A is for APPLE! P is for PIE!

[taste_is_sweet]

So, certain people on my FList (I'm not naming any names, but lavvyan or fish_echo might have been involved) decided to make a Cookbook inspired by the television show Stargate: Atlantis. (And why not, after all? There are several Star Wars cookbooks out there, some more bizarre than others.)

And a lot of the recipes look really, really good.

So! Now I am in the process of making Apple Pie for Dinner, and I am ridiculously excited, I tell you. For serious. The only reason why it's not in the oven at this very second is because I halted proceedings so that my son could help me combine the ingredients. He likes cooking with his parents. :)

Unfortunately, I couldn't follow the recipe exactly. I was, actually, thinking of leaving out the parsley on purpose, but I know it has lots of health benefits so I figured what the hell. Besides, it's part of the recipe, and for some reason while I'm normally pretty fast and loose with following recipes, this one I wanted to do exactly as instructed.

However, I peeled the apples on behalf of my Wee One, who I knew from past experience would pull the apple skin out of his mouth while making a face like he was being poisoned, then say hopefully, 'I done!', which of course in Preschooler Speak actually means, 'I think this meal is crap so I'm hoping I can snow you into letting me meet my nutritional requirements with candy'. Jav can also be a little dubious about food that has actually visibly mixed ingredients, but he loves cheese so I remain optimistic. Besides, it's pie! Pie for dinner! How can that not be fantastic?

Sadly, because I didn't actually read the recipe as well as I thought I had when I decided in a fit of glee that I had to make this tonight, I failed to buy cream. However, my awesome husband found a baking site that has a whole page of ingredient substitutions, so I was able to buy whole milk and butter (which I'd also forgotten) at the local variety store (the only store I can walk to, as it happens) and make a cream-like substance by mixing butter and milk. We'll see how that turns out in approximately an hour.

The guy at the variety store is Muslim. I'm not sure where from, though, but he is super, super nice. He would have actually let me take a bunch of those tiny cream containers from the coffee display if I hadn't needed a whole cup's worth of them. His dad also told me once that my son's Dumbo-sized, sticking out ears that he inherited from his mother denoted intelligence. Which are words for which I will always remain grateful, because shortly after Javier was born, my husband and I had a few conversations vaguely like this:

Dom: His ears stick out. A lot.
Me: Don't worry about it! Mine do too! See? ::pulls hair back, shows mutant ears::
Dom: ::recoiling in horror:: How the hell did I miss that before I married you?
Me: My hair. But the point is, I went on to become a useful and productive member of society! And even snagged a hot husband! He'll be fine!
Dom: ::dubious:: Maybe we should staple his ears back.

Okay, Dom brought Javier home, and we assembled the ingredients previously-cooked by yours truly. And I'm afraid I forgot that cooking with a small child isn't, shall we say, an exact science. Javier put 1/4 teaspoon of pepper into the grated cheese, and the spices didn't quite mix perfectly with the cream substitute. (fish_echo, should I have used a blender?) We also forgot to put some of the parsley on the bottom of the pie crust, and then Javier put all of the parsley on top of the pie.

But I'm sure it'll still be fantastic! It's cooling right now, so I'll know pretty soon. :D

Next week, I'm going to try the 'Harvest Bread'. Or maybe the 'Spazzy Cookies (of Jealousy)', which for anyone in the fandom is hilarious. Trust me. ::g::

Thank you, fish_echo!

Comments

[firesign10.livejournal.com]

hahaha Mr Bear's ears are the same way!! And I had the same conversation with Blogula, complete with the hair pulling back!!

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Hee! I'm glad I'm not alone in that. Both our children will grow into their ears, I'm sure. :) And hey, intelligence!

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

heh! :D I love it! Spazzy Cookies (of Jealousy) :D

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, the recipe looks terrific. And the picture to go with it is perfect. :)

[innana88.livejournal.com]

Parsley in apple pie? I'm so curious as to how this will turn out! I like unexpected food combinations. Often, they are crazy-delicious!

