Apple Pie

 It's apple season.

As a rule I don't eat apples.  I don't like to bite into them and feel like my teeth are going to break off. If they are peeled and sliced, I might eat a few, especially if there is a bit of peanut butter closeby so I can smear some on the slice itself.  Otherwise, not an apple fan.

But...I do like apple crisp and I make a mean apple crisp.  Ask the PTK people at the Ivy Tech Logansport campus.  When we were putting together the lunches for Wednesdays in the Commons, there was always a request for Mrs. S to make a huge pan of apple crisp. And it vanished.  Each and every time we served it.

My two favorite pies are peach and coconut cream.  Apple pie has never even been in the running for the top 3.  But this fall I began to bake apple pies.

Homemade crust is the best, but if there is no time, then the Betty Crocker (or is it Pillsbury?) version has to do.  The recipe for the pie can be found in my favorite pie book.  It was a Christmas gift in 1966, and I have used it often.  The apple pie recipe is simple, just some sugar, flour for thickening, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Nicely sliced (or chopped) apples tossed into that mix, then poured into the pie pan lined with crust.  Add some butter pats and a top crust, crimp the edges, and pop it into the oven.

Gary has never been a fan of apple pies---until now.  His comment was that the apple pies he has eaten in the past, whether ordered as a slice after a restaurant meal or an entire pie purchased at a fundraiser, have been filled with the thickening and very few apple slices.  Since my pies have at least 7 cups of sliced apples added, too much goop is not an issue.  

Today's apple pie had been sitting on the stove while the potatoes were baking in the oven.  Thus, it was warm when cut and served after our grilled steaks dinner in the Party Barn this evening.  Yummy good it was!  

I am converting.  My Top 5 Favorite Pies list just might need some revision.