Wednesday, January 16, 2013

pie-rex

Pics of a not-very-successful apple pie, baked in a Pyrex container:




The filling, which I made by hand from fresh apples and Korean pears, was great, but the crust sucked. I made the crust from an ancient box of pie crust mix-- for all I know the box was ten years old-- and that pretty much ruined the pie. I'm thinking of buying flour tortilla shells, putting the leftover stuffing in them, deep-frying the apple burritos, and dusting them with confectioner's sugar. That, or buying mandu skins and making honey-drizzled apple mandu.


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5 comments:

Charles said...

That crust does look horrendous.

You know, a homemade pâte brisée isn't all that hard to make, and the results are much better than what you will get out of a box. Just a thought.

Kevin Kim said...

I completely agree, but that box had been sitting in my cabinet since I moved to Appalachia, and before that it had been part of Mom's repertoire. Maybe some culinary instinct warned her away from ever using it, leaving it to her eldest son to open Pandora's box...

Maven said...

Without a doubt the best pie crust I have ever eaten was made by the wife of a friend, and I am fortunate enough to not just have the recipe, but will share it herein:

3C flour
1/2 C Crisco
1 tsp Vinegar (I presume white)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Egg (slightly beaten w/fork)
5 T very cold water.

In a small bowl beat egg, add vinegar and water to mixture and stir. Set aside.

Combine crisco, flour and salt (mix and crumble with hands, not fork). Pour in liquid. Combine until well blended. Put dough in a zip lock bag and seal. Refrigerate overnight.

To roll crust put lots of flour on counter. Dust circle of dough, divide in half for a 9" crust). Roll to desired thickness. This can be rerolled if you have trouble.

This crust is not suitable for blind baking/baking empty as it shrinks.
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I suspect either the fat in the pie crust mix you have went rancid, or perhaps the water wasn't cold enough, or you overworked the crust and it's tough. But that recipe above? I typed out VERBATIM. This woman Cathy made the BEST crusts. Perfect every time, and it looks like a minimum of effort. And if you anticipate being on a pie making bender, it wouldn't hurt to make several ahead of time, and freeze them, so you'll always have picture perfect crusts at the ready for you.

Charles said...

Someone had to do it, I suppose...

Kevin Kim said...

Maven,

Thanks for that recipe. I'll give it a try.

The pie crust mix I used was simply old. Possibly as old as a decade. The box looked ancient.

Charles,

Saw this recipe online.