An apple a day...

Week 1, Pie 1: My Dad's Apple Pie

Well, it's official... my year of pie has begun!  And so far, it's a success!

Before I delve into my first pie adventure, I feel I should clarify a few things about this challenge.  This is definitely a pie-per-week quest... not just a 52-pies-in-a-year quest.  This means I can't double up one week and then not bake the next.  The purpose of this rule is discipline.  I want to take the time to really research the story behind the pie and let it mean something, and I want to also ensure that even when I'm sick of it (which very well could happen... it's not as tough as if it were to be a pie per day, but still, pies take time), I have to suck it up and bake.  Also, I tend to procrastinate, so this also guarantees that I won't wait until week 50 to make 48 pies.  Which would be horrible, on many levels.

Another thing... I'm trying to learn the stories behind these pies, but I will only post the story behind them with direct permission from the recipe-giver.  That being said, I will still update this blog with each pie (and probably even in-between), providing you with my little anecdotes on what this grand adventure is doing for me (or to me... very different things).

Also, no, I will not be eating these pies on my own.  I am only allowed 1 piece, and the rest goes to family, friends, and co-workers.  I'm not a total glutton, folks.  Also, I have a bridesmaid dress to fit into by November, and I'm going to be cutting it close as is!

Finally, each and every pie will be different.  I can't bake the same thing twice, ever.  So, I may be a little lenient with what qualifies as a pie... a few tarts may slip into the mix.  I don't think that's cheating though, so unless I hear a very good argument otherwise, that's my rule.

Okay, on to the star of the show... PIE!

I decided for my first pie to bake my dad's apple, for many reasons.  First, I felt that this year had to start with my story.  I couldn't imagine kicking off such an endeavor with someone else's; it just wouldn't be right.  Second, my dad has many pie recipes, but I chose apple because it's the first thing that comes to mind when I think of pie.  Apple pie is the pie, right?  It's traditional, popular, and American.  Also, as it's September, it's the perfect way to welcome fall.  It's not my favorite pie (that would be lemon meringue), but it just had to be apple.

Choosing such a popular pie to start is a bit of a lofty goal, because everyone knows apple, and it's probably the only pie that, were anything to go wrong, everyone would be immediately able to tell.  Thankfully, it didn't!  So, hooray for that.

The story: I'm extraordinarily lucky to have two parents who both love to cook and bake.  Because of this, I've been able to learn different recipes, stories, and techniques from both sides of my family, which I think is a pretty cool thing.  My mom does more of the cakes and cookies as far as baking goes, but pie is pretty much my dad's terrain.  My family is also pretty close-knit and we're full of traditions that we do together... some traditional, others totally random, but we do a lot together (some of my friends have even gone so far as to nickname us the Waltons).

Growing up, one of the things that we did together was bake pies.  Once or twice a year, we would clear the kitchen table, roll up our sleeves, and spend an entire weekend afternoon baking.  Someone would be in charge of peeling apples (we had a super sweet machine that would peel them for you... when it was working, which it rarely ever did.  Still, it was cool), another would slice them, someone else would mix dough, and so on.  We always made pies in bulk, too, so it really did take all afternoon.  By the end, we would be covered in flour, and our kitchen would be an absolute mess, but we had wonderful, delicious, home-made pies to eat all week for breakfast.  It was awesome.

Oddly enough though, pie has never been my favorite dessert... I love it like I do any sweet post-dinner (or pre-dinner, or whenever) treat, but I'm much more of a chocolate person, so while I loved those afternoons and I savored the pies that came of them, it was never the thing I would've immediately asked for were the dessert choice given.

That being said, last fall while studying in Spain, pie was one of the things I missed most about home.  Cakes, cookies, pastries... those are all found in abundance in Europe, but pie really is a strictly American dessert.  Thankfully, after weeks of pie-related homesickness, a friend of mine made three apple pies for the Thanksgiving dinner we held for the Americans in our program.  It was glorious.  It was autumn and home together on a plate, and I relished every bite (the Spaniards, on the other hand, weren't big fans of it... weirdos).

So, for the last year I've had a completely new appreciation for pie, and I really don't want to ever be without it again.  That's probably a bit of where this idea came from.  Like I said in the previous post, Waitress and Pushing Daisies were fairly recent pie-related discoveries of mine, and they fed into my mild pie obsession.  Also, I think it should be noted that I declared last May (while figuring out what exactly to do with my life), that I want to open a pie shop.  Which my parents encouraged.  Kind of.  Rock on.  It's still in the back of my mind, but that will be determined by how this year goes.

Okay, sorry for the rambling!  Anyway, that's my apple pie story (as well as an added reason for this endeavor).  Now on to this week's pie-scapades!

So I purchased all of my pie ingredients yesterday, but discovered while transcribing the baking directions this morning that I was lacking in the materials deparment.  I had a pie plate and a rolling pin, but I didn't realize I would need a few other things (dough chopper/slicer thing, wax paper for rolling, aluminum foil, etc.).  So I had to improvise, which worked out fairly well (though a plastic shopping bag in place of wax paper was a bit cumbersome), but I'll definitely be heading back out shopping this week.  Also, I would really love to find that apple-peeling machine...

So I put the whole pie together and successfully got it into the pan with only minor crumbling (and also minor spilling... my pants are covered in flour and apple chunks littered my kitchen floor).  I even cut out little hearts for decoration on top!  Cute.  Once I completed this, I took to dancing around my apartment for five minutes, pumping my fists into the air in triumph, all the while yelling "I made a pie, I made a pie, I made a pie!"  It was quite something, let me tell you.  And that was before it was even in the oven, where all joy could have easily been sucked from my life had it burned.  But it didn't, so more fist pumps and dancing and yelling occurred.  Also, phone calls.  Lots of them.  I left a fair number of voicemails channeling all of my excitement into verbal form.  I'm sure they're quite lovely.

So the pie came out looking almost as picturesque as I could hope for... the crust was golden brown on top, light and flaky, and the apples were cooked thoroughly.  I don't want to toot my own horn, but I was quite pleased with it.  Props to my dad for the recipe, because it's a fantastic fall pie and the perfect one to start the year.  I just need to remember to add more corn starch to the apples in the future... it was a bit runny.  But for a first time out, I'm thoroughly happy.

Oh!  Also, I had extra dough and apples, so I pulled out my bite-sized brownie pan:

 

From the Wilbur chocolates company... it's awesome!  Anyway, I also made mini cup-pies!  They also turned out awesome, and they're quite adorable.  Win win!

I will probably be using that again at some point in the pie-related future.  They're just too cute for words.  I would post a picture, but my stupid camera isn't working.  Again.  I have a lot of words for you, Kodak.

*ahem*

Anyway, some friends came over, we devoured almost all of it, had lively conversation... all good things.   

A Sunday evening with a slice of pie... does life get much better?

:)

Alrighty, I think that's it for now... send along pie recipes with your story!