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11/10/2021 11:01 PMOkay, my friend Lisa suggested I make two pies—one apple and one pumpkin for Thanksgiving.
Easy peasy.
Also green beans and corn bread.
I also want to let you know that I am not going away for the holiday, just a short drive down I-95. So, if you have questions, think of me as your own Butterball Hotline. You have my email below the column, so if you have a question between now and turkey day, I’m around. So, today column is the last word on pies, at least for 2021.
When it comes to apple pie, the greater variety of apples the better. I used buy my apples at a little orchard in eastern Connecticut. The white paper bag said “baker’s choice” or something like that. I don’t know if it’s still around, but I do suggest a farm market that grows a variety of apples.
You want tart and sweet and hard and soft.
If you don’t have a cheat sheet for which varieties are what, ask the cashier at the farm market. I buy at least five pounds. You don’t need all five, but you can eat the rest.
Depending on the size, peel, and core the apples, and cut them into 6 to 8 wedges. Place in a bowl and toss with lemon juice. That will keep them from browning. Here is the recipe:
Lee’s Apple Pie
Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place a sheet pan onto the oven rack. Place bottom pie crust in a 9-inch pie place, leaving about half an inch over the edge of the pie plate. In that bowl of sliced apples, add ½ to 2/3 cup brown or white sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt, ½ tablespoons corn starch, and 1/8 teaspoon each of nutmeg and cinnamon (some people prefer vanilla instead of spices, so you can use a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract) and toss. Place the apples in the bottom crust and dot with maybe 3 tablespoons butter. Place the second crust over the apples. With your fingers, make an edge with the two crusts. Using a knife, cut a few slits over the top of the crust (for steam and to make it pretty). I cover the edge crust with pieces of foil to keep it from browning too fast. (Remove the foil about 10 or 15 minutes before pie is done.) After 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Bake the pie until done, 45 minutes to an hour in all.
Lee’s Pumpkin Pie
For a pumpkin pie, it’s even easier, because it is just a one-crust pie. Buy a 15-ounce can of 100 percent pure pumpkin (I use Libby’s). Don’t buy a can of pumpkin pie mix. Follow the recipe on the can of pumpkin. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place a sheet pan onto the oven rack. Place the crust in the 9-inch pie pan; make a pretty edge with your fingers. Add the pumpkin mixture. Carefully place the pie on the sheet pan in the oven. After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for 40 to 50 minutes, until a knife blade inserted into the center comes up clean. Cool for at least 2 hours.
Blind Baking
If you are making a chocolate cream pie (or some like that), you may be asked to blind bake a pie. One woman on the Internet suggested freezing the unbaked crust (maybe for 2 hours or even longer), then adding foil up to the top and add pie weights or dried beans; bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown.
Again, as I mentioned in last week’s column, you can use a frozen pie crust. I love Oronoque. It comes two to a package. There are always a few packages in my freezer. They come in their own pie pan so you don’t have to ask your friends to please return the good one. I cannot tell you how many I have bought, and they are not inexpensive.
Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.