When I was growing up in Northeast Ohio, apples were a key part of my family’s Fall routine. We had the remains of an apple orchard on our property as did our neighbor next door. He kindly allowed us kids to pick as much as we wanted and hardy a fay went by in apple season that the family didn’t enjoy some kind of apple dish – pancakes, salads, pies, cakes and just unadorned to be bitten into with gusto were all part of the repertoire. These days, living in Delaware I have to rely on apples from farmers markets which while good don’t pack nearly the punch of apples gathered while ripening on the tree.
So when the Cook the Books group decided to read the book “Cinnamon and Gunpowder” by Ei Brown, I gravitated right away to the pie making described in the book, where the conscripted chef prepared one on board for the pirate ship’s captain, a lively and stern ship‘s master. It was a peach pie in the book, but I took a few liberties, and the narrative connected me to my family’s pie-making history. The book itself chronicles the arduous path of a gentleman’s chef as a captive aboard a pirate ship and how he dodged “off with his head" threats using his lovely dishes prepared for the stern female captain. After numerous plots to escape, he finally succumbed to his fate and ended up accompanying the crew to the Americas and the new world.
In the book, he says “Pie crust never had been so hard won. The winds are hot and dry at sea and even on the lower deck, one feels the sun warming the planks overhead. To properly chill the water and lard for the crust, we corked the ingredients in clay pots, sealed them tightly with wax and lowered them into the sea. Preparing the resulting pie dough was the most difficult part, for a crisp and flaky crust one must have the perfect ratios, temperatures and texture, all of which was difficult to gauge in these circumstances.”
There are any number of inspiring cooking ideas in this book. I especially pondered his roast pheasant, but pheasant not being so easy to find in the local grocery, I ended up choosing the pie which I hope all will enjoy.
I also would like to share that this website, Delaware Girl Eat, was named number one in Delaware by the content reader group Feedspot, beating out two mainstream cooking publications in the state. It’s a great honor.
Cook the Books is being hosted this cycle by the great Claudia of Honey from Rock and we thank her for preparing the round-up. Anyone with a love of reading and an inspiration to cook is welcome to join. Hope you will.
Apple Pie
Pie crust dough of your choosing, either purchased on homemade
6-8 sliced apples, peel removed
For filling:
¾ - 1 cup sugar, depending on sweetness of apples
2 tbs four
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup nutmeg
Shake of salt
Preparation:
Roll out pie dough to fit into your pan
Toss filling with apples
Place apple slices in the pan and dot with dabs of butter
Bake at 350 degrees for ~30-45 minutes, remove from oven which golden brown
Serve pie slices with ice cream
