Kitchen Queen Contest Entry #9 - Topher's Blue Ribbon Apple Pie

Kitchen Queen Contest Entry #9 - Topher's Blue Ribbon Apple Pie



I didn't think I had any recipes with me being that most of my knick-knacks, trinkets, bibelots, treasures and fur pieces, are in storage in sunny Bonita Springs Florida. However, I discovered this gem in my trusty 1980's era briefcase and knew that I just had to share this with you Bitches. I discovered this at a restaurant in Chicago called "The Prairie" (I believe it was in Printer's Row) and soon it made it's way to the pages of Bon Appetit (January 1993). This is a deep dish apple pie with some nuts (insert pun here), a bit of carmel/chocolate and all the tartness you deserve (well, maybe not ALL). Scrumptious can not begin to describe the taste of this dish and if I had the means (and the test kitchen) to make it again, this would be a fabulous prelude to......

Blue Ribbon Apple Pie

8 servings

Crust
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick bitches) chilled (not frozen) unsalted butter and cut into pieces
1/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons ice water (approx measure)

Combine flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut butter and shortening in, with a fork, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in sugar, egg and vinegar. Mix in just enough ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to form dough that holds together. Divide the dough in half and flatten each half into a disc. Wrap each in saran wrap and chill 4 hours or overnight.

Filling
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 all purpose flour
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 pounds tart green apples (such as Granny Smith) - peeled, cored and cut into 1/4" slices
1/4 cup (1/2 stick Bitches) unsalted butter

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Add apples and toss them to coat. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add the apples and cook until the apples are slightly softened....about 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F...on a floured surface, roll out 1 dough piece to a 14 inch diameter round . Transfer the dough to a 9" deep dish glass pie dish. Fit the dough into the dish and turn the edges leaving 1/2 inch overhang. Fold the overhang under and let it rest on the rim (it's tired after all that pounding - take a sip from the vodka fountain, if parched) Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 10 minutes. Remove the foil and weights/beans and bake until the crust is set but has no color - about 5 minutes.
Cool.

Streusel
3/4 cup all purpose flour
4 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons (that's 1/4 stick Bitches) unsalted butter
3 1.4 ounce chocolate covered English Toffee Bars (such as Heath), chopped

1 large egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water (glaze)

Combine the flour and sugar and using a fork, mix in the butter until it resembles coarse meal and then stir in the toffee.

On a floured surface, roll out the second disc of dough to 14" round diameter. Mound (not mount but hey, whatever) the apple filling into the pre-baked pie crust and sprinkle the streusel over the pie. Top this with second crust. Trim the dough leaving a 1/2 overhang and pinch the crusts together (as in a gentle pinch, not a titty twister) to seal the edges. Brush pie with the glaze. Cut 5 slits into the stop to allow steam to escape.

Bake until the crust is golden and the apples are tender - about 55 minutes. Cool the pie one hour.

What you do with it, and/or serve with it, is completely up to you.