It Begins...

I really love to cook, I've had so many people tell me that I would tire of it after 3 months of marriage..but I really don't. I think because I love art so much and i consider it an art form. If it's beautiful I think it is more appetizing.




So I have decided to create a fun little blog on food. Sometimes it will be my own dishes with tips and hints; other times I will ask for recipes of the same thing and then award my favorite...and then sometimes I will try new recipes; gourmet and the simple; and write out my reviews. Then I will photograph my work (something I also love to do)I think it's a simple hobby that I love and look forward to trying out.





So to start out, I am posting the first real thing I tried to make myself and that across the board every time I get rave reviews for.... I will even let you in on my secrets behind the tastiness of it.

My Ultimate Crumble Apple Pie

By Leisa

PHOTOGRAPHY ALSO BY LEISA

First: PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 400 DEGREES

SECOND :The INGREDIENTS

CRUST: 1 1/4 C White Flour 6-7

1/8 tsp salt as

6 TBSP Shortening

3 - 4 TBSP Ice Water

THE FILLING INGREDIENTS:

6-7 GREEN Apples with as many white spots as possible, the more the white spots the more sour and the better the apples retain the sugar and the sweeter theybecome.

3/4 C White Sugar

1 TBSP Lemon Juice

1 tsp Salt

1 C Sour Cream

THE TOPPING INGREDIENTS:

2/3 C Flour

1/3 C Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/8 tsp Nutmeg

1/3 C Butter

THIRD - THE DIRECTIONS:

THE CRUST:

Combine flour and salt. Sift together if possible.

Cut in the Shortening with a fork or a pastry cutter, keep cutting it in until it is dispersed throughout all of the flour. It should look like small peas sized flour balls all over inside your bowl.

Add the ICE WATER 1 TBSP at a time. (It is imperative to the pastry binding process that the water is icy) Mix well, once it starts to ball up put a little bit of flour on your counter to get ready to roll your crust out.

The most important thing about a pie crust is the same rule for biscuits...you don't want to mess with the dough to much or it becomes heavy and condensed instead of light and fluffy.

Gather the dough in your hands and make a ball. If it is too sticky add a little flour to your hands...if it is too Dry you need to add another TBSP of Ice water.

Put ball of dough on floured board and press down slightly, take a rolling pin and roll out your dough the same way you would cut a pizza, straight up and down, then across, then at the diagonal. This will help you crust roll out into an even circle. Place dough into your pie pan and either trim your edges our have fun shaping the edges of your dough.

THE FILLING:

Peel your Apples and the slice them into the thinnest strips possible; The thinner they are the better they condense together, cook evenly, and make for a better mouthful!

Add the lemon juice to the apples to keep them from turning brown and to pull out their juices

Mix remaining filling ingredients in another bowl. Add to the apples and mix well. Set it aside.

The Topping:

Mix all dry ingredients together; cut in cold butter.

It really needs to be cold and it really needs to be butter. The properties of margarine not only melt to quickly but the process of hydrogenation separates the liquids in such away that when you bake with it, your topping will turn to mush instead of a crumb topping.

GO BACK TO YOUR FILLING:

Are there a lot of juices at the bottom of your bowl? Then add a TBSP of flour, mix it up, see if there are more juices, and repeat until the juices are all soaked up. This will ensure that you will have a nice thick pie instead of a runny one.

Place filling in pie crust.....crumble topping over it......

BAKE: 40 - 45 Min until nice and brown on top....really good cold or hot...

TRY IT YOU MIGHT JUST LOVE IT!