Cry Baby Pie

You know what makes a good pie? A good movie. I watched "Cry Baby" staring a young Johnny Depp. Oh...! The lines in that movie. "That's why I gotta do somethin' rotten everyday for my folks."

A good recipe helps too. I used the dough recipe from Alton Brown's apple pie recipe. Unfortunately, the larger food processor I recently acquired from a friend doesn't seem to work. So I had to mix it in batches in a smaller food processor (which I suspect is mainly meant for fresh sauces).

I didn't follow the recipe exactly (par for course for a Sarah). I replaced the apple jack with vanilla rum because I don't have an extra twenty dollars for liquor and still have a hefty stash from my birthday. Also...I have a secret. To season the apples... I used garam masala. Yes, my curry seasoning stash went into apple pie. Personally, since apples aren't even a native plant I don't feel that putting an Indian spice mix into a fruit that is no longer grows in its native soil doesn't feel strange at all.

The pie would have been more attractive if I had a pie bird instead of just scrunching a bunch of tin foil into a cone shape, but I feel that it was pretty good for a first attempt.

Now, if you'll excuse me, that left over pie won't eat itself.

Apple Bunnies FTW

Hah... did you think that since this is a food blog that was updated on Thanksgiving that there would be helpful hints on how to get crispy turkey skin or how to make the perfect pie? How little you know me...

The truth is that the Boyfriend and I are going to the Boyfriend's dad's house tomorrow to celebrate. I have also never cooked a turkey in my life. I think I made a turkey burger one time, but that's about the extent of it. I do love to eat turkey though. My mom makes the best turkey noodles (think chicken noodle soup, but actually delicious). They're pleasantly slick with turkey juice without being overly greasy. I suspect that I'll never master the art of turkey noodles because it's going to be a long, long time before I cook a turkey.

Instead, I present to you: apple bunnies!

Apple bunnies are a bento staple, and also a fun way to serve raw apple. At H-Mart organic apples were on sale, and I decided I couldn't live without one. These apples are really too big to eat in one sitting, so this was how I shared it.



First you cut the bunnies into the appropriate size. They're supposed to be eaten in two to three bites, so cut them to fit that. I ended up with twelve bunnies from an apple a little bigger than the size of my two fists.



Make an inverted V (or an A without the middle line... kind of like "^") incision into the skin of your apple slice on one end. (Unless you're superman, you can't see the incision in this picture).



Put your pairing knife under the skin and slide it up until you've reached the apex of your inverted V.



"Pop" the wedge out. I usually just eat it. It's full of... red... nutrients... just eat it okay!



If you leave them in cold, acidulous water (just add lemon juice) the bunnies won't brown. If your water is cold enough, the bunny ears will curl up in an attractive way.