Apple Pie USA

[PieSusan]

I don't often take foodie pictures as I am not good at the techie part but I am learning. This is my version of Maida Heatter's Apple Pie U.S.A. I use different apples and more of them. It is my favorite apple pie and is fantastic with cinnamon or vanilla ice cream.

By the way, the wooden butcher's block and cutting board are antique and came from my maternal grandfather's restaurant, "The Woodland Steakhouse".

 

[QSis]

This looks magnificent, Susan! Some of the other photos were kind of hard to see, but they sound wonderful!

Lee

 

[PanchoHambre]

That is a beautiful Pie... It reminds me of the apple pies made by my late German-American step grandmother... I have never had the likes of such an apple pie of since.

My pies this TG were sub par. I need to work on them. I LOVE pie.

 

[sattie]

I got a hankering for some pie Susan!!! Is that how you got your forum name???

 

[texasgirl]

Oh yummmmmmm!! I love apple pie. I bet it tastes as good as it looks too!!

 

[Arwen]

it looks delicious!!! do you also put vanilla cream inside?

 

[pdswife]

One can never have toooo much pie! This one is beautiful.

 

[PieSusan]

Sattie, actually, my name stems from a bit of internet silliness. There is a cartoon, "Weebl and Bob" whose characters LOVE pie and say, MMMMMPIE all the time. It is not a good fit for this board but long ago I thought it was funny and since I love to bake, I became Pie Susan.

Thanks for all the sweet compliments everyone. One of these days, I will have to refigure the directions and post the recipe.

 

[PieSusan]

No, there is no vanilla cream inside or alongside. I like to serve it with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream while the pie is still a bit warm. MMMMPie!!!!!

 

[kardelen]

very beautiful pie,l like apple pie so much

 

[gus77]

The really looks delicious! Beautiful apple pie. I wouldn't mind having a piece right now.

 

[PieSusan]

Welcome to DC, Gus. Thanks for the compliment.

 

[buckytom]

nice pies, susan!!

since you showed me your pies, i'll show you mine:

 

[PieSusan]

Buckytom, you are a man of many talents and powers.

 

[LadyCook61]

hubby came home last night with a bag of granny smiths and bag of empire apples, which I did not ask him to get. I think he was giving me a hint to make apple pie.
Now if he could get me some energy....

 

[Fearless Kitchen]

hubby came home last night with a bag of granny smiths and bag of empire apples, which I did not ask him to get. I think he was giving me a hint to make apple pie.
Now if he could get me some energy....

You could always send them on to Boston... Empires are my favorite kind of apple and during the fall I'll easily go through 10 lbs of them in a week... raw...

 

[AllenOK]

PieSusan, that pie looked amazing! Man, the heighth of that thing!

The last time I tried to make an apple pie from scratch was when I was still up in MI. The gal that normally made the apple pies had gone on vacation that day, so I made one. I piled it high, like yours, but when we cut it, we found that the apples had collasped and most of the "heighth" was air! It tasted good, though. Heck, I even beat the other gal on time, as it took me about 3 hours, start to finish, and her normally took 5 hours.

I know it's gone by now, but I have loved a slice of that pie, warm, w/ cinnamon ice cream, and would you consider it sacriligeous to top it with a good bourbon whipped cream?

 

[Maverick2272]

WOW that thing is huge!!
Looks mighty tasty but....uh... if that's mine where is everyone elses??

 

[PieSusan]

Allen, no, it would not be sacriligeous to have whipped cream with bourbon if you like.

I can share my apple pie tips--I have so much fun making them but they do take a lot of work. I never liked my device that hooks on the table and cranks the apples peeling and slicing as one goes. I do it all by hand.

Since Ohio is an apple state, I am truly lucky. First, one must be sure that the apples are not mealy. Next, I never use two of the same apple in a pie. My friend, Andy who was a cater use to think that was nuts until he tried my apple pie and then he decided that there was a method to my madness.

I also solved the problem of which you spoke above by using more apples than the recipe calls for. So, when the apples cook down, there are more of them and so less or no gap. When you use apples that are of different textures and flavors you get a bonus in that those that hold their shape and those that don't will work together to give you the best of both worlds.

Finally, I like the mixture of sweet and tart apples and everything inbetween in a pie. I also love to use heirloom varieties. We have those here.

So, there you have it. I use Maida's recipe but add more apples in both variety and weight. I tend not to add more sugar and spice. I think it is fine the way it is.

Now, all you need to do is learn about the different apples and what their characteristics are to know which ones to use in your pie so that you don't choose all sweet apples or all tart apples.

I hope this helps. I never wanted to pre-cook my apples like Shirley O Corriher adviced in Cookwise. I solved the problem differently.

Finally, like Maida Heatter, I was never bothered by having a pie that was juicy. Apple pie is one of my favorite things for breakfast.

Unfortuntely, I am not sure if I should be eating apples anymore due to my food allergies. Once in a while, I risk it.
;-)

 

[AllenOK]

I have played around with mixing varieties of apples in a baked dessert. I did a mix of Granny Smiths and Galas in an apple crisp. Yes, I do need to sample more apples as far as their cooking qualities go. I refuse to touch a Red Delicious. Way to mealy for my taste.