The Drake House (36 page)
Trisha climbed the last stair, and as she went to follow them down the hall, the clock stopped ticking. She paused midstride and turned her head to look. Sure enough, the pendulum had ceased, and the mechanisms for the face weren’t moving.
A slow smile crept over her face. Nodding, she turned back to
their
guests. “You never know.”
Nancy Hernandez’ Apple Pie Recipe
One of the secrets to a flaky pie crust is to work with very cold butter and water. Do not listen to anyone else. My pie is the best!
El cocinero sabe mejor! No mamá.
(The cook knows best. Not Mama.)
Pie Crust Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very-cold,
cut into half-inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
6 to 8 Tbsp ice water
Filler Ingredients:
1 bag of McIntosh apples
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
MAKE CRUST: Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a mixer. Add butter and mix until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea-size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, mixing until ingredients just begin to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn’t hold together, add a little more water and mix again until perfection. My crust is perfection.
Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface. Gently shape into 2 doughs. Do not over-knead. You will be sorry! You should be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. Sprinkle a little flour around the dough piles. Wrap each section in plastic wrap and refrigerate one hour.
MAKE FILLER: Peel and thinly slice the apples. Mix in the cinnamon and the white sugar until apples are coated. Set aside.
Roll out both sections of dough with a rolling pin on a clean, lightly floured surface. I said
lightly
floured! Too much and it gets dry! No dry crust! Place one into a 9” or 10” pie pan. Gently press crust into bottom of pan. Fill shell with apple mixture. Gently place the second crust onto the top of the filling in the pie. Pinch top and bottom of dough rounds firmly together around the pan edge. Trim excess dough. Score the top of the pie with four 2-inch long cuts, so that steam from the cooking pie can escape. This must be done or you get soggy apples.
Bake in a preheated 350º oven for 35-40 minutes.
Cool completely on a wire rack and watch like a hawk. Slap any fingers that come near pie!
Mabel Eaton’s Apple Pie Recipe
Other recipes are nonsense.
1 cup flour
Pinch of salt
1 bag of McIntosh apples
1 cup of baking mix
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup dry oatmeal
2 sticks of butter
PIE CRUST: Beat 1 stick of room temperature butter, not that margarine crap, with a pinch of salt, 1/2 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of flour. Put in fridge for an hour.
Drink a glass of wine. (White preferred.)
FILLER:
Peel and slice the apples nice and thick. Mix in the other half of the white sugar until apples are coated. Set aside. (Crushed pecans and dried cranberries may be added with the apples for a great fall recipe.)
Drink another glass of wine.
TOP CRUST: Melt the remaining stick of butter and mix with the baking mix, brown sugar, and oatmeal. This will be very crumbly.
Drink more wine.
Roll out the pie crust on a floured surface with a rolling pin. Place into a 9” pie pan. Place apples inside. With your fingers, add sprinkles of the dry mix on top until the apples are completely covered. Gently press down to keep in place.
Bake in a preheated 350º oven for 45-50 minutes.
Drink wine.
Serve warm and admire the compliments...while drinking wine.
Trisha Eaton-Mackey’s Apple Pie Recipe
Get in your car.
Drive to Harvey's Grocery. (Located on Main Street between the Feed & Seed and Al’s Bowling Alley.) Cheryl still owns the place. She's quirky and nice, but don't tell her any secrets. You’ll regret it.
Purchase desired pie from bakery section.
Take home and eat alone, sharing with no one, while Cook and Mother argue over recipes.
A word about the author...
Kelly Moran began her writing career in the Indie market, becoming the recipient of an Editor's Choice Award, a Finalist in the 2008 Best Book Awards, and a Finalist in the 2009 Indie Excellence Awards before moving into traditional publishing. Her books not only have honors from the top review sites but from NY Times bestsellers too. She is a closet caffeine junkie and chocoholic, but don't tell anyone. She resides in Wisconsin with her husband and three sons. Most of her family lives in the Carolinas, so she spends a lot of time there as well.
Visit her site at:
www.authorkellymoran.com
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