Apple pie four ways

I've been lucky enough to see two of my favorite TV personalities live in the last week. It's super cool to see people you watch on TV every week who are, in my case, incredibly personable in real life. First up: Donald Glover. If you haven't watched Community, go watch it, right now. This is a preview of Troy (Donald) and his BFF Abed, including Troy and Abed in the Morning. Anyway, Donald came to  KU, and I went to see him with my friend Jon, who started me on the show. He was hysterical, and his standup act was incredible. And he came back to do an encore, which he said he'd never done before. That was the coolest, because he answered questions from the crowd, did the biblioteca rap and even told us he'd ask if he could wear a KU shirt on the show. He's my new favorite person.

And then on Monday, I saw Bobby Flay! He is easily my favorite celebrity chef. I've been to both his Mesa Grill restaurant in Vegas and Bar Americain in NYC, twice at each. And they're both amazing. Flay came to speak about his new Bar Americain cookbook, which has some pretty awesome-looking recipes in it (I plan to make his red velvet cake for my birthday this weekend!). He was also incredibly personable, which great. He talked about how he was a high school dropout, but still succeeded in the culinary world. He told some great stories, like how his wife, who is known for her role as a ADA in Law & Order: SVU, wakes up at least three days a week craving chicken. And how he learned so much in Jonathan Waxman's kitchen in one of his early jobs. I can't wait for more episodes of Throwdown with Bobby Flay to come on! 

So for some reason, I had a huge desire to make apple pies this month. It started with this one. Apples are in season, but I've always sucked at crusts. I've made a few with Aunt Betty, but they always ended up less-than-round and falling apart. So I decided to challenge myself and make a basic Joy of Cooking apple pie, with Kelly's assistance. I made and rolled out the crust and used an apple cookie cutter, and actually got it round and flaky! Apparently all that practice helped. It was awesome. So I'm no longer afraid of pie. Which meant Aunt Betty and I decided to make three more.

This was the first of three pies I made with Aunt Betty last weekend on our most recent baking extravaganza. The original plan was to only do two, but hey, why not three? This is a cheddar-crusted apple pie courtesy of Martha, which I've always wanted to make. I'd never eaten cheddar with apple pie till Cathie, who always paired the two. They're actually a really great combo — the salty of the cheddar offsets the sweet of the apples. So in the crust, it's a perfect match. The cutout top was made with this awesome crust cutter I just got.

The second pie of the day, and third overall, was an apple crumb pie, another Martha recipe I've always wanted to make from her Baking Handbook I got for graduation. It's got an almond crumb crust and a whole bunch of apples underneath. You slice the apples so they look pretty, like you can see in the photo at the top. Interestingly enough, this sliced the nicest of all the pies. Definitely a different take on a classic.

The last pie we decided to make on a whim: apple cider pie. We used Louisburg Apple Cider, the local favorite from the mill I visited a couple weeks ago. This filling was actually my favorite, I think because the cider gave it a really tart, pronounced apple flavor. Pair this filling with the cheddar crust, and I think I'd have the perfect apple pie. I'm definitely trying it soon.

Fall field trip: Louisburg Cider Mill

It's fall. Well, officially, it's fall tomorrow. But we've already had fall weather around, with nice crisp days in the 50s and 60s. Naturally, the high today is in the 80s. Welcome to Kansas.

But this weekend, me and my friends Kelly, Brianne and Lauren decided to go with the fall mentality and visit Louisburg Cider Mill in Louisburg, KS. Famous for its apple cider doughnuts and, of course, apple cider.

They've got this sweet doughnut-making machine that even flips them. I want one! Or maybe not. Somehow I think that would be bad.

The doughnuts are amazing, though, and rolled in cinnamon sugar. Apparently the day-old doughnuts are pretty popular. I tried making apple cider doughnuts last year, but they definitely weren't this pretty.

Kelly is the only one I managed to force to take a picture with her doughnut. Doesn't she look happy?

Check out those apples. Unfortunately, all the machinery for making the cider wasn't running, because we were there on a Sunday. But it was still neat to see.

My friend Sarah wrote a story about the mill for my old paper and Lawrence.com. Apparently they have a cider fest coming up. Probably worth the trip there again. After the festival, stop by Miss B's Cafe in Louisburg, where we went for brunch. They had the best cinnamon rolls ever (and I don't even like cinnamon rolls!) and great food for really cheap. My breakfast plate was a grand total of $4.34.

We took the scenic route to the store, courtesy of my loopy GPS on my phone, which told me to enter onto a highway where there was no ramp. I guess it expected my car to be able to jump up to a bridge, sprout wings or something a la Back to the Future DeLorean.

