Running the risk of being a bit over-dramatic, this week's pie is entitled 'Disaster Pie'. I was hoping for a sweet/tart pie and was sadly disappointed. After a long day of sending in job applications, my friend Katie and I headed to Giant Eagle to pick up some supper items. This should have been a short trip; we only needed 5 things. However after searching the produce section twice and finding it to be lacking cranberries I knew this trip was not going to go as planned. I was sure I had seen the tart little berries occupying a whole produce display earlier in the week, so I finally gathered up the courage to ask the woman working nearby of their whereabouts. She informed me that they had sold out. It looked like my cranberry apple pie was going to be a disaster. Katie and I went around the produce shelves debating the possibility of substituting each fruit in our pie. In the end we simply decided to use dried cranberries.
If the absence of cranberries was the only issue, then this would not have been such a disaster. But...there was more. After running through all the needed pie tasks, Katie decided it would be safer for her to run the mandolin (slicer) than it would be for her to peel the apples. She finished the first 1/2 apple without incident, and was well into her second when she exclaimed...."See, I am doing great! Don't worry about me cutting myself, this is no problem!" (Or something similar...remembering word-for-word details isn't one of my strengths...) However, it was that second chunk of apple that bit her. Well, I guess it wasn't the apple so much that bit her, as it was the slicer that bit her. Now she exclaimed, "Uh, oh! This is quickly turning out to be Disaster Pie!" A bit of water and 3 band-aids later she was all doctored up, and had sliced the rest of the apples like a pro. (I should note that the cut wasn't so bad that she needed 3 band-aids. Rather, it was the wetness of the apples and the location of the cut that required so many!)
Now it's time for my confession - I haven't made a standard pie crust since Pie #15. While I'm slightly ashamed about this, I also simply have not had time. Some day I'll get back to it, but not today. This brings me to the next disaster - we purchased shallow pie crusts. There was no way that the 4 apples Katie sliced were all going to fit into the crust we purchased. So, we did what any reasonable people would do...and make some cranberry apple crisp with the remainder! (I guess this ended up being more of a crisis averted than a disaster...but hang with me, I'm trying to stick with the theme here!)
With all of this being said, I'm going to post the recipe I would have LIKED to have made. The recipe ACTUALLY made used 1/2 c sweetened, dried (non-chopped) cranberries and 1/2 c sugar instead of what is listed below. We also used a double crust instead of the crumble topping.
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Cranberry Apple Pie
Ingredients:
1 pie crust
1 1/2 c. cranberries, washed and coarsely chopped
3/4 - 1 c. sugar
4 apples (we used Cameo...they are delightful!)
juice from 1 lemon
1/2 T. dried orange peel
1 1/2 T cornstarch
3/8 t. cinnamon
dash nutmeg
crumb topping (see almond crumble topping from Pie #1, alternatively walnut would be good!)
Pie Algorithm:
1. Peel and thinly slice apples into large bowl holding lemon juice. Add water until the apples are covered. Set aside.
2. Mix all dry ingredients in separate small bowl.
3. Drain apples completely. Mix apples, cranberries, and dry ingredients in bowl and let sit for 10ish minutes to juice.
4. Put apple mixture into pie crust. Cover with crumb topping (or second crust if you prefer).
5. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes. Turn heat down to 350F and bake for 45-55 min more.
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We ended up eating the crisp instead of the pie; it was delicious. Katie and I both liked the orange flavor with the cranberries and apples as well as the walnuts we put in the topping. However, I will say that I'm definitely looking forward to trying again when the store's stock of cranberries is replenished!
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