I've been thinking a lot about thankfulness this week, strange right?
It has taken on a whole new, and perhaps more relevant meaning to me over the course of this last year, as I'm sure it has for a lot of you. And before I talk about the perfect pie crust and all the baking goodness that I know you are here for, I'd like to share some thoughts.
I don't know if I'm the only one who feels this, but sometimes when I find myself in a moment of thankfulness, I also experience a wave of another, opposite emotion. Guilt. Particularly in this year, this pandemic, that has caused so much pain and fear and taken so much from us and our loved ones; being thankful in it feels almost careless. Like somehow my thankfulness, and desire to find the goodness in this season negates the very real struggle we all feel.
Who declared this a rule? That we are only allowed to feel one thing at a time? At any given moment I can either be grateful or burdened; thankful or fearful; hopeful or defeated. I think we are more complex than that, and our feelings are more complex than that. Thankfulness is not a facade, blanketed over our pain to simply make us feel better. It is necessary and also hard, it's the "yes and" of life. Yes, this pandemic has taken so much from me; and I am thankful for closeness with friends and family. Yes, I am weary; and I am thankful for the resilience built up in me. Yes, my pain is real; and I am so thankful for my joy.
Thankfulness is the freedom of the heart and soul to feel the joys of life, to breath deeper, love more intentionally, sit in the stillness of your contentedness and just, be. This Thanksgiving, root yourself in thankfulness. Not to play a part, or make everyone around you feel good, and not to overshadow the realness of your struggle. Let these emotions stir together, swirling around your heart into one big messy and beautiful life.
Now, on to the pie...
Well, I say pie but what I have opted for this year in lieu of a traditional double-crust All-American apple pie, is a free form tart of sorts, specifically referred to as a galette. It consists of one roundish piece of pastry that is loosley formed by hand around your filling, which in my case will be apple but feel free to put any fruit filling in one of these. I will recommend that you stick to more solid fruit fillings (but you do you), and definitely no cream-based fillings in this type of pastry.
The pastry:
I have experimented with a TON of different pie crust recipes, ranging from the simplest to those slightly more complicated and I am here to reveal the best kept culinary secret of all time, it really doesn't matter. I know, I know, I'm going to upset some people with this one. But most pie crust recipes are simply variations of each other, changing an ingredient here, or replacing one there. All I will say, find one that speaks to you and gives you the result you want (flakier vs. more sturdy). I myself am a fan of Allison Roman's recipe from her cookbook Dining In, as I have found that her addition of vinegar results in a crust that is slightly tenderized, meaning it will be flakier and easier to work with (I think you can google this recipe but don't quote me on that). The most crucial part of making pie dough however, is the absolute NEED to keep things as cold as humanely possible. The temperature of your ingredients is what will make or break your pie dough, so don't try to hastily make dough without leaving proper time for cooling because you will be sorry. My personal method is to err on the side of over-cooling, meaning, I chill everything. After I cut my butter into the chunks needed, I put them back in the fridge. I do the same thing with the flour and sugar after I measure it, as well as the water and vinegar. I even do it with the bowl I am going to make the crust in. If your ingredients are cold, cold, cold and you leave ample time for chilling (at lest 2 hours), after your dough is made, you will have success.
The filling:
Okay, I'm going to be honest with you guys. When it comes to fruit pie fillings, I rarely; nay, I never consult recipes. There are just so few times in the world of baking where you can let your creativity come through and experiment with a bunch of different stuff, so when moments like that come I have to seize them. Basically, you need your fruit, spices, sugar, butter, and acid. If you have all of these components then your filling will turn out right, the rest is up to you and your creativity. But if you are looking for more rigidity this holiday here is how I prepare my apple filling:
- Apples: I like to use a combo of tart and sweet, get about 3 of each and cut into 1/2 inch slices. In terms of skin, use your personal preference! I like to leave the skin on but if you don't, that's your business and feel free to peel them.
- Sugar: use a combo of white and light brown sugar. This helps the apples create their own sort of caramel sauce as they bake, which needless to say, is a very good thing.
- Spices: Get creative here! Whatever sounds good to you will probably end up being delicious. I usually use cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ground ginger, and maybe some ground cloves if I am feeling adventurous.
- Butter: Use it. I don't really know what more to say about that. I usually cut it into small cubes and sprinkle it over the top of the apples right before baking.
- Acid: Lemon juice is what I typically go for, I usually add the juice from 2 lemons into my apples because I don't want this to be sickeningly sweet, but add more or less based on your preference.
And that's it! The only thing left is to roll your dough out, add your apples in a pretty (or not) design making sure to leave about a 2-inch border of dough around the edges so you can fold it up encasing all the apple happiness where it needs to be. Brush the dough with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar to finish, and bake at 350 until it is golden-brown and crusty, about 20-30 minutes.
I hope this Thanksgiving gives you and whoever you are spending it with time to reflect on the good of this year. But even if you don't, or rather can't, know that is okay too. Thankfulness comes when it is right, only leaving its mark of joy when it comes from an authentic heart. At the very least, I hope you eat some really, really good food.
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