Apple Pie

This weekend I attended Food Network's Delicious Food Show, where I was hoping to spot celebrity chefs and test out some tasty new foods.

I had just missed Padma Lakshmi, the host of Food Network's Top Chef, however, I did have the chance to sample quite a bit of food. Before I even got to the food show I was hoping someone would be serving oysters. I've never had them before, so I was pretty excited when I found a stand at the show. John Petcoff, who was running the Oyster Boy exhibit said I was his favourite "first timer", which I took as a great compliment. I think he was more entertained by how awkward yet excited I was about eating the oyster.

Another great "first time" food I tried was a fruit cake that I actually liked. I'm not a huge fan of fruit cake and I'm not sure if anyone is. But after trying Grandma Deb's Rum soaked Fruit Cakes I immediately thought, this is the kind of fruit cake that needs to go around during the holidays, not that gummy crap at the grocery stores, this is the fruit cake that is fit for the Queen. And after sending 2 1/2 pounds of her fruit cake to Prince William and Kate Middleton to mark the celebration of their wedding she received a thank you letter in the mail from St James Palace, confirming that her cake truly was fit for Royalty.

Now you're probably wondering how this food show is connected to my apple pie. Well, Whole Foods was also exhibiting at the show and they were giving away free organic apples. And just like any normal person, I probably should have taken one apple. But I wanted to make an apple pie. So I asked the Whole Foods guy if I could take enough apples to make a pie and to my delight he said yes. I only asked for four but he insisted I needed six, I wasn't about to argue with the Whole Foods guy.

So here is my scrumptious apple pie made with hand-picked apples from the Delicious Food Show.

P.S. If you don't let your pie sit for at least 3 hours, you'll get the runny filling in the photo below. There was no way my pie was going to sit safely for 3 hours without being eaten by one of my roommates, so for picture purposes, I had to cut into it sooner than I preferred.

Apple Pie

• 2 9-inch pie crusts (follow steps 1-7)
• 6 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thin slices
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice
• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp of brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp of all spice
• egg wash (1 yolk beaten with a tsp of water for brushing)
• turbinado sugar (raw sugar) for sprinkling on top

1. In a large bowl mix together apples, lemon juice, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and all spice. Set aside.
2. On a floured counter, roll out one of the pie disc into a 11 inch circle. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate by rolling the dough over a rolling pin and rolling it out onto the pie plate. Fill the pie plate with the apple filling and dot with butter. Set in the fridge while you roll out the next dough.
3. Roll out the second pie disc into a 11-inch circle. To make a lattice crust follow these steps, for a normal crust you need to cut several slits for steam vents across the top. Using the same method, roll the pie crust over a rolling pin and unroll onto the pie plate over the filling. Seal by crimping edges. Cover the pie and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F.
4. Once chilled brush the pie with the egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar if desired, transfer the pie onto a baking sheet (in case any filling spills over) and bake at 375 for 15 minutes, then reduce to 350 degrees for another 40-45 minutes, or until the pie is golden brown and the juices bubbling.
5. Transfer pie to wire rack and let cool for 3 hours before serving.

Filling Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen