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Quick & EasyBy Beverly Barbour
American as apple pieOnce upon a time, many years ago, I had the privilege of leading a group of Japanese women food writers on a tour of our great country. I had lived in Japan for a while and was quite concerned that they might have some problem living on American food for a month. On the contrary, they absolutely loved everything from doughnuts to apple pie, with special emphasis on the pie. Nowhere in the world is there any pastry to measure up to our flaky pie crust filled with fruit and covered with another rich, thin crust. Nor like our sinful cream pies topped with a sweet meringue cloud. It is not just the Japanese who have a history of pie-deprivation. Even the European countries do. The French have skinny little tarts, with a single layer of fruit and no top crusts close, and delicious, but not quite an American pie. The Germans and the British try hard but their products are usually made with thick crusts and they're not juicy. They cry out for a sauce or a pouring of cream over all. (That is actually not all bad!) My Japanese friends had a favorite pie, which they often ordered in the morning for their breakfast. Apple was their first choice. A source of further enchantment for the ladies was the differences in the apple pies they enjoyed in American restaurants and homes. We really don't stop to think about culinary creations that are uniquely American and absolutely delicious. Most kids today probably think that pizza and spaghetti and egg rolls (among other things) were invented here. Today pies are easier than ever to make because we can buy prepared frozen or refrigerated crust and save half of the work and time. We can even buy the pie fillings and spark them up a bit with lemon juice and zest, nuts, cheese, or something to make it our own? A True American Apple PieLight brown sugar and lemon juice and zest make this better-than-most traditional apple pie. 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a 9-inch pie pan with half of the pastry. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and lemon zest. Add apples and toss to coat evenly. Spoon apple mixture into pie shell. Sprinkle with lemon juice and dot with butter. Top with remaining pastry. Trim and flute the edges. Cut slits in top crust to allow steam to escape. Bake 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 F. and continue baking about 45 minutes, until crust is golden and apples are tender. Makes 6 to 8 servings. Apple Upside-Down Biscuit Pie/CakeThis recipe gives you an excellent biscuit recipe, which makes the piecrust. Or you can use Bisquick or even roll together the little refrigerated tube biscuits to use as a crust. The apples bake in the bottom of the pan with the "crust" on top. You turn it upside down to serve and the biscuit crust is on the bottom. Pretty as a picture. Topping Pie/Cake "Crust" Topping: Preheat oven to 425 F. Heat butter in an ovenproof 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Stir in brown sugar and remove from heat. Spread mixture evenly in skillet and arrange apples, overlapping, in 1 layer. Pie/Cake "Crust": Blend flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. (Or do this without a processor, as you would make a regular piecrust or biscuits.) Transfer to a bowl and add buttermilk, stirring just until mixture is moistened. Drop batter on top of apples and gently spread, leaving a 1-inch border around edge of skillet. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown and firm to touch. Cool in skillet on a rack for 3 minutes, then invert onto a platter. Replace any apples that stick to the skillet. Serve warm with sour cream or creme fraiche or whipped cream or make a cinnamon butter sauce. Apple Cider PieThis pie must have originally come from New England where apple cider is a delightful addition to everything from pork stew to fruit breads, so why not pie? 2 cups apple cider Bring cider to a boil over high heat. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 20 minutes. Cool completely. Preheat oven to 450 F. Combine cooled cider with 1/3 cup granulated sugar mixed with cornstarch and pumpkin pie spice; then add lemon juice and vanilla. Cut each apple quarter crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices. Stir slices into cider mixture. Line pie pan with crust. Spoon apple mixture into crust and brush edges of crust lightly with water. Cover with top crust, press edges of dough together; fold edges under and flute. Cut slits into top of pastry. Combine egg with 1 tablespoon water; brush top and edges with egg mixture (called an "egg wash") and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F and bake an additional 45 minutes or until golden. Makes 10 servings. * Or substitute: 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and a pinch of ground cloves Apple Galette (Pears, Plums or Figs can substituteA galette is what our mothers used to do when they didn't have quite enough crust to make a double-crust pie so they rolled out a big round, piled on the fruit filling and brought the edges up around the fruit but not to the center. Caramel and walnuts make this one so good that no one is going to care that it wasn't baked in a pie pan and you can see the delicious innards. 1/2 cup walnuts Preheat oven to 375; Line a 12- by 15-inch baking sheet with parchment paper or butter the pan well. Spread walnuts in a large baking pan and bake until barely golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Leave oven on and coarsely chop nuts. Melt butter over medium heat and add apples; stir often until apples slightly soften and brown a little at edges. Sprinkle with brown sugar and nutmeg and stir until liquid is syrupy and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Stir in walnuts. Roll dough to about 15-inches in diameter and transfer to baking sheet. Pour apple mixture onto center of pastry, mounding wedges in a circle about 8-inches wide and 2-inches high. Gently fold edges of dough over apples, pleating as you go, leaving an opening about 4-inches wide in the center. Brush pastry all over with egg beaten with water (egg wash). Bake until pastry is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer galette, with parchment, to a wire rack to cool. Transfer to a large plate, gently pulling parchment from under the tart. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. Makes 6 to 8 servings. Few things in this world are as good as a warm slice of apple pie!
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