It was a great day trip, and totally worth the drive, whether from Kansas City or Lawrence. Especially if you take the scenic route :)

An apple a day means fall

I've been in a bit of a baking slump lately. Granted, a slump for me is still baking once in a week or so, but it's less than normal. I think I've just been busy with other things, like working, writing stories and just hanging out with friends. All valid reasons, I think, for less baking. That, and I think I've lacked inspiration lately. The weather here has been strange, but hey, that's Kansas. I'm a huge fan of fall weather, but it only cooled down a couple days ago. Between the extended summer and the fact that I didn't go back to school for the first time in 17 years this August, I've been a little thrown off. Not that I mind — I'm super happy to not have homework. I'm just shocked at how late in September it is already, and that I haven't had a test in who-knows-what political science class. I actually sealed the post-grad deal last week when I went to pick up my diplomas (four months after I earned them). I got those, plus my distinction cords, plus my honors medal, plus my Phi Beta Kappa key. I didn't get any of them at the ceremonies, because I skipped them. So now that all of that stuff is sitting on my bedroom floor, it's easier to realize that college is actually done.


Not having homework means that I get to plan stuff in my free time, time that doesn't revolve around reading or calls from The Kansan. One of my days off I went to Aunt Betty's house and started fall baking (before the weather changed, but hey, I was being proactive!). Fall baking means apples to me. I'm not much of a pumpkin gal, but tart apples in an apple pie? Mmmmm. First, though, we made apple cider doughnuts. I've been craving these since I saw them in last October's Food Network Magazine, but since we knocked out doughnuts earlier this month, I thought we should try these. They're super heavy, but light inside. Rolled in cinnamon sugar and with a delicate apple flavor, they were heavenly. I managed to burn myself with hot oil while frying them. Always fun. Frankly, I hate cooking with oil. It's so temperamental. Boo.


Then we did the Martha Stewart apple pie. We did a nice Joy of Cooking double crust, complete with obscene amounts of butter, which, of course, makes it that much tastier. Then the apple filling and covering with a second crust, with apple cutouts. I'm getting slightly better at making crust, but that managed to injure me too. I cut myself on the food processor's blade, so let's just say it wasn't my day. The pie, though, was excellent, especially with some yummy cheddar cheese.


In between oil heating for doughnuts and pie crust chilling, I also made some cashews. I found a recipe for ginger cayenne cashews in my latest Martha Stewart Living. Last time I tried making flavored cashews, I burnt them pretty close to a char. We watched these much closer, and they turned out excellent. They had a really unique flavor, and the cayenne wasn't overpowering. They were a great snack.


Then a few days later I went to my friend Sarah's house to help with her baking. I admire her because she eats WAY healthier than me and does things like run 30 miles in one day (!). She bakes, but it's generally vegan, and always tastes excellent. After eating broccoli pad thai, we made carrot-raisin cookies. It always fascinates me when baking vegan, because I'm so used to putting butter and eggs in just about everything I bake. Apparently flax seed acts similarly to an egg and as a binding agent. Anyway, these cookies were super yummy and made a gazillion!


She also had me help ice a bunch of mini cupcakes, half chocolate chip agave, half key lime coconut. All vegan. I'd never tried agave before, but they were a much richer sweet. I didn't actually help bake the cupcakes, but did mix and pipe the icing. I think they turned out pretty :)

So now I'm getting baking bug again. I'm trying to decide what I will make for my own birthday, which is this Saturday. I might make another ice cream cake, or cupcakes, or nothing. I guess I get to decide, right? I can't wait!

Michigan and lake baking (2 of 8 goals met)

It’s been a fairly long week, well, couple weeks. I’ve had a major life change, which has taken most of my time lately. Not that I haven’t been baking, but I haven’t had time to write. Today I’m coming home from Michigan, where I was visiting my mother a couple days. On the upside (I guess), work has been picking up. It was slow all last week, until Saturday night, when all the crime that was waiting to happen, happened. Oh, and other big news, I made it onto Foodgawker and Tastespotting for the first time EVER a couple weeks ago! I came home and my hits had jumped by the hundreds, and I thought Google Analytics was wrong. Nope, it wasn’t, and I was super duper excited! Now, to keep getting pictures up there.


Before all this stuff happened, though, I visited my dad and stepmom out on the lake. He got an awesome new boat and it was a good couple of days away. My friend Sarah gave me some vegan recipes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World to try, so I decided that for the lake, s’mores cupcakes would work out. This was my second venture into vegan cupcake-making, the first being for Sarah’s birthday. This was definitely a little bit more difficult. One of the main sweeteners in the cake was molasses, and frankly, I dislike that strong a flavor. More graham cracker crumbs and that was fixed. Vegan buttercream was also an experiment (especially when the vegan shortening misspelled carefully as “carefulyl”). Ultimately, though, they were tasty, and a great addition at camp.


