Fall Series, Part III: The Making of Warm , Delicious Apple Pie

The apple.  By far one of the most meaningful symbols in our civilizations.  At first glance, merely a fruit.  In biblical terms, temptation.  In philosophy, wisdom.  Academics, appreciation.  Medicine, health.  Fatherhood, adoration.

For me, an apple represents tradition.  An especially important one in my family because it's a tradition that I began.  Apple-picking isn't a Latin-Caribbean custom, but like with many traditions, in my family it evolved as a result of where we live and what surrounds us.

My family and I are making the most of living in Upstate, NY . As drastically different from The Bronx as this may be, it's a wonderful place to raise children.

Once September rolls around I'm reminded of some of the many reasons why; small wonderful schools for the kids to go back to, and a vast array of apple orchards everywhere, eager to yield their most prized possessions.  The apple.

It wasn't until I chaperoned my daughter's kindergarten class on a local apple-picking field trip, that we walked with a tour guide and I got to see the many products that are made from apples.  That inspired me every year thereafter to not just take my kids apple picking, but to also celebrate the apple for it's many meanings and uses...  Stay with me on this series as we explore some of my favorite tributes to the apple!

Cinnamon-Spice Apple Pie

To fully appreciate the making of Apple Pie, I love to pick the apples....  From the trees to my dish, the apples truly feel like such a gift.

Once you're home, it will take about 6-8 apples depending on the size. The apples need to be peeled,cored & sliced.

Place the apple slices in a mixing bowl.  Juice half of a fresh lemon and mix in with the apples.  It's not a bad idea to also sprinkle a pinch of lemon rind (finely grated lemon peel)  in there too for a secret boost of fresh flavor.

 

 Now you're ready to mix in your spices:  

3/4 cup of sugar

one tablespoon of Vanilla Extract

a pinch of salt

1Tablespoon of Cinnamon, or more to taste

 1/2 teaspoon of Allspice

 a 1/4 teaspoon of Nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon of Ginger

1/4 teaspoon of Ground Cloves

2 Tablespoons of Flour  

(this will help soak up the water released by the apples, and provide the pie filling with a rich texture).

 

By the way, most of these spices can be purchased at local Dollar Stores, and can be used for many recipes, in particular, our Caribbean recipes.  Watch and see...

 

 Be sure to mix spices thoroughly and well. This is the part that my daughter loves to do!

 Although making a fresh pie crust is not difficult, I don't enjoy the process of rolling out the dough.  I prefer to buy the Pillsbury Pie Crusts, that come ready made.  It must be thawed out and room temperature.

Be wary of store brands.  I have found that not all of them stand up through the unrolling process when you're taking it out of the package.  I have never had a problem with Pillsbury and so I choose not to risk it.  Line the bottom of your pie dish with one crust.

 

Time to fill your dish with your seasoned apples.

 

 Unroll the second pie crust (2 come in a package; top & bottom).  Lay out flat on a non-stick cutting surface.  With a knife, trace designs on your pie.  This not only looks pretty, but also helps aerate your pie.

Lay your top crust to cover your apple filling now.   

Seal the edges around the dish with your thumb.  Now, trim off the excess dough from all around the edges.

Take that excess dough, and roll into a ball, then roll out flat with a rolling pin, on a non-stick surface.  You should now have a flat sheet of rolled dough. With a small knife, trace and then  cut out shapes to decorate your pie with.  I love to make leaves, and I even trace the detail on them.  You may ask why am I manually cutting them out as opposed to using a leaf-shaped cookie cutter?  Because, leaves all come in unique shapes and sizes.  If I cut them and shape them myself, I can also make them all unique...

 Lastly, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and coat the top of your pie, to provide added flavor and flakiness.

Time to put that delicious pie in the oven...

Although, I started the tradition of apple-picking in my family, I have to thank my Dad Pat for teaching me to make apple-pie as a kid.  It was one of the first things that we ever did together in the kitchen.  

As an Irish man, having married into a Puerto Rican family it must have been hard for him to introduce his cooking style.  We're traditionally set in our ways.  Dad just has a way about him though!  

I was 7 years old when he married my mom, and spoke no English really.  He must have sensed my curiosity in the kitchen because I remember him building a bridge with me that way.  

