Homemade Apple Pie: It's been a while.

Hi. It's me, Meghan. It's been a while.

I'm sheepishly peering around the room, like a kid who ate the last cookie in the jar while no one was watching. I feel guilty for not having posted in so long. It's been a while.

Since we last spoke four months ago, I ran a science museum; road tripped with my favorite ally from Tucson to San Francisco and back; drove across the country from Arizona to D.C. with all of my stuff; moved into a condo on the 22nd floor with two wonderful friends surrounded by windows teeming natural light, delicate fall foliage, and a view of the National Cathedral; and began teaching middle school geography, physics, and robotics at a new charter school between the National Portrait Gallery and National Archives. It's been a while.

 

This week, for the first time, I took a moment and baked. I made an apple pie. Though a common classic, apple pie is anything but boring. My cozy apartment came to life with the smells of nutmeg and cloves as the piping hot steam danced in the afternoon glow. It was the most comforting dessert I could make: something so dependable and familiar after so much upheaval and change. I added my own personal touches - apple cider vinegar in the crust and little apple cutouts for the top, but this pie is like coming home again.

          

 

          

 

 

It's been a while. But you'll be seeing more of me. I'm back.

Homemade Apple Pie

yields one 9" apple pie

Ingredients:
Crust:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into pieces
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons ice cold water

Filling:
5 or 6 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into cubes
1/8 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unbleached flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves

Assembly:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon milk or cream
1 teaspoon coarse sanding sugar

Directions:
Crust: Pulse butter and flour in a food processor until it resembles coarse meal. Add the salt, vinegar, and water and pulse until dough begins to form. Remove from processor and divide into two equal parts. Roll each half into a ball, flatten into a disk, and wrap with plastic wrap. Let chill in refrigerator for an hour.

Filling: In a bowl with a wooden spoon, mix apple cubes, orange juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

Assembly: Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove dough from refrigerator. Lightly flour surface. Roll one disk into an 11" round, then fit it into a 9" glass pie plate. Transfer filling to pastry bottom. Scatter 3 tablespoons of butter over fruit. Roll the remaining disk of dough out on the lightly floured surface into an 11" round, then cut out mini apples. Layer mini apple cutouts on top of filling to make top crust, fold edges of dough under, and crimp edges. Brush crust with 1 tablespoon of milk or cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake until pastry is deep golden (cover edges of crust with foil if browning too quickly), 60–70 minutes. Set pie aside to cool for several hours before serving.
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Blueberry Pie

How did you celebrate Memorial Day Weekend? My weekend was a croquet-playing, bloody-mary-drinking, poolside-reading, floppy-hat-wearing, guacamole-dipping, bbq-grilling, blueberry-pie-eating kind-of-weekend. 

And it was good.

         

Blueberry Pie is a summer classic, and this recipe pays due homage. The filling is rich and tart; the crust, and I quote a friend and fellow pie-consumer, "tastes like flaky butter." Give it a try at your next BBQ or this 4th of July! Happy eating, friends :)

Blueberry Pie 

yields one 9-inch round pie

Ingredients:
Crust
2 cups flour
12 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into pieces
2 tablespoons heavy cream, chilled
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, chilled
2 tablespoons ice water

Filling
4 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Assembly
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions:
For the crust: In a food processors, pulse the butter and flour until it resembles a coarse meal. With the processor on, slowly add the cream, vinegar, and ice water until the dough begins to hold together. Press the dough into a rough ball, then transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough a few times until smooth. Flatten dough into a disk. Wrap disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

For the filling: Toss blueberries with lime juice, sugar, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, and vanilla in a bowl. Set aside.

For the pie: Preheat oven to 375°F. Set aside 1/4 of the pie dough. Roll the rest out on a lightly floured surface into an 11" round, then fit it into a 9" pie plate. Transfer filling to pastry bottom and scatter the 3 tablespoons of butter over fruit. Roll the remaining 1/4 of dough out on the lightly floured surface and cut out shapes for the top. Place on top of filling. Brush crust and cut-outs with 1 teaspoon cream. Bake until pastry is deep golden (cover edges of crust with foil if browning too quickly), 60–70 minutes. Set pie aside to cool for several hours before serving.

Enjoy.

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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I never, ever have to take another planetary science class. ever. Celebration Pie.

          

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

yields one 9" pie with top and bottom crusts.

Ingredients:
Crust
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons ice cold water

Filling
2 cups fresh, diced strawberries
2 cups diced rhubarb
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange zest

Assembly
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon coarse, sanding sugar

Directions:
For the crust: In a food processors, pulse the butter, flour, and salt until it resembles a coarse meal. With the processor on, slowly add the ice water and vinegar until the dough begins to hold together. Press the dough into a rough ball, then transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough a few times until smooth. Divide dough into 2 balls, one slightly larger than the other, and flatten each slightly to make a flat disk. Wrap disks individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

For the filling: Toss all filling ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.

For the pie: Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll the larger disk of dough out on a lightly floured surface into an 11" round, then fit it into a 9" glass pie plate. Transfer filling to pastry bottom. Scatter the 3 tablespoons of butter in small pieces over the fruit filling. Roll the remaining disk of dough out on the lightly floured surface into a 10" round, then cover the pie, fold edges of dough under, and crimp edges. Brush top crust with milk and melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake until pastry is deep golden (cover edges of crust with foil if browning too quickly), 60–70 minutes. Set pie aside to cool for several hours before serving.

Enjoy.
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Spring Foodventures

Hello Friends. It's been a while (grad school happens). It's finals week, so what better way to procrastinate papers, projects, and studying than to share pictures of my spring food adventures, or foodventures as I like to call them.

We begin with Valentine's Day, where we rang in this holiday of commercial love with an Anti-Valentine's Day party and booze. Here we have some watermelon and raspberry heart-shaped jello shooters and bittersweet cookies (inspired by BitterSweets candies, the anti-SweeTart sugar fix).

We move on to Presidents' Day Weekend. In honor of George Washington, I made cherry sugar cookies. I cannot tell a lie...

Continuing with holidays, Easter happened. Easter is a season of renewal and redemption, but I did something unforgivable. I deca-peep-tated a beloved, American treat. Peeps are quite possibly the grossest candy, despite their adorable nature. They were sacrificed to a higher cause: s'mores bars.

I whipped up some deviled easter eggs for an Easter supper hosted by my gracious friends Rob and Kristen. We had quite the dinner spread: Honey Baked Ham, Hawaiian Rolls, Bacon Sweet Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Cilantro Jicama Pineapple Spinach Salad, Green Beans with Walnuts and Cranberries, and Quinoa and Sun-dried Tomato Stuffed Mini Peppers. Oh and cake.

The following week Rob and Kristen got married! Cecilia hosted a hot-pot-style dinner for Kristen and the ladies before Kristen flew off to Florida. While the boys were off enjoying less clandestine entertainment, the ladies oogled Gene Kelly's bum in An American in Paris with no shortage of wine.

          

Then came the wedding! and my first stay in sunny Florida - dancing, macarons, cake, beaches, sunsets, drum circles, and seafood galore! A more fantastic trip could not have been had.

          

Once we got back to Tucson, it was time for the 1st Annual Taco Festival and Annual Tucson Pie Party (ALL IN ONE DAY!). That was the best smelling day of my life.

My favorite taco was the Chicken Prickly Pear Taco. MMMmmmMmm. I have dreams about this guy.

          

          

My favorite pie ended up being a savory Apple and Kale Pie with onions. Who knew?

It's been a challenging spring, but food has been kind to me (and my hips).
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