Deep Dish Apple Pie

Pie is probably the most necessary part of Thanksgiving to me.

Mother used to make 3 apple pies, 2 blackberry pies and 1 pumpkin pie for the big crowd at our Castle Bluff Thanksgiving gathering.

We would leave straight from school and the van would be all packed with pies and food.  One year I remember they were picking us up from school to leave and one of us stepped in an apple pie as we were climbing in the car.  I can’t remember who it was, but I promise you that my sister can.

After my Mother stopped crying, Daddy picked up the pie plate and started eating it.  Then we passed it around the van.  By the time we arrived at Castle Bluff the dish was licked clean and we were all laughing about it.

Ina Garten’s version of deep dish apple pie with the apples piled mile high + Martha Stewart’s pie crust is my favorite recipe for apple pie.

It’s so, so yummy.  I cut the apples in big chunks so that they still have a little crunch to them.

Deep Dish Apple Pie

from The Barefoot Contessa

4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, and cored

1 lemon, zested

1 orange, zested

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon to sprinkle on top

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Pate Brisee, recipe follows

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut each apple quarter in thirds crosswise and combine in a bowl with the zests, juices, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

Roll out half the pie dough and drape it over a 9- or 10-inch pie pan to extend about 1/2-inch over the rim. Don’t stretch the dough; if it’s too small, just put it back on the board and re-roll it.

Fill the pie with the apple mixture. Brush the edge of the bottom pie crust with the egg wash so the top crust will adhere. Top with the second crust and trim the edges to about 1-inch over the rim. Tuck the edge of the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp the 2 together with your fingers or a fork. Brush the entire top crust with the egg wash, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar, and cut 4 or 5 slits.

Place the pie on a sheet pan and bake for 1 hour, or until the crust is browned and the juices begin to bubble out. Serve warm.

Pate Brisee

from Martha Stewart

Makes 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn’t stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Repeat with the top crust.