He also knew that I had a sweet tooth.  First came Apple Pie, Pineapple-Upside Down Cake (which my diabetic grandma, Mamita would sneak, or send me to go get her a slice), and then we graduated to chocolate cake.  

Once we connected with baking, my Dad taught me about how the rest of the world eats.  He had lived in Germany, Turkey and Vietnam as a soldier and learned to appreciate the very best food of so many different cultures.  

My mom and Mamita are the reasons why I feel connected to the kitchen.  My Dad is the reason why I opened my arms to world cuisine and cultures.  

All three of them are the reason why I learned to share happiness in my kitchen.

Was that our kitchen timer going off?  I think our pie is ready...  Come on, let's sit together and have some warm apple pie.  Do you smell the spiciness of the Fall in the air?  I'll grab us some hot apple-cider too.  We'll have some pie while I cook up some other Fall recipes for you.  

...Muy Buen Provecho!

...So tell me...what does the Apple symbolize for you?

What exactly is Sofrito, you ask?

Reader, hello!  Nice to see you again this evening... go on and pull your kitchen stool over closer.  Don't mind me, I have a handful to do tonight.  It'll be nice if you keep me company as I cook.

Remember, when you're in my kitchen, you become part of my family.  You may even hear the whispers of ancestral women sharing their wisdom with you and I.  That's what my family and I do.  We catch up and have these great conversations as we prepare a meal.  Your family probably does the same.

Some of the best advice that I've gotten from my parents, I received in the kitchen.  Although, I admit, not always willingly.  Like most kids, it didn't matter at the time whether I wanted to receive my parents', or my grandmother's, gift of wisdom.  What mattered is that it stuck with me.  There are times when some  twenty something years later I can remember something important that my family taught me, that now holds even greater relevance.

For instance, one that came to me as I prepared last night's dish was my Dad sternly reminding me never to start something new without first finishing what I'd started.  At the time, surely he meant not to move on to the next dish without first finishing chopping up the veggies, and cleaning up.

After repeated drills from Dad I learned to have "Cooking Stations".  I now have a "prep" station where I do all my washing and chopping.  Then I have a wet ingredients station, one for dry and the infamous "garbage bowl" (which I swear to you that my Dad invented) to keep garbage in as I go.  The garbage bowl is simply a large mixing bowl lined with a plastic shopping bag, like the ones we get from the market.

I'll tell you why this is better than keeping the trash can nearby.  Once you're done disposing of onion layers, trimmed fat off meat, or excess vegetables you can seal off the bag and slow down the oxidation process in your trash can, therefore avoiding that offensive garbage smell given off by organic material.

My mom used to also stress the importance of not starting something new until I finished what I had originally set out to do.  She had a creative way of making that lesson stick with me, but you'll have to stay tuned for that one.

If you're like me, you don't have a large kitchen and are probably thinking you don't have room for "cooking stations" or garbage bowls.  I assure you that it really doesn't take much room at all.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the neater you cook, the more you can enjoy your meal later without the threat of a kitchen that looks like Picasso and Van Gogh had a party commemorating your kitchen walls with a vast assortment of marinades! 


The less that you have to worry about clean-up, the more you and your family & guests can enjoy yourselves.  So there!  No need to have a state-of-the-art kitchen.  If you have counter space for 2 or 3 of those floppy cutting boards and one large mixing bowl, we're in business!

So, here you are spending time with me and watching me go, here in my kitchen.  You're probably wondering what exactly is a Sofrito Disciple.  Right?  I assure you that it is not some freakish cooking cult!  I think of myself as a disciple because I am a student of my kitchen, my ingredients and what life has to teach me.  The kitchen just happens to be my hall of epiphanies, where it all comes together.  Why there?  Because that is when I have the time and serenity to assimilate my thoughts, my fears and my dreams.

Now, I'll let you in on a secret.  I am a creature who treasures rituals.  When I was a girl, Mamita & my mom and I would sit together in the kitchen about once a month, to make Recca'o, otherwise known as Sofrito.  This is where it gets confusing for some people.  The definition of Sofrito varies from region to region in Latin America.

Sofrito is technically a cooking base used in many of our sauces or rice dishes.  Making Sofrito is no easy task. We would sport our "batitas", or house-dresses, and bandannas.  Sounds attractive, right?  Well, it's a good idea not to get your good clothing dirty, and to keep hair out of your prep area all-together.  A good hair clip or baseball cap works too.

