Apple Pie...Before...and After

I love pumpkin patches and apple orchards. There are plenty around here, it is just a matter of choosing one to go to. We chose one called Jones Creek Farms. It was wonderful! Upon pulling up, they offered hot cider and gave explicit instructions "walk through the apple orchards, pick as many apples as you want, taste all that you want, and if you don't like an apple, throw it under the tree. Eat lots!" So that is exactly what we did. We were lucky that the weather was on our side so it wasn't raining and it wasn't too cold. We walked through the orchards and picked some apples off the trees. Every apple we tasted...we liked...so we didn't throw any under the trees...but we did come out rather full. They also had a little pumpkin patch. Unfortunately most of the pumpkins had already been picked, but we did find two that looked like good carving material. So, we made it home with about 8 apples, all different kinds, and two pumpkins.

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Yesterday, I decided to make a yummy apple pie with our pickings. With some good advice from my mom on how to make a more flaky crust, it turned out AWESOME! Once combining the flour and the Crisco, cut it with a knife until it is in small chunks. Then, work it through your fingers crumbling it further...but don't squish the dough because this will make for some hard dough. After that, add in a little bit of ice cold water until you can roll up the dough into a rollable ball.

While making the pie yesterday, it brought me back to the first pie I ever made...4 years ago. We were living in Texas, it was Thanksgiving, and Craig got called in to work. I wasn't sure when Craig would be coming home, but I went forth making dinner any way. My first task was an apple pie. I had a list of ingredients, but no instructions. The pie..didn't turn out too great. First, I had some weird type of butter Crisco since the regular kind was all sold out. Second, I didn't have a rolling pin. Third, I didn't know the trick of "cutting the flour and Crisco" so instead I just added the flour, Crisco, and water...and stirred. The dough was completely unrollable and I ended up using the "patch technique." The Fourth reason the pie turned out horrible was because...well, I didn't peel the apples. Whoops. I remember when Craig came home, there was flour all over, I was using our sugar canister as a rolling pin, and I was so frustrated because my dough would not roll. I baked it anyway, and it was edible, and I remember Craig doing his very best to say how good it was as he picked unexpected cooked apple peels from his teeth.

Last night, while Craig tried my new and improved pie....he too remembered my first pie and said, "this one tastes a lot better...without the peels and all."

Thanks honey! :)