An apple a day ... well you know the rest

Food

October 20, 2009

Janis Saunders, Democrat Food Critic

Anonymous The Weatherford Democrat Tue Oct 20, 2009, 02:36 PM CDT

They are in the stores, in the market, everywhere there are fresh apples. Not just apples, but good, firm, tasty apples.

They are delicious as a dessert, but they can also be combined with pork to give you a delicious entree. They are good for you and especially your children.

This year, the apple crop is better than years past and the prices are definitely better. Last year, I didn’t like having to pay more than a dollar a piece for little apples that were harvested weeks before they appeared in our stores.

The first pie I ever made was an apple pie. My pie crust left something to be desired, but my mother and dad ate it and said it was delicious. I had asked Mother if I could use her recipe. She laughingly told me she didn’t have a recipe. She took apples, dusted them with flour, sugar, cinnamon, and topped it with a crust. They always came out perfect and there was never a crumb left.

I always wanted to make pie crusts like Mother’s, but they never turned out as pretty as hers. They tasted good, but they wouldn’t win a contest by any means.

I had a neighbor who had been the principal dessert maker at a small hotel in De Leon in the early ‘20s. Winnie could roll out a crust that was completely round, she would make perfect flutes and it tasted like it had been made in heaven. When I needed a pie, I would go next door with the ingredients and Winnie would make the pies for me. I always gave her credit for the tender, flaky pie crusts and that tickled her.

Now we have the refrigerated pie crusts and they are pretty good. Maybe not as flaky as regular homemade ones, but they are certainly easy.

Whichever pie crust you use, the fillings are important. That’s where you get the flavor, texture and taste. This apple pie is good and easy.

Good ole’ apple pie

6-7 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples such as Gala or Granny Smith mixed.

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons al purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon butter (unsalted)

Sprinkle apples with lemon juice. In a large bowl stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add apple slices. Toss together all ingredients.

Transfer apple mixture to the pastry lined pie plate. Dot with butter pieces. Trim bottom pastry to edge of pie plate. Roll out second crust and cut into strips for a lattice top pie

Note: In the holiday season, I like to make this apple pie and add 1/2 cup dried cranberries.

If you don’t want to do a lattice top, simply add second crust and crimp top and bottoms together. Don’t forget to make vent holes in top of pie. Bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes or until mixture is bubbling. (I usually sit it on a piece of foil to catch boil-overs if they occur.)

To make sure bottom crust is crispy, put a pizza stone in oven and let it heat, then place pie on top and cook.

This next recipe is one my daughter, Diana, cooks for her sons, Bryan and Steven. She says one day she hopes to have a little bit left over instead of being devoured at one sitting.

Apple crisp

5 cups peeled, sliced cooking apples

3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup regular rolled oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and cinnamon

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place fruit in a 2-quart square baking dish. Stir in the granulated sugar.

For topping: In a medium bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour ad spices. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the nuts. Sprinkle topping over filling.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until fruit is tender and topping is golden. Cool slightly.

The grandsons like Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla on top. For that matter, who wouldn’t like dessert topped with Blue Bell?

Since Jim has been bringing in Gala apples, we have eaten them with cheddar cheese for lunch and it certainly satisfies our hunger. I like apples with Monterrey Jack also.

Mother used to make a real quickie main meal which was so easy and quick.

Apples and pork

Place thick pork chops in a glass or ceramic baking dish. Place cut apple rings on top generously. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and 3/4 to 1 cup brown sugar.

Cover with foil and place in oven heated to about 375 degrees. Bake approximately 40-45 minutes or until fork inserted in chops goes in easy. Replace foil and let sit on table until everyone is ready to eat. Pair the pork chops with baked sweet potatoes or candied sweet potatoes. Another fall vegetable is butternut squash. This goes well with pork.

I used to love to go downtown to Ben E. Keith’s when the apples would come in. You could walk into the cooler and the aroma of the apples mixed with the oranges and grapefruit could make your mouth water. I would get a half bushel of red and yellow delicious apples and hurry home so I could pick out a firm yellow delicious, grab a good book and do nothing until the girls and Jim came home in the evening.

So, go out, buy some good apples and get ready for Halloween.

u

Janis may be reached at: jks4417@aol.com.

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