Aunt Emma's Never Fail Pie Crust

3 c sifted flour
1 1/4 c Shortening
1 tsp salt
1 egg, well beaten
5 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp vinegar

Cut shortening into flour and salt.
Combine egg, water, and vinegar in a separate bowl.
Pour liquid into flour mixture all at once. Blend with spoon until flour is all moistened.
It can be re-rolled without toughening. Will keep in refrigerator for two weeks or divide into balls enough for one pie and wrap in Saran wrap and freeze indefinitely.

Makes 2 crusts

Friday, November 25, 2011

Why I Didn't Get Pie on Thanksgiving

One might think, given the title of my blog, that some kind of pie would have been obvious, this being a Major Pie-Eating Holiday.  Well not this time, not this year. As I reflect, this is probably the first Thanksgiving in decades that I didn't make a pie. 

So here goes the story: The local family who visit on Thanksgiving don't eat pie. The end.

Should I have made one all for myself?  Just what I need, my favorite pie- pecan- being eaten by only me.  Hubby loves pumpkin but he didn't want a pie all for himself either.  Not a good way to start the holiday season- eating a whole pie.

So here's what happened instead...drumroll please.............

Ta-Da!  Enter Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table and this week's French Fridays with Dorie cooking assignment: choose any recipe.  After mulling over numerous possibilities I selected "Baked Apples Filled with Fruits and Nuts" from page 394. This became dessert for the two of us. The rest of the family got (at their request) "Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies" a la Martha Stewart.  Tough crowd.

This recipe was a hit with me for several reasons.  The first one is it can be considered quasi-healthy, right?  Apples, dried fruits, chopped walnuts and honey make up most of the dish. Add in half a stick of butter, apple cider and a dollop of Creme Fraiche. Done! (Well, not that fast.) Second, I had dried fruits left over from making that recent lamb stew. Dried figs and golden raisins, namely, plus I added a few dried cherries I had on hand.  Honestly, coring the apple and peeling half way down took most of the prep time. Baking time of almost an hour makes this not a quickie dessert, but you could pop them in prior to sitting down to dinner and that would make the wait time shorter.




I admit, my photos were rushed and didn't come out very flattering to the dish. It was delicious though! Trust me.

7 comments:

  1. I say bake a pie for yourself then! :) What a terrific choice for this time of year - it looks wonderful. Apples and raisins are such a good pair - as are sugar cookies!

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  2. I wanted to pick this dessert but curried chicken, peppers and peas en papillote has a stronger hold and I chose this over your baked apples filled with fruits and nuts :) Anyway yours truly looks delish and I shall try this definitely ! Thanks for sharing your baked apples with us :) Have a nice day!

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  3. I think it sounds very healthy either. I've seen the recipe not only in Dories cookbook, but also in others. I like it, but still haven't made it. That should change very soon after I read your story.

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  4. I don't understand how anyone could not eat pie??? Sigh.
    The apples sound great & I look forward to giving them a shot in the future.
    Have a great weekend. I hope that a pie is in your future sometime soon!

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  5. Yes, I would have made a pie for myself! But, these apples look great - I've been wanting to try them, too.

    Have a great weekend.

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  6. No pie on Thanksgiving - you're a generous soul. But I grew up eating baked apples and these look fantastic! Apple pie without the crust :-)

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  7. it still looks great! :) Your pictures make me drool! ... we had an interesting T-day also, baked off a bunch of things that were requested and then patronized for baking "too much"... sometimes its rough to extend yourself to cook for others and their demanding tastes! ... but delicious looking apples all the same!

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