delicious apple pie

Apple pie is one of the must-make dishes in fall. Originally, I was going to make a sour cream apple pie (I still might did), but when I decided to bring the pie to Machias for our visit with my aunt, I decided to make something more traditional.  (I've never made the sour cream one before, and I wasn't sure how it would turn out.)  Thefoodnetwork.com provided me with the recipe.  Dan provided me with some much needed help in the kitchen.

Hehehehhe. Dan splashed a bit of apple pie filling on his shorts and I recommended that he wear our apron to protect himself (and his precious KU tee).  He obliged to this, but had no idea what else I had in store for him and his wardrobe.  Needless to say, he was not super pleased when I stuck that chef's hat on his head....but I was. 

Anywhooooo.  Dan's help was certainly much appreciated, as this recipe was kind of challenging.  Or at least more involved than most apple pie recipes I'd made in the past. But the extra effort was worth it.  

I don't have a picture of our final pie product, but here's one of an apple pie from the Food Network.  Ha, I know it isn't even the recipe I used, but this post needed another picture.  Forgive me, please.

Plus my crust didn't look nearly that good!  And I used store bought! Well, store bought on top and the other half of my Pioneer Woman Crust on the bottom.  I'm just going to put the recipe for the filling here, but if you click on this link you can find the recipe for the crust too, if you're feeling ambitious.

Food Network Kitchen's Apple Pie Filling

2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 lbs baking apples like Golden Delicious, Cortland or Mutsu (I used 8 cups of chopped apples. I don't know how many lbs that is, but I think I could have easily gone up to 10 cups and had it all fit in the crust)

2/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling on the pie

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

generous pinch of ground nutmeg

1-2 tsp vanilla extract (not called for in the Food Network's original recipe)

Put the lemon juice in a medium bowl.  Peel, core and chop the apples into 8 pieces each. Toss the apples with the lemon juice.  Add sugar and toss to combine evenly.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add the apple mixture, stir and cook until the sugar melts, about 2 minutes.  Cover, reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook for another 7 minutes or until the apples soften and release their juices.

Strain the apples in a colander over a medium bowl to catch all of the juice.  Shake the apples in the colander to try to get as much juice out as possible.  Return the juices to the skillet and continue to simmer over medium heat until thickened and lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, toss the apples with the reduced juice, spices and vanilla.  Set aside to cool completely. (Can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated or frozen for up to 6 months). 

Place pie fillling into a bottom crust.  Layer a top crust over the filling and press edges of crusts together to seal.  Cut some small slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape while baking.  Refrigerate it for at least 15 minutes before placing it in the oven.  Brush the top crust with egg wash and dust with sugar to make it golden brown and shiny!   Cook in a 375 degree oven for about 50 minutes.