I have to tell you that there is something about making Sofrito that connects me to my Native-American and African roots.  This process renders respect for my ancestors who made this herbal paste, as well as the Earth that provides the many blessings that we often take for granted.  The herbs, the garlic and the onions overwhelm my senses and seem to trigger innate memories that I'm not quite certain that I've ever known.

Doesn't it sometimes amaze you how we are given gifts that we really didn't learn?  Or how we assume traditions and skills that have been in our families for generations.  This is the type of respect for my elders, and for the Land, that cooking provides my soul. 

                                                                       Sofrito

A green herbal paste, used as a cooking base; made with lots of garlic, coriander, fresh herbs, peppers, onions, lime juice, salt and ground pepper.

First you must peel and crush about 3-4 cups of garlic. 
Unfortunately, this was always my job.  Now I just buy the container of freshly peeled garlic cloves in the market.  It is important that you not use the garlic paste sold in jars.  That has it's own benefits in our kitchen, but never for making sofrito.  There is no substitute for fresh garlic.  Further, it's also not worth toying around with "Elephant Garlic".  Yeah, it's easier to peel and much to my mom's dismay I experimented with this for a while.  She was so right though, there is no substitution for your regular garlic cloves.  The flavor is super-concentrated and it is much more fragrant.  Okay reader, you win.  That was my dissertation on garlic.  Moving on...



There are also these small, sweet, multi-colored peppers that we call Ajis or Ajisitos.  
You must remove the seeds from these.  You need about 2 cups.  I'll be frank, I can only find these in New York City.  They really don't sell them in Upstate, NY and I often have to skip this part (I'm sorry, Mom!) despite how flavorful they really are. You can substitute any other kind of assortment of sweet peppers, although my Mom will warn you that it does not compare.  I have to agree with her, but depending on where you live, you may not find the ajisitos either.

 Now let's add about 5-7 bunches of Recca'o, or Coriander leaves (main ingredient), well rinsed.

 4 bunches of cilantro, after they've been washed well.


4 bunches of scallions, also well-rinsed.

I pull apart the ends of the herb leaves with my hands.  In other words, what you would normally cut with a knife, it's better to twist off with your hands.  The blade of the knife can speed up the oxidation process and your sofrito will not last as long.

Let's add about 3 chopped purple onions (rarely do I ever use anything but the purple onions (why would you)..?

And now, the best part!  You dear Reader, are reading this in the year 2011.  Gone are the days where you had to mash all of these ingredients by hand with a mortar and pestle. Or even with a blender.  Nowadays we have food processors!  That means the hardest part of all this is washing and trimming all of the veggies and herbs.  

Once you do that, throw them all in the food processor, adding in fresh lime juice (about 2 whole limes squeezed), olive oil and light salt and pepper.  Aside from adding flavor, these ingredients also serve as natural preservatives.

Once all of your ingredients have been mixed in, it should all form a green, aromatic herbal paste.  This my friends, is Sofrito!  The base, the life and the foundation for so many of our dishes.

Now you pack this in jars or freezer safe containers.  Freeze a few containers.  Keep one in your fridge for use.

If you want to add life  and depth to your dishes, try adding some olive oil to the pan before you cook.  Add one large table spoon of Sofrito. and add a can of tomato sauce.  Simmer for a few minutes, and add any type of meat, soup, fish, rice and water as needed.  Garnish with peppers and onions and Voila!  Or Wepa!, as we say in Puerto Rico!


I added 3 photos for you so that you can see the mixture process  in steps.  Remember to store in air-tight containers.

 Although to some this may seem like an arduous process, you can take it as an opportunity to sit with your loved ones, peel garlic, wash veggies, laugh, cry (because of the onions,  of course) and pass it on.  Plan to be in the kitchen for a couple of hours, but it's so worth it.  By having this pre-made you will be adding flavorful freshness to even your quickest meals.  It's certainly worth finishing once you get started!

Remember: The more love that you put into your culinary techniques and preparation, the more you are giving and sharing of yourself.

Muy buen provecho!

Footnote: My family calls sofrito "Recca'o" because one of the main ingredients is this flavorful, crisp fragrant herb that we call recca'o.  I believe that in English it's called Coriander.  This is not easy to find in the states, much less in Upstate, NY.  I can only find it in a local Asian Supermarket about 20 miles from where I live.