Last week, I had an intense baking/dinner session with Aunt Betty. Three desserts in about three hours, plus meeting a new kitty cat — definitely a highlight! The first was a tray of cheesecake brownies, a request from my friend Jon at work (I love requests — they keep things interesting!). This will be one of the first desserts I didn’t get a picture of because they were gone so quickly at work. They were super easy and from one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen. Maybe I’ll make them again this week. Also on the list was a recipe I heard one morning — or afternoon, however you look at it — when I woke up. Sometimes I leave the Food Network on while I sleep, and Sunny Anderson’s show was on. She had a recipe for apple pound cake, and it looked super tasty. The picture is what apple pound cake looks like after the newsroom has had some :)


The third item was my first stab at macarons, my second try at a baking goal. Aunt Betty and I used actual almonds ground up in a food processor, and we left them sort of chunky. Apparently you have to be careful not to process them too much or you’ll get almond butter. Anyway, French macarons are these almond-based cookies that are basically a meringue, so it’s too humid almost every day in Kansas, except for this one. These were eaten immediately, and oh-so-good.


Now, in Michigan, I tried making them with almond flour, pre-ground and much finer. I don’t think I’ll try making them again any time soon — a bag was $12.50! Anyway, I’m not sure I have the whole egg-white-whipping thing down, so it might be a while before I make lemon meringue pie. Here, I made two varieties — vanilla with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream, and chocolate with either maple Swiss meringue buttercream or vanilla buttercream. They’re super yummy, but I’m not sure they’re worth all the effort. At least until I get better at them.


I also wanted to make cupcakes while in Michigan, so I made cookies and cream cupcakes I’ve had my eye on. There’s half an Oreo (with cream) in the bottom, plus a super heavy vanilla batter with coarsely chopped Oreos mixed in. Cream cheese icing and the other Oreo half on top, and we’ve got ourselves a tasty cupcake. Let’s just say, Mom’s got a fridge-full of desserts.


So now, I just need something to look forward to. I’m one of those people who needs a long-term goal, even if that’s my birthday (which is a month and a week away!). I actually will get to go out on a Saturday night – woo hoo! I hope to enjoy some shark attacks (like in this photo from my last bday, with one of my best friends Erin). Beyond that, it’s time to figure out some new things to look forward to.

Food tasting in NYC

This weekend was fall break, so Drew and I took off on our first trip ever to NYC. Despite awful flight delays (we almost missed our Broadway show!), the weekend was awesome. Lots of shopping, sightseeing, and LOTS of walking. The best part, besides seeing Mary Poppins on Broadway and seeing her pull a full coat stand out of her bag that was clearly only two feet deep, was the food.

I'm kind of obsessive about watching the Food Network. Iron Chef America, Diners Drive-Ins and Dives, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, Ace of Cakes, everything. So when I go to NYC, I want to eat at the restaurants of these people I see.

We've eaten at Mesa Grill by Bobby Flay in Las Vegas, but in New York we ate at Bar Americain, his other restaurant. Drew got a burger and I got chicken pot pie with a sweet potato puff pastry. For dessert, I got an apple tart with maple ice cream. Maple is one of my favorite flavors, so it was pretty amazing. I'm going to try to make the tart sometime, but it's going to take quite a bit of practice to make it look that nice and cut those apples so thin!

Then we went to Mario Batali's Lupa, where I had squash pasta with a butter sauce. I'm pretty sure the people sitting next to us were part of the mob; the guy had a deep New Jersey accent and while he had a wedding ring, she definitely didn't. And he was calling her honey.

We also had breakfast at the Creperie, a place featured on Throwdown. It's fascinating watching them make them; if I tried to make a pastry that thin it would break every time. Mine was raspberry white chocolate, Drew got s'mores and Mary got spinach artichoke.

But my favorite of the trip was Magnolia Bakery, full of awesome cupcakes. Red velvet, devil's food cake, pumpkin maple, so many choices! They also had cheesecakes, including red velvet and key lime, cookies and cakes. I think I might be able to spend every day there. The cupcakes each had like two inches of frosting and were unbelievably tasty. I' d like to figure out how to make cupcakes that well someday.

Overall, it was an awesome trip with some really tasty food. I want to go back some time to do some more sightseeing and definitely some more scouting for desserts. It just makes me want to bake, but that comes tomorrow.