Little Cooking Tips - Serves 6-8

Step by Step Traditional Homemade Apple Pie

littlecookingtips — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 20:55:18 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

641

Servings:

Preparation Time:

Cooking Time:

This is a favorite dessert worldwide: Homemade Apple pie! A universal sweet having millions (if not billions) of fans all over the globe.

Yes, we’ve seen the expression “as American as Apple pie” but the truth is the Apple pie is a centuries old dessert, that remains extremely popular on both sides of the Atlantic.
Millions of Americans and Europeans have so many memories of their moms (and grandmas) baking delicious apple pies and their selves as kids being impatient to taste them :)
We are part of that tradition ourselves, so we couldn’t resist sharing our traditional apple pie recipe with all of you through our website.

Our version is very simple. The dough is a classic French dough, called Pâte Sucrée that contains flour, eggs, butter, water and sugar. As simple as that. Perhaps you ‘ve also seen it as Pâte Brisée. The Brisée type doesn’t contain any sugar and it’s therefore also suitable for savory pies.

Our filling is made with apples, cinnamon, a bit of clove, raisins, sugar, lemon and –if you like-a bit of Grand Marnier. Grand Marnier is a liqueur which pairs amazingly with this pie. If you want your pie to be more kid-friendly, you may omit this of course.

Instead of simply making the top crust by adding another disc of dough and slitting it, we prefer to make the Lattice crisscross pattern. This pattern allows the pie to ventilate better and therefore, bake better. Plus, it looks beautiful! Many people are intimidated by this pattern, but trust us, it’s VERY easy to make. You can find our method in the pictures below, or you can browse for videos on YouTube for tutorials. It’s really easy though.

The difference in this recipe in comparison to others in our site, is that we offer easy, step by step instructions for making the pie. This way, even if you never baked an apple pie before, if you read the instructions and follow the pictures below, we are confident you will be able to make a perfect pie.

Take a couple of minutes to read the instructions; we think you’ll get it at once. Even the Lattice crust. Then, give it a try! :)

So let’s see how to bake this delicious, traditional homemade dessert!

Ingredients:

For the dough (Pâte Sucrée):

- 450gr / 16oz / 1lb all-purpose flour (you can also measure using 3 cups plus 4 tablespoons of flour)
- 250gr butter, unsalted (Do NOT use margarine instead of butter in this recipe!)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon salt

For the apple filling:

- 1kg /2.2lb / 35.3oz apples, peeled and chopped (see steps below)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 170gr / 6oz (1 cup) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 20gr / 0.7oz (3 tablespoons) all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 35gr / 1.2oz (1/4 cup) black (Corinth) raisins
- 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier (optional)
- 1 egg, beaten with a tablespoon of water (egg wash)

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First start making dough:

Sift the flour into a large bowl (pic.1). This will help incorporate some air in the dough, which will make it fluffier.
Add the salt and the caster sugar (pic.2).

Add the butter (pic.3) and mix with the flour and the caster sugar. If you have a special wire tool dough cutter you can use this here, otherwise use your hands (like we do).
Mix until all the flour becomes crumbly (pic.4).

Add the beaten eggs, mixed with the 2 tablespoons of water (pic. 5) and mix all with a spatula until you get a nice dough (pic. 6). You can always use your hands of course.

The end result will be a beautiful dough. Form into a ball (pic.7), cover with film (pic. 8) and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, start making the apple filling:

Peel the apples and cut in quarters. Remove the core part from each quarter (pic. 9). Cut each quarter into strips (pic. 10). The strips can be as thick or thin as you like.

Slice the strips in 2 or 3 pieces (pic 11). Add them in a large bowl and add the lemon juice (pic. 12). Mix well. The point is to get some of the lemon in all the apples, in order to prevent them from browning.

Add the brown sugar (pic. 13), the cinnamon powder and the ground cloves (pic. 14).

Add the flour (pic. 15), and the raisins (pic. 16).

Mix well with your hands (pic. 17), and drizzle the Grand Marnier (pic. 18, optional). Set aside.

Remove the dough from the fridge and cut in half.
Dust your kitchen counter/table with some flour and put the first half on.
Using a rolling pin create a circle rolling from the center outwards, all around (pic. 19). You want to create a disc wide enough to cover a 28cm/11in round pan/pie dish (4-5cm/1.5-2in deep). We prefer using a tin metallic non-stick pan ourselves.
When the disc has formed, roll the dough on the pin (pic. 20).

If there's too much flour on the dough, you can dust it out with a brush (pic. 21).
Roll out the dough on the pan/dish (pic. 22).

Gently push the dough into the pan/dish, to take its form (pic. 23).
You can use the rolling pin at this point to cut the excess dough from the edge of the pan (pic. 24).

Add the apple filling (pic. 25). Gently spread it equally into the pan (pic. 26).

Take the second half of the dough, dust the counter/table with flour and again using the rolling pin form a similar disc as before. Cut the top and bottom parts and keep aside (pic. 27).
Using a pizza cutter or a knife, cut the dough into strips (pic. 28). The strips can be as many or as little as you prefer, depending on the width you want for them.

Add some of the strips vertically (pic. 29). Trim the edges (pic. 30) and set them aside with the excess dough.
Now it's time to form the Lattice (crisscross) crust. It's VERY easy, even though it seems complex.
Here's our method, which we call "Odds and Evens".

Pull the Even strips on the far edge towards you. In this pie, it's the strips 2,4,6,8.
Add a strip horizontally (pic. 31).
Put the Even strips (2, 4, 6, 8) back into their position, on top of the added strip (pic. 32).

From this point on, you lift the strips the other way. Away from you, instead of towards. And you select the Odd strips (1, 3, 5, 7, 9). Add again a horizontal strip (pic. 33).
Cover with the Odd strips.
Then do the same with the Even strips. Lift them, put a horizontal strip and