Fresh Picked Apples, Apple Pie

Our neighbors at the end of the block are in Greece and while away, they gave us permission to raid their apple tree. As we were walking up our block I told the girls to only get as much as they could carry. Whoa! These girls could carry a lot.

These apples are small but pack a delectable punch and they look beautiful arranged in a large bowl in the middle of the kitchen island. I used about half of what we picked to bake two apples pies, 1 for us and 1 for our neighbors.

The new word in our house is a la mode. Every time my girls ask for a snack they now say, "May we have it a la mode?" Tis true, everything is better with ice-cream, but nothing is yummier than a large scoop of ice-cream oozing over an even larger slice of apple pie.

Fresh Picked Apples, Apple Pie

Pastry for Single-Crust Pie (You'll need two of these 1 for the bottom and 1 for the top):

In bowl stir together 1 1/2 cups flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in 1/2 cup shortening until pieces are pea size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cold water over part of the flour mixture; gently toss with fork. Push moistened dough to side of the bowl. Repeat, using 1 tablespoon water at a time (4 or 5 tablespoons total), until flour mixture is moistened. Form dough into ball. On floured surface, roll dough into 13-inch circle.

Better Homes and Gardens, November 2007

Pie Filling:

3 pounds assorted apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon heavy cream

In a large bowl, toss together apples, lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour into prepared pie shell. Place second piece of rolled dough on top, and gently press over apples. Gently press the top and bottom pieces of the dough together. Brush top with the mixture of heavy cream and egg yolk. Cut three vents in the top to allow steam to escape. Freeze until firm about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees, with the rack in the lower third.

Place pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until crust begins to turn golden, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Continue baking, rotating sheet halfway through, until the crust is a deep golden brown and the juices are bubbling and have thickened, 40 to 50 minutes more. Transfer pie to wire rack to cool completely. The pie is best eaten the day it is baked, but it can be kept at room temperature, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.

Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, New York