Ok here is the set up. I have been making the same apple pie for probably over 20 years, yes I am old, and felt no need to mess with perfection. My “Alton Brown is a God” husband was not so sure that my pie could not be improved and said that I should make the one on Good Eats. I couldn’t figure out where this was coming from, he doesn’t even eat pie! So as a compromise I said that I would make both pies and he would have to try them.
About a month ago I made two standard, tried and true apple pies and had friends over to try one and took the other one to my office for an official tasting. Everyone liked the “control” pie. I was pleased. The plan was to make the “experimental” pie a couple of days later and have everyone taste that one as well and let me know if I should switch recipes. Well, I didn’t get around to making the experimental pies and after a few weeks both the group of friends AND my team at work started in on me about how it had been sooooo long since they had the control pie they wouldn’t be able to fairly rate it against experimental pie and so I had to make another control pie as well.
This weekend I made both types of pie. I only made one of each and it took 6 hours from “starting” to “out of the oven” for the pies. I went out Saturday and bought a quiche pan for the event and everything. Sunday was a little crazy since we went to the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and then went grocery shopping before starting the piextravaganza. It wasn’t that much of a production really. It was me in the kitchen with headphones singing badly as I often do when baking, John upstairs playing and Clay upstairs sleeping off jet lag from his recent trip to California.
So, to make a long story slightly shorter I will briefly tell you how I cheated on the Alton Brown recipie. I didn’t use 6 kinds of apples, I used 2. I didn’t let the apples drain for 90 minutes but instead more like 30. I did use the drained juice but I did not reduce it on the stove top. I used the amount of liquid called for in the recipie though since I needed to keep the wet to dry ratio correct. We did not find “grains of paradise” or whatever spice mixture it called for so I used my Penzeys cassia cinnamon, fresh nutmeg and a dash of vanilla instead. Heck, we bought apple jelly and tapioca flour just for this pie, it isn’t like I didn’t try. I also used the food processor like Alton instructed instead of a pastry blender like all good southern women. I felt a little dirty about that part. Wait, this was suppose to be short.
Anyway, both pies came out of the oven just fine and rested overnight. I covered them with aluminum foil since I am not a fan of uncovered food sitting for a day. True, we don’t have pets but I don’t care, it seems unsanitary somehow. There are flies and lady bugs from time to time. I took pictures before the covering so you can see them below. So, we wake up Monday morning and Clay fusses that covering the experimental pie has caused it to collapse. I feel it is because everything cooled off and settled, sort of like a cookie just out of the oven. I think it would be odd if the pie shell stayed up high and the apples had settled so that you are left with a hollow area just under the crust, if you are even able to cut it without destroying it.
So the pies sit for the day and our friends Matt and Hannah come over at 7:30pm for pie with the Englands. Everyone except for Clay prefers the control pie. Clay is enamored by the crust of experimental pie most of all but complains that I didn’t really follow the recipie and it needs to be made again. He states he will do it but is leary of making a crust. I am not sure why everyone is afraid of crust.
I then take the pies to the office on Tuesday morning for the team to try. The votes are tallied and everyone like the control pie better, although my boss Chuck gave a half point to the experimental pie. He liked the less sweet filling. We found out later he gave a whole point to the control pie too.
To me it is clear, don’t mess with a good thing. The control pie rocks and no matter how closely you follow the master “experimental” pie recipe it will not beat it. The one thing I did like is the side of the pie shell being exposed by using the quiche pan which can be done with “control” pie. The pie bird was also a cute touch but isn’t necessary with the “control” pie crumb topping. The good thing about control pie is that it is made with love and if love is a little different each time and wants some extra cinnamon and spice or butter in the topping then it can have it. To all those that receive pies, you are loved.
Jacene
