure you have oiled the entire inside, Then let them cool off before putting them away.
Szia,
From Budapest
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