American as Apple Pie?

Well, I wouldn't say so in this case since this Individual Apple Pie recipe is from Nigella Lawson's Feast. First off, it's not your typical apple pie crust as she uses sour cream and cream cheese in the pastry dough. Yes, pastry, not pie dough. Sounds tasty being called pastry instead of pie dough, right? Like using French terms to name a dish. Well, I had way too much leftover dough so I cut them up and slapped some jam between two slices to make "cookies" out of them. Alas, they tasted very bland which was surprising as I've made similar cream cheese/sour cream type of doughs that turned out delicious. Uh oh...I hope the pies will be fine...

So this pastry dough not only tasted underwhelming, it gave me a lot of work to do! I had to make the dough twice because her instructions sucked. It never came together into a "silky dough" as she puts it so I overprocessed it (I wasn't surprised). Plus, she never tells you to flour the work surface so it stuck like mad. I always follow her instructions since she can be quite specific. Plus, there's a difference between heavily and lightly flour. I've done doughs that really didn't need any flour. So, I listened to her. Stupid me! I wasted a batch of dough for nothing! And let's not include the time! And my frustration! To add to all this, she never tells you to add water to the egg to make an egg wash. I completely forgot about adding water until I tried slathering it on. Ugh!

Since Easter is around the corner, I decided to decorate the tops with little bunnies. That was the only good part. Upon eating the pie, it wasn't great. The crust was too thick in the mouth which turned it into a blockage of sorts by sticking to my mouth and being paste-like. The apples weren't very fragrant despite the cinnamon and clove. The bunnies were tasty because they were nice and hard (and thus almost flaky from the fat content). Otherwise, this was a total waste of time. I was wholly disappointed. No one liked it. =( The only positive comments were a) the crunchy bunnies and b) the crust tasted buttery. This one definitely looks better than it tastes.

Whole Foods: Spiced Apple Pie

I'd been meaning to use this "special" stoneware pie plate gifted to me for my birthday. I'd promised I would test whether it will produce the most phenomenal crust ever. I scoured my recipe collection for an apple pie recipe and decided to try out the Spiced Apple Pie recipe in a Whole Foods Cookbook.

At first, I didn't like it. I found it too gingery. Plus, all the spices were left behind in the soupy mess of sliced apples after tossing the mix together. =( After baking, I also had to pour off the soupy mess that cooked up. =( I suppose all that loss of spices would only accentuate the ginger flavor.

For apples, I used Cortlands not the Fuji called for in the recipe which may have been a factor in my problems. Nevertheless, this pie has grown on me. It's got a very light and clean taste; not the heavy and sweet version of normal apple pie. I also liked how the apples remained "crisp" with a nice bite to them instead of turning to mush. Another plus is that they weren't sour either. I know lots of folks love use granny apples for that tartness but I can't enjoy a tart apple pie.

What I most liked about this pie has nothing to do with pie. Rather, it has to do with the "accessory". During my extended stay in London, I discovered what they've always known. Custard makes everything better. This isn't the thick blocks of custard you'd find IN dessert but a runny (but thick) custard you pour OVER the dessert. Yes, everything tastes better with custard. So I slathered some custard on top of the pie. =9~ I actually prefer it to ice cream. Mind you, it has to be good custard or it won't have the same effect.

As for the pie, I will try again but next time, I might use powdered ginger to tone it down a bit, while upping the other spice amounts. I liked how the spices made this pie very fragrant. The crust was easy to make in that as a "rustic" crust (their terminology), I only had to fold over the edges. No crimping and beautifying. Flavor-wise, it was nice, almost grahamy with the whole wheat mixed in. I was surprised that it was actually flakey and that it held up relatively well despite the soupy mess though that may have been due to the superior stoneware pie plate. I suppose I will just have to make another pie in this plate...

Taste of 'ol England

I had a hankering for a taste of England again so I made fish pie! Granted, I only had a fish pie from Sainsbury's in the form of "Fisherman's Pie" described as: White fish in a parsley sauce with real potato topping. Nevertheless I still wanted a walk (no matter how short) down memory lane especially since my fish pie resulted in a silly venture brought about from a lack of refrigeration. That's right, I bought a single serving, pre-made box of fish pie for dirt cheap (88p). I had no fridge, but being April, the temps were still a bit on the chilly side so I resurrected my college technique of putting food outside the window. Though I did have those mini-fridges, the freezers on those suck, and I didn't want to lose my food in the communal fridges. Boston's winters, though, usually sufficed as a freezer when needed in a pinch. =) In the dorms, I would put stuff between the window and the screen. My windows in London had no screen but did have a bit of ledge though it was on the 2nd floor. =O My food better not fall off! ;) I also put my cheeses, pies and pasties out there too. It's a good thing I don't do meat! =P Well, I haven't killed (or sickened) myself with food poisoning yet.

Wait! So what is fish pie you ask? Something with a crust like chicken pot pie? Nope! It's like...sheperd's pie but with fish...and a white sauce, not a brown one. That didn't help? Ok....so it's fish with some veg in a white sauce completely topped with a layer mashed potato like a shepherd's pie. Can you picture it? No? Just read on and check out the yumminess I successfully created. Woo hoo! Back to *my* fish pie. Was it authentic? It didn't taste like my supermarket version, but who cares! It was pretty darned good!

I started with a roux for the white sauce. I was a bit nervous since the last time I made a roux, it turned out awful. I guess I had just enough experience under my belt because it came out tasting great this time!! For the fish, I used a whole fillet of Japanese sea bass which is new to our local supermarket and hence on sale. I added some frozen peas, a bit of chopped bell pepper and onions and voila, I had the makings of a quick and tasty meal for two (though it supposedly serves one). I topped it all off with some mashed potatoes I quickly whipped up from scratch. Mmm!! One problem was that I was in a rush so I over salted both the white sauce and the mash. Yikes! Nevertheless, it was still good. I can't wait to make this one again! Actually, I'm going to see what happens if I add a bit of Guinness to it. I'm worried about the bitterness with the delicate flavor of the fish. Also, would it be too robust for such a generally mild sauce? If it works, though, I will add this to my Guinness-themed meal to occur next month for some good friends. =)