In the Scarecrow episode of "Supernatural" a Scandinavian deity called a Vinar is imported into the heartland of the US in an apple seedling. It requires the human sacrifice of one male and one female each year to ensure the apple crop for the next year. Basically, it's idea that the show lifted from The Wicker Man. The town delights in feeding some bodacious apple pie to the unsuspecting couple before sending them off to the Vinar, which lives inside that ugly Scarecrow. Oh, and if you want to kill it, you must identify the right apple tree, called "the first tree," and burn it down!
So it's apple pie, then!
DEAN WINCHESTER'S HARVEST APPLE PIE
7 to 10 good tart apples, cored and sliced, tossed with lemon juice
Double crust pie dough (I admit that most of the time I buy, rather than make crust!)
1 cup sugar + 1 tsp. additional sugar
2 to 3 tbsp. plain flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. (or less) nutmeg, the freshly grated stuff is the best
1 tbsp. additional lemon juice (again, fresh is best)
1/4 stick of butter (you can use baking margarine, I use only pure corn oil margarine when I do use, which is rarely)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees (a lot of people like to use a really hot oven for pies and reduce heat in the middle of baking, this rarely works for me, I always brown or burn the edges doing this. It all depends on what you are used to.)
1. Combine all dry ingredients. Toss in the apple slices and mix well.
2. Line a pie plate with the bottom crust, add the filling and pour over the lemon juice, dot with butter and cover with top crust, trim and crimp edges. Cut steam holes in the top in several places. If you like, you can cover the edges with foil to curtail browning.
3. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, reduce heat to 325. Let pie stand 10 minutes. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Return to oven for another 30 to 40 minutes, don't let in get too brown.
VARIATIONS:
Of course the above recipe is just a basic one, good but a basic, and there are almost endless variations.
Substitute different spices. Native American cooks wouldn't dream of making an apple pie without native allspice. Ground cloves are nice, and more exotic spices like ground coriander or even cardamom work well.
Sweet herbs like mint and bee balm work well.
It can be sweetened with Maple, honey or other syrups.
Apple Cream Pie is easily made with the addition of cream cheese. Some cooks add American or cheddar cheese chopped or grated to the filling as well
Other fruits can be paired up with the apples. A northeastern favorite is to add in cranberries and sweeten with maple sugar.
Lattice topped apple pies are common.
Service too offers variation. Of course, the most common way to serve a warm slice of apple pie is with heaping scoop of real vanilla ice cream. A slice of cheese melted over the top is popular in some places. Different flavors of ice cream can be served with it. Oh, and don't forget the whipped cream.
In muffin tins, individual apple pies can be made. These are great for buffets and holiday parties, which I'm happy to say will start soon!!
HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL!!
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| Individual Halloween Apple Pies |
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