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Well, you might be disappointed to know that this ended up being basically a quiche with apples and onions. And I don't much like quiche. I thought it would be a cheesy apple pie! ::iz sad::

On the other hand, it was a pretty nifty quiche, if one enjoys such things. And it was still very fun to make. And I'm thinking that if I leave the egg yolks out next time (and add more cheese), I might actually be able to make a cheesy apple pie! Maybe I'll use Swiss. Hrm. :)

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry it was too quiche-y for you! If you knock down the egg yolks to one then there should still be some cohesion, or if you eliminate them entirely then you'd want to make sure to add in some superfine flour. The cheese on this one is more of a garnish, since the base of this is a cream-and-veg pie that I make (exactly which veg I'll use is dependent upon what I've got fresh from the garden and/or market) that I don't normally put cheese in (because I'm usually too lazy to grate it. Don't get me wrong, I love cheese dearly, just sometimes I'm lazy!), but if you double the cheese (maybe treble) and decrease the cream by a quarter (or perhaps by more, basically just pour it in until it gets full and then stop) that should make it much more cheesy. If you actually make your own dough you can also mix cheese into that! Also, if you make perhaps a bit more of the onions and apples then the recipe calls for, then it's got so much good stuff in it that you don't notice the creamy bits as much.

As far as the spices not mixing with the cream, I'm betting that it's mostly the nature of the cream substitute. When I make it the spices mix fine with the cream portion but when I pour it into the pie, then there's usually areas of higher and lower concentrations of spices, but never so severe that I've noticed it when eating it. (If you look at the PDF version, in the "process pictures" section for this recipe, you'll brown swirls of the cinnamon. That I incorrectly labeled 'nutmeg' because it was late and I didn't proof my own stuff as much as I should have).

If you do make a second version of the pie, please do let me know how it turns out! (And did you read the story associated (http://codenamebacon.wetpaint.com/page/A+Apple+Pie) with it? You should, it's utterly awesome! I love how winkingstar read my mind and very nearly perfectly captured this Keller as I saw her.)

Besides, it's pie! Pie for dinner! How can that not be fantastic?
Heheee, the original caption for this picture (on the PDF version) started off with a line something like: Jennifer had always loved the pie, even after she was old enough to realise it wasn't a dessert Of course, the original caption was about three times as long as the final caption, and winkingstar did incorporate some of the elements of it into her story.

I love the story-parts of your entry here, like Jav's reaction to the apple peels (I leave them on because (a) lazy and (b) they're tasty and (c) healthy, but that's just me) and the story about dumbo ears :) And your store owner is very nice! I shall send him electronic hugs for being helpful!

Hmm, me thinks I have rambled on sufficiently!

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

PS. Swiss cheese should also taste good-- any sharp cheese should offset the rest of the flavours nicely.

PPS. Much as I love the Harvest Bread (which, by the way, isn't very sweet-- I do tend more to savoury than sweet. And if you'd like to discuss alterations with me I'd be happy to talk about it. Umm, is it at all obvious that I am utterly in love with De Re Coq?), I'd go for the Spazzy Cookies. They are utterly delicious and awesome, and fairly easy to make. Plus, I've been craving them for about two weeks but haven't had time to make them, so clearly you should eat them for me! :)

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Hee! Thank you for the heads-up about the Harvest Bread's sweetness. I hadn't read the whole recipe very carefully, so I'm hoping I would have noticed that I'd need more sugar. Can I add 1/4 cup more, or double it, do you think?

I'd love to try the cookies! But the preparation seems a bit complicated, with the rolling them out and using cookie cutters and everything. That might be a good weekend project to do with the boy. :)

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

I think you could probably get away with 1.5 times the amount in the recipe without trouble. Based off of that you could then do further experimentation. The advantage of the Harvest Bread over traditional yeast breads is the lack of yeast-- in a yeast bread additional sugar generally translates to more food for the yeast-- so it's fluffier but not sweeter. Whereas with this recipe I don't think anything untoward should happen with additional sugar, but I'm not positive, which is why I'd say to start the alterations with 1.5x

I usually make Harvest Bread (or other fruit/veg breads) for breakfast or as a healthy snack so I don't really have much experience in making them sweeter.

If you can't get fresh currants, you can substitute dried currents or dried cranberries or some other slightly-tart fruit. If you use sweetened and dried fruit that would help as well. I don't recommend using fresh cranberries because they'd be too tart.

As far as the cookies, I was thinking it would be a good time with the boy (I have fond memories of being a small fish and baking cookies)-- I do think the use of melted rather than softened butter makes it more child-fun.

