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When they are in season here in California I make a special trip to Sonoma County to get Gravenstien Apples for baking. Then I swing by Tomales to get fresh oysters. YUM!
Granny Smith's here also, If I could just figure out how to make a decent pie crust i'd be set.
The trick is using either very cold shortening or making sure the water you add, which is only a few tablespoons, is ice cold. You'll get a great pie crust every time.
This weekend, I'm going to make an apple dumpling. I saw this done on a television program yesterday and it looked so good.
Core the apple without cutting into the bottom. Fill with raisins and a bit of brown sugar. Sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top and add a tad of butter. Wrap the apple in a piece of thinly rolled pie dough that you cut into a large circle (enough to wrap the apple completely). Brush with egg wash. Roll in sugar and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream or leave plain. (I'll probably skip the ice cream) That's comfort food, for sure. I'm sure I'll be fine when I awake from the sugar coma.
Granny Smith's here also, If I could just figure out how to make a decent pie crust i'd be set.
HIGHLY recommend Alton Brown's pie crust recipe/method. The plastic bag idea is ingenious and leaves very little cleanup. Watch the videos. BTW, there is absolutley NO substitute for pure lard. Skip the crisco and artificial shortenings and go straight for lard. Lard by far makes the best pastries. Don't know why we got away from it.
I always use a variety. A couple of Granny Smiths, and about two other kinds. This way I'm more likely to get the flavor and amount of juicyness I want.
Crust is simple. 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup shortening, 3 cups flour. 1T sugar, 1teas salt and about 13 T cold water. It's a moist dough, so use a lot of flour on your board and sprinkled on the dough when you roll it out. If the dough is too dry, then it's hard to work with. Go boldly, with confidence.
It is surprising and slightly counter-intuitive, but golden delicious makes a good pie. They hold their shape well. Just cut back on the sugar and maybe mix in a pippin or a granny smith to get a little tart flavoring; or maybe bump up the lemon juice just a smidge.
Granny Smith is the classic, original baking apple, but I once saw an apple pie recipe that said you should always use 2 or more different kinds of apple in a pie. They said one or more kinds of baking apple, however -- they specified "firm and flavorful." I tried that recipe using half Granny Smith, half Royal Gala, and it was the best pie I ever ate.
Grannys are adequate. They are a good idea if you don't live in an apple crop area. But you miss out on a whole range of apple flavor using them alone.
I gew up using Macintosh. Then I found out that they aren't "supposed" to be baking apples, since they get too soft too quickly. I tried Granny Smith, Honeycrip, Gala, all of the nationally distributed breeds.
What I jave been doing the past few years is taking two Granny Smith for tartness, sliced quite thin. Then two Macs for the particular taste I live, then four of whatever else I've picked, found or been given. Honeycrisp works, Jonamacs are okay sliced thicker, pippins for sure.
I macerate for quite a while in sugar. Drain the syrup into a small saucepan. Then once the apples have lost volume, dump them into the shell I've rolled out, with some more sugar and my spices. Boil down the syrup into a concentrated apple molasses, pour over apples. Top with crust. I've blown my own apple pie crafting socks off with this method - you don't get the cratered top crust, the empty pie hollow, the excess liquid in the finished pie.
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