Easy as Pie

I have been baking with my grandma for as long as I can remember. She teaches me the recipes that were passed down to her by her mother, including lemon meringue pie, spritz cookies, scotcharoos, and my favorite, apple pie. Since she first taught me to bake an apple pie a few years ago, I have been making it for my family for holidays and and get-togethers. I have even changed the recipe a little to make it my own.

The filling of the pie is easy, but tedious. It calls for 6-8 cups of apples, which must be cored, peeled, and thinly sliced, then set to absorb sugar and cinnamon. My grandma also gave me the family recipe for the home made crust, and insists that a pre-made crust would be "sacrilegious". My mom and sister have been unsuccessful in their attempts at my grandma's apple pie, so I feel like it is something that I can share with my grandma. I like having something that only we can do.

I was worried about making the pie in the Mabee kitchen. The climate here is very different from California, and the oven is here is evil. I sat in the kitchen the whole 50 minutes it took the pie to bake because I was scared it would burn, or combust, or explode. I was relatively happy with the result. The filling was mushier than usual, but the crust was flakier, and not as dry as I have found it to be at home. I bought vanilla Bluebell ice cream from the cove to serve with it, and served it to the neighboring FYS, who fought over it bite for bite. I think it was a success.