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

I think all the stuff you know about baking is really cool. :D

I was planning on using dried cranberries, as a matter of fact, since I've never liked currants. I know the men in my life would want a sweet bread, though, so I'll start with the half more sugar. Thank you for the suggestion. :)

I would have probably melted the butter for the cookies too, since I'm lazy and Jav's favourite part of cooking is when he gets to dump stuff into a bowl, so the easier that is, the better. :)

I need to remember to list the ingredients tomorrow, so I can make bread with him next week. Friday night is pancake night--Javier's favourite. ;->

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Your advice is very helpful, thank you. :D I also admire your ability to cook something like a pie by making up your own recipe. I can cook other things off the top of my head, but they're all stove-top. Baking is too complicated for me without written instructions. :)

Just FYI, the pie was more like I was hoping once it had cooled overnight. I had some for lunch and it was yummy. :D I'm definitely going to try your suggestions to make it more apple-y and cheesy next week, I think. I just need to buy cream. ;->

Oh! It seems that my milk/butter substitute worked about the same as actual cream, since it sounds like the spices mixed in my pie the way they normally do for you. Cool.

The cookbook is really fun! Thank you!

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I'm helpful :) Yay food!

I do love this pie chilled-- even if in my house it rarely isn't consumed immediately (I have to defend it with a wooden spoon to keep people from putting it on their plate as soon as I pull it from the oven. And it certainly holds together much better after it has cooled.)

I look forward to hearing about the cheesier version :)

I'm glad you're enjoying the cookbook!

[kid-lit-fan.livejournal.com]

Two things: my inner six year old just made up a riddle
"When is it OK to cook ears? When they're ears of corn!" (as my daughter once said "Thank you! I'll be here through second grade!")

Also, on iCarly, a show I claim to watch because the kiddo likes it, the older brother/legal guardian tells Carly and her friends that their going to Gallini's Pie Shop for breakfast.

"Pie for breakfast?" asks Carly, who at 14 is much more sensible than her 24-year-old brother.

"Don't say it like 'pie for breakfast?' Say 'PIE FOR BREAKFAST!!!'"

Pie for dinner sounds dang good, as does the recipe.

I wanna hear how it turned out! NOWWWWW!

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

Hehehheee, I think I might have to watch iCarly if the dialogue is that good (plus, pie!)

Pie for dinner sounds dang good, as does the recipe.
*blushes* Thank you!

I love to proselytize about iCarly! :)

[kid-lit-fan.livejournal.com]

Most of its best lines are throwaways:

"I found more paint; hot pink and orphan blue...the saddest of all blues."

"We have to keep the temperature at 90!"
"90 degrees?"
"No, 90 pickles. Yes, 90 degrees!"

"I'm going to Canada!"
"You love their bacon, even if it IS ham!
"It's GOOD ham!"
"ALL ham is good ham!"

"I know what I'm going to be when I grow up; Carly's second husband."
"What's gonna happen to her first?"
"Nothing you can prove!"

The characters are fairly three-dimensional and consistent, the plotlines make sense.

I just realized that it's the only sitcom I watch with any regularity (now that I've caught up with Will and Grace!)

Also, my mom and I (and my daughter's getting there) tend to notice whether a movie is a food movie or not (Chocolat, Soul Food and Like Water for Chocolate are obvious examples of food movies, but there are other movies where people eat, enjoy and discuss food. Mystic River is probably the least food movie ever; there is a wake and all you see anyone consume is a beer, and there's not even commentary on the beer.

In iCarly, food is important and good. The production company is called Schneider's Bakery! :)

Catherine and I have already decided that we're going to make the show's coconut cream pie recipe in lieu of her birthday cake! :)

Re: I love to proselytize about iCarly! :)

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

You have persuaded me! iCarly is now on my list of 'things which will suck up my time in the most fun of ways' :)

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Hee!

It was initially disappointing, I hate to admit. I don't really like quiche, and it turned out to be basically a quiche with apple and onions. It was a good quiche, but not what I had wanted.

However, after it had cooled overnight in the fridge, it tasted much better to me! It made a very nice lunch.

[kid-lit-fan.livejournal.com]

Probably all the flavors melded; pasta tends to taste better after the night, too! :)

[lavvyan.livejournal.com]

You should also try The One Dish Teyla Never Messes Up. *pimps*

;)

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Hee! That's on the list. :) I need to buy berries.