I've made apple pies before, but this one was different. You see, I used a different crust. We had a friend coming to dinner that couldn't have any dairy. My first instinct was to use the pie recipe I use for pumpkin pies, you know, this one.
But then I remembered a pie crust from Roland Messnier that didn't use any dairy, only shortening for the fat. When I mixed up the pie crust, I was amazed that it didn't like to be worked by hand, it was so sticky it could only be worked by my mixer. Because I'm neurotic and a little OCD, I've been working at making pie crusts by hand. I just didn't believe that a great crust could come from a mixer. This will be the pie crust I use when I open my pie shop.
The pie was wonderful. Nice tart apples, enough moist filling to carry flavor, but not enough to be a soupy mess, beautiful brown crust surrounding the whole thing. And through the whole experience, I kept thinking:"I wish I could write about this."
