Actually this is merely the most perfect tasting apple pie that I have ever eaten in my life, and so it's a remote possibility that somewhere out there is a recipe that produces a marginally better tasting pie of apple . . . but then again, maybe not. A couple of days ago in order to generate an idea for my next landscape painting (in oils) the wife and I were thumbing through decades old back issue of Texas Highways magazine when lo and behold I accidentally stumbled across this (at a minimum) ninety years old recipe for French style Apple Pie from the Grey Moss Inn of San Antonio, Texas. The restaurant has been using this recipe since 1929, and I can see why. So then the night before last I decided to give this recipe a try at 10:00 pm. Well, after it finished baking the wife and I "oooooed and awwwed" over the resulting look and the scent wafting through the kitchen and then I -- with iron will -- placed it in the cool lower-oven chamber and we trudged off to bed. Yesterday afternoon we each had a slice of cold apple pie after lunch and . . . it was simply the best tasting apple pie that either of us had ever bitten into in our lives. You could have knocked us over with a feather, such was our surprise and heady delight! So without further adieu (which will come after I type out the recipe) here's the World's Most Perfect Apple Pie: Preheat oven set to 350 degrees. 1) 5 apples, peeled and thinly sliced: Actually, considering that most apples sold today are on the large side, that will probably work out to three or four apples for a 9" diameter pie plate. Obviously, it's also up to you to decide what sort of apples you want to use. A mix of tart and sweet might be nice. Oh, and an easy way to deal with apple seeds, after using a peeler to remove the skin, is to use a knife or a cleaver (I don't muck about, do I?) to section the skinned apple into quarters and then there's no problem cutting out the seed clusters. Also you can then quarter (lengthwise) each separate section; thus cleanly creating all the necessary thin slices. 2) 2 tablespoons (tbsp.) of lemon juice: No mystery here. Just drop your peeled and thinly sliced apple sections in a large bowl and then drop the lemon juice on them and then tumble them around to make sure they are evenly coated. 3) I/2 of a cup of chopped pecans: Same dilly-bob here. Make sure that the pecans are as small as you want them and then drop them on top of the apple slices. 4) 1/4 of a cup of golden raisins (also called sultanas): Yep, dump them little suckers into the bowl as well. Now I like golden raisins and so I doubled the amount to half a cup . . . but that's your decision to make. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Now for a Baker's Tip and Trick: After measuring out the following ingredients dump them into a smaller secondary bowl and then mix them together BEFORE dumping the mix into the larger bowl with the apples and pecans and raisins and lemon juice. 5) 1/4 cup of standard granulated household sugar: Into the secondary mixing bowl it goes. Don't ask me what would happen if you were to substitute some other sweetner for standard sugar. Being an old style cook and baker I always use traditional ingredients if I can find them. Sorry about that. Experiment. Give it a try. See what happens. 6) 1/2 cup of brown sugar (dark or medium -- your choice): Dump that into the secondary mixing bowl. As the fortunes of baking would have it go, I was low on brown sugar of either sort and so as it turned out I had just enough of both dark-brown and light-brown sugar to make up a half a cup in total of 'brown' sugar. No worries! 7) 1/2 teaspoon (tsp.) of cinnamon (WARNING; DO NOT use Saigon cinnamon -- use the standard, traditional, and weaker tasting ground cinnamon instead): Drop that into the secondary mixing bowl. Two tablespoons (tbsp.) of all purpose flour: Yep, drop that into the secondary mixing bowl. OKAY, now take a spoon and mix all your sugar, spices, and flour together and then pour that result into the larger mixing bowl containing your lemon juice coated apple slices and pecans, and raisins. Next mix everything together in the larger bowl until all the sugary and spicy and floured goodness is coating everything. I used my hands for this step but you finicky types can use a spoon. So those are the ingredients and how to put them together for the world's best tasting (French-style) apple pie. So now what? So now you have two directions to go with this, and I suggest that you place your ingredients in the refrigerator while you contemplate your options. Option One: Purchase two unbaked pie shell crusts from your local grocery store. Dump the ingredients inside one shell and then (IMPORTANT BAKING STEP) using about two tablespoons of butter (Sigh! Though I suppose that you could use margarine for this) 'dot' the top of your pile of ingredients or 'filling' with about two tablespoons worth. That done, remove the second pie shell crust from its container, invert it, flatten it out a bit using your hands OR by using a rolling pin, and then plop that on top of the ingredients filled crust, and then methodically pinch or squeeze the ends together. Option Two: You could MAKE the world's most perfect tasting pie shell/crust dough from scratch and then roll it out and really put your finished pie over the top of the taste sensations chart. Just saying -- you could do that . . . and if anyone wants that recipe then just ask. So assuming that one way or the other you have handled the philosophical problem of pie shell/crusts, we are well into the home stretch at this point. NOW: You can either slice a few slits into the pie crust to serve as heat/gas vents -- so that the baking process does not blow a volcanic like hole in your crust --it or you can just jab the crust here and there with the tines of a fork. Myself I like to make tastefully cute decorations with the tines of a fork -- though the wife did put a halt to me putting a smiley face on top of my pie's crust . . . the spoilsport. NOW: Brush the entire exposed surface area of your crust with milk or half-and-half or even light whipping cream -- yes, you can use your finger tips for this step. That done, sprinkle a bit of sugar (simple household granulated sugar or -- shudder -- the sweetner substitute of your choice) on top of the milk coated pie crust surface. NOW: Pop your pie into your preheated oven (You DID remember to start the pre-heating process back when you were starting to assemble your separate ingredients, correct?), which you have cleverly set to a temperature of 350 degrees. You slam the oven door shut on your pie and set the timer for one hour, AND you DO NOT keep sneaking periodic looks at the process by opening the door. You let it bake all on its own for one full hour and then remove the gloriously baked and fantastically scented results with your oven mittens while taunting family members over the fact that they can't have any pie until it has cooled off for about twenty minutes. You might want to have a baseball bat nearby to beat them off until the pie has cooled enough to slice and serve. But that's an optional step. So what are you waiting for pray tell? Bake, eat, enjoy!
You are welcome Toefoot. All kidding aside this really was the best tasking apple pie either of us had eaten and my wife -- bear in mind -- not only taught me how to bake but she was raised by a mother who was considered one of the top all around chefs and bakers wherever she went. When we looked the recipe over the other day all the bells and whistles went off inside our heads . . . letting us know that this recipe we had to try. Also I took the route of making my pie shell and crust from scratch the other night using another ancient Texas local recipe; but it was the restaurant people operating the Grey Moss Inn that indicated a store bought solution to the pie crust and shell dilemma would also work . . . and so they are probably correct in that regard as well. I know that whenever I am in a rush I have had a great deal of success using frozen puff pastry dough from the grocery store, though I'm careful to kneed the heck out of it once it's thawed out so that it WON'T go puff! in the oven if I am using it as a substitute for regulation pie dough.
