Apple Pie

I am so late with this post.

My work laptop, a.k.a. my lifeblood, decided to die a sudden and inexplicable death while I was in Santa Maria for work. Not only did the thing die, it died on the first (of two) days that I was going to be away from LA. I was distressed, needless to say.

After much hullabalooing and ballyhooing and sobbing, I got a new laptop yesterday. Thank goodness for roaming profiles, or I would have been extraordinarily upset.

(And that concludes the nerdy section of this entry.)

Not only did my beastly computer decide to snub its filthy nose at me, but my schedule! It has gotten completely out of control. These things happen, of course- the last show was no exception. It seems to be a little more intense on this film- between the high expectations, the dizzying feat of having to make something worthy of Tim Burton, and the scope of work, it's a lot of do.

We'll get through; we always do.

For now, so I don't have to think too hard, here's the apple pie recipe that I used on Christmas:

This pie is beloved by everyone but my sister! It was a hit last year, the first year I made it. Then I lost (!) the recipe, so this year, I tried a new one, from Paula Deen, since her pumpkin pie recipe has never failed me (well, after I tweak the amount of spices and canned pumpkin, that is).

This apple pie is a great first pie to make, I think, because it's ridiculously easy- even easier than the pumpkin pie, really! It's messier to make and a bit of a pain, what with the lattice crust on top, but the actual assembling of the filling is very quick, with very few ingredients.


Apple Pie
adapted from Paul Deen

3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Dash of salt
4 - 4 1/2 cups peeled, chopped cooking apples (I slice rather than chop)
1 16-ounce jar of applesauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons of butter, cut into small pieces
pie crust

The dry ingredients, measured out and waiting to be whisked together. Okay, honestly, I didn't use a whisk. I used a fork. Sometimes, I can't be bothered with a whisk.

Applesauce plus spices and sugar? Delicious! It really is good- I smeared some on my hand (accidentally!) and tasted it. I used unsweetened all-natural applesauce, because this pie does not need any more sugar in it.

Apples- I used one Jonagold, one Yellow Delicious, and two Granny Smiths. Maybe I added a third Granny Smith, I don't remember anymore. I also snack while I slice, so who knows how much of the apple actually makes it into the pie.

I like to peel the apple and then slice them into thin wedges. I don't chop them as suggested in Paula's recipe, because I, being the strange obsessive-compulsive person that I am, like to place each apple slice into the pie crust. That way, I get more apples into each pie. Seriously.

The pie, after I've wedged every single slice of apple into it. I take a little bit of the leftover applesauce mixture and dollop into the empty spaces, but using sliced apples eliminates the big gaping holes in the pie that chopped apples would yield.

I usually cut up the butter as I peel the apples and then put the butter in the fridge. I take out the butter just before I need it. Butter melts so quickly that I don't feel the need to let it come to room temperature. Plus, I like to use the knife once and be done with it.

I didn't make my own pie crust, don't be silly. I bought one pie crust in the tin and then I bought another pie crust that's sold without the tin, rolled up. I slice the non-tinned crust and arrange it in a lattice. As you can see, I rather like the crust that's on top of the pie, so I leave the lattice quite wide.

Sometimes, I sprinkle sugar on the top. Sometimes, I go crazy and brush egg white onto the top crust (leftover from pumpkin pie) and then sprinkle with sugar. This time, I was lazy and left it plain. I cannot figure out how to prevent my lattice from cracking, and I've pretty much decided that I don't care. It's still delicious!

There's always leftover pie crust from the lattice, and there's always leftover applesauce mixture from the filling. I always slice up another apple (Granny Smith this time), smear it around in the leftover applesauce mixture, and then make a little cobbler-type thing. My sister made the leaf shapes- I usually just chop up the crust and press onto the apples.

Yum. This is devoured first, as it's very thin and so it cools very fast.

And this concludes my blog for 2009.

It's been a zany year, but I'm too busy to reflect back on it! After this movie's done, I'll dwell a bit and see where I'm at.

Happy eating!