Traditional apple pie

Well, it worked. An experimental apple pie with nearly no directions or plan. I don't really know how it happened, but it did and it tastes very good. To be honest, I just threw together a few ingredients anticipating a disaster, but it all worked. Isn't it great when somehow everything works out, even when things seem like they're spinning out of control? Cooking can be a great metaphor for life sometimes...

We've had a pie crust in the freezer for almost a year and it's been on my nerves for the past three months. I've starting making desserts with the hopes of using the crust, but never did. I have no idea why it's been in the freezer this long. Liz and I even had a lengthy discussion about throwing it in the garbage and we both agreed to do so, but we didn't "pulled the trigger." Well, it's no longer there as it became the motivation to throw together this pie.

I used Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced. I tossed them in sugar, brown sugar and lemon juice and placed them in the premade crust. That probably would have been good enough, but I couldn't envision myself enjoying an apple pie without crust on top, too.

So, without further ado, I mixed a combination of ingredients that I thought would make a crust. And it worked. Flour, shortening, butter and salt is all I needed. I had all of those ingredients, so it was fairly easy. I had to add an entire cup of flour after my first attempt (bringing the total flour used to two cups) because it was too sticky and I couldn't flatten it without the dough sticking to everything. Once I felt comfortable with the dough, I blobbed it on top of the apples and spread it across the top and placed it in the oven at 400-degrees.

Once the pie was in the oven, I peeked online at a few recipes for crust and must say I did fairly well. I didn't refrigerate the crust before baking it, though. It still turned out great. A little flaky for my taste, but the filling won me over. My first taste consisted of three whole pieces. I really hope I can use some self-discipline so Liz can have a piece when she gets home, but I'm afraid I'm going to eat it all.

Ingredients:
Filling
6 small Granny Smith apples, cored and thinly sliced
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
a little nutmeg

Crust
2 cups flour
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
4 tbsp butter (1 stick)
1 tbsp salt
3 tbsp water


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