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December 06, 2006
Love in Sweet Apple Cranberry Pie
During the Thanksgiving season, I made three of these pies, but I only photographed the first time. I wanted to post this earlier, and the more I waited, the more I waited... and now it feels sort of inappropriate to post about something joyous as pie while myself (and many others) are grieving over the loss of James Kim. I don't want to dwell on this sad time and my heart goes out to his family. I find comfort in the fact that everytime I made one of these pies, I made them with love. Next time you're in pain, remember to surround yourself with those you love. I know it sounds cheesy and cliche, but love does help heal.
I've been meaning to make a pie from scratch for a while now. I love to cook with cranberries, so when I saw an Apple Cranberry Pie recipe in The Oregonian, I decided to make a pie for Thanksgiving.
First, I whisked together 2 1/4 cups of flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. With a fork, I cut in 1/2 cup (1 stick) of cold butter and 1/4 cup of cold Crisco. Once the mixture resembled coarse crumbs, I sprinkled in 5 tablespoons of ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. I split the dough into seperate but equal parts, wrapped them both in plastic wrap, and refridgerated for an hour. You should refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but no more than 24 hours. Beyond that, you should freeze the dough. I did freeze the dough once, and it was good for rolling after standing at room temperature for an hour.
On a lightly floured surface, with a floured rolling pin, I rolled one pastry disk into a 12-inch glass round. Roll the dough round gently onto rolling pin; ease into pie plate. Trim the edge, leaving a 1-inch overhang.
I preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl I tossed together 6 cups of Braeburn apples, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 cups fresh cranberries, 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg and 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger. I piled the mixture into the unbaked pie shell, mounding the filling high in the center. Then, dotted with butter cut into small pieces.
I rolled out the second disk of dough and draped it over the filling. Fold the edge of the top crust over the bottom crust and pinched lightly to seal. I pressed a fork along the edge for a decorative look. Then, I cut three slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush top with 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water so it will brown in the oven, and then sprinkle with sugar.
What I hate about baking: you can't open the oven door until it's done cooking, because it lets a lot of the heat out. What I love about baking: You stick it in the oven and leave it alone until it's done cooking! I baked the pie for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Then, per instructions, reduced the heat to 350 degrees and continued baking for another 45 minutes.
I should have taken more care piling the mixture into the pie shell, because it was the "tallest" pie I'd ever seen. Still, making the pie was pretty simple. The hardest part was letting it cool at least 1 hour before cutting. I set the timer for that too.
[Photos taken with NIKON D70 Digital Camera]
Posted by Stacy on December 6, 2006 07:54 PM | Filed In: 101 in 1001 & Food
Comments
It looks like you were reading the comics at the same time, in one of those photos. lol
Posted by Alan at December 6, 2006 09:56 PM
hey, youre pretty
Posted by Rowena at December 7, 2006 08:11 PM
mmm... that looks good! Can you make me one? :-D I hope you guys are doing well!
Posted by Thomas at December 8, 2006 08:54 PM
I'm not really into the pies, but wow, the pictures make it look delicious. :P Might wanna try?
Posted by suki at December 9, 2006 03:47 PM
My god... you can cook, too? Looks, brains, and cooking? can you be anymore perfect??
Posted by Geo at December 10, 2006 02:15 PM
