Easy as Apple Pie

One of the best things about living in New England in the fall is apple picking. My husband and I have been going to Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, MA to pick our own apples for the past few years, and its great to see that farm doing so well (although it was insanely crowded when we went there in October, and seems to have gone a little bit too "Hollywood" for our taste lately). There used to be thousands of different varieties of apples available in this country, but mass-marketing and the rise of chain grocery stores has reduced the number of widely available apple varieties to just 15. One great thing you can do to help heirloom varieties make a comeback is to look for heirloom orchards in your area, or to buy local apples at the farmer's market in the fall--try a variety you've never heard of! Baldwin, Northern Spy, and Winesap are all varieties that grow beautifully in Massachusetts.

I decided to try a new pie recipe to use up all of my apples this year, and it was fantastic! A non-traditional technique of pouring caramel sauce over the apples through the lattice top crust made for a delicious filling and a yummy, crisp crust glazed with caramel. I used Spencers, Macouns, and Cortlands for this pie (and they weren't shipped from New Zealand!).

Grandma Ople's Apple Pie (thanks to allrecipes.com for this one)

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie (I used Pillsbury unroll-and-fill crusts)
  
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 6-8 apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add white sugar, brown sugar and water; bring to a boil. Reduce temperature, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work of crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off. Place the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet.
   
3. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.