Apple Pie

'Tis the season for apple pie. Plenty of good apples available from local orchards. I went with a lattice pattern (by request) instead of a solid top. It was a bit more work, but I think it was worth it.

Start by preparing the pie dough. Put 9 oz (about 2 cups) flour into a medium-sized bowl, and add 8 oz cold butter, cut into thin slices, and a good pinch of salt. With your hands, rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until only a few large flecks are visible. Now add 1 egg, beaten, made up to 1/2 cup in volume with ice cold water (I use cold water and put the egg-water mix in the freezer for a few minutes while I rub in the butter). Knead the liquid into the flour for no more than a minute. The dough will be wet. Sprinkle over some flour and pat into a rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (or as long as a day if you like; you can also freeze the dough for months).

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut the rectangle in two. Replace one half in the fridge, and roll the other out into a thin round (use as much flour as needed to avoid it sticking to your work surface). Make sure it is big enough to line your pie pan. I used a 9 inch pan. Grease the pan with butter first, then lay the pastry in it, cutting around the edge to get rid of any overhang. Now put the pan in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

You will need a bunch of apples. I used 3 lb of Gala apples. You can use whatever kind of apple you desire, but you may not need as much as 3 lb - my pie was a little stuffed. I think it would have worked with just over 2 lb of apples.

Peel, core and slice your apples. Work quickly to avoid browning. I put the slices into a bowl and sprinkled them with a little lemon juice, then added about 1 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp flour, 1 tsp cinnamon and a few grindings of fresh nutmeg (or a shake of ground). You could also add a small pinch of salt. If the apples are too juicy, add more flour; if they are too tart, add more sugar. Pile the apples into the pie crust and set aside. Roll out the rest of your dough (add your scraps from the shell also) to about the same thickness as you did the shell and cut long strips of roughly equal width. Using a finger dipped in water to 'glue' the strips to the pie shell, make your criss-cross lattice over the apples by alternating the directions of the strips. I started by going across the middle and worked my way towards the edges but it doesn't really matter which order you do it in.

Once you are finished assembling the pie, tidy up the edge of the crust and set your pan on a cookie sheet or similar (to collect any juice that might leak from the pie). Bake at 425 F for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 F for another 30 minutes or so, until the pastry is nicely golden and the apples are soft. Allow to cool most of the way to room temperature before serving, with cream or ice cream. Enjoy!

Note 1 - This is my favorite pie dough recipe. It is based on one in 'A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes' by David Tanis. An awesome cookbook.

Note 2 - Metric Info: 9 oz = 260g; 8 oz = 225g; 1/2 cup = 120 ml; 9 inches = 23 cm; 3 lb = 1.4 kg; 2 lb =  900g; 1 cup = 240 ml; 425 F = 220 C; 350 F = 180 C.

Peach Tart

Went to Shelburne Orchards the other day to pick peaches and apples. The apples were Paula Reds - not my favorite eating apple, so I made apple sauce out of them, but the peaches were delicious - the best I have had in quite some time. They blew store-bought peaches out of the water. While amazing freshly-picked ripe peaches are probably best eaten out of hand, if you have plenty or can only get the store-bought kind, try making a tart!

Start by making your dough. I made a pretty small tart (I only used 1 peach, but I would recommend 2), so I started with 2/3 cup flour, 2 oz (half a stick) of cold butter, diced, and a pinch of salt in a food processor. Put 1/6 cup cold water in the freezer for a few minutes to get really cold. Take out the water and pour it in through the pour spout while you pulse the dough. Only mix until it forms a big lump, then stop. Remove from the bowl of the food processor and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

After an hour (you can leave it in the refrigerator for a while if you want, but you'll have to give it a few minutes at room temperature before you roll it), remove from the refrigerator. Flatten the ball a little to form a disc. Unwrap and place on a floured counter top. Flour the dough and your rolling pin. Roll out into a 1/8 inch thick round (this made for about a 7 inch diameter tart). Place on a piece of parchment paper and refrigerate again for a few minutes to firm it up.

Meanwhile, peel 2 peaches. If they are very ripe, you should be able to remove the skin easily with your fingers. If not, score a very shallow 'x' in the skin and plunge into boiling water for 20 seconds, then into ice water. It should now come away easily. Cut the peaches in half, remove the pits, and slice fairly thickly. Set aside for a few minutes.

In a small bowl, combine 1 tbsp flour, 1 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon.

Remove your dough round from the refrigerator and place in or on a greased (with butter) pan. Sprinkle your flour-sugar mixture on the dough, starting at the center and working out towards the edges. Leave a 1/2 to 3/4 inch border of dough empty. Arrange your sliced peaches on top of the flour-sugar mixture. They do not need to overlap but try not to leave gaps in between them. Fold the dough border up over the fruit. Brush the pastry edge with a little melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Sprinkle sugar over the fruit (you will not need much if they are ripe, but use more if not).

Bake your tart in a preheated 375 F oven on the bottom shelf until the base of the dough is golden brown - at least 45 minutes. Once out of the oven, you can brush the top of the tart with melted jam if you wish (I used redcurrant jelly) - this is called a 'glaze'. Allow to cool a little, slice and serve. Enjoy!

Note - Metric Info: 2/3 cup = 160 ml; 2 oz = 55g; 375 F = 190 C.

Chicken Pot Pie

Today's recipe is adapted from Jacques Pepin's 'Complete Techniques'. I had a lot of chicken meat left over from last night's roast chicken and needed to find a use for it.

How many potpies you can make obviously depends on how much leftover cooked chicken you have. I had enough to make 4 pies, each in a 4-inch oven-safe ramekin. Take 3/4 cup white wine, add 3/4 cup chicken stock (preferably homemade), a dash of dried thyme and 1/2 small onion, sliced, and combine them in a pan, bring them to a simmer for 20 minutes, then strain the liquid through a fine sieve. Reduce the liquid to a volume of 3/4 cup (this took me 8 minutes of boiling), then add 2 tsp beurre manie (rub 1 tsp softened butter into 1 tsp flour) and whisk until smooth. Boil 5 minutes, then add 3/4 cup heavy cream and return to a boil. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, boil some salted water. Add 2 small carrots, peeled and diced, and boil for 2 minutes. Add 1 rib celery, diced, and boil another 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup frozen peas and boil a further 30 seconds. Strain and reserve.

Distribute cooked chicken (cut into small chunks), vegetables and sauce between ramekins, being careful not to fill all the way to the top. Take a sheet of puff pastry (you could make your own, but I bought a package of frozen dough - I used half of a 1 lb package). If frozen, allow it to thaw first, then roll it out to a thickness of 1/8 inch (my pastry was already this thick), and cut 4 rounds (each a little larger than the top of the ramekin). Beat 2 egg yolks, and brush each round with egg on 1 side. Place each on a ramekin, eggy side downwards. Press gently around sides of ramekin. Try to keep the pastry taut. Brush the tops with egg and refrigerate the pies for 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 375 F. Bake pies on a sheet tray for 30 minutes. Serve straight away. Enjoy!

Note 1 - If you do not have leftover chicken, you could poach some raw chicken pieces in the wine and stock (keep simmering until cooked through) - you decide how much meat to use based on how many people you have to feed.

Note 2 - Metric Info: 4 in = 10cm; 3/4 cup = 180ml; 1/2 cup = 120ml; 1 lb = 450g; 1/8 in = 3mm; 375 F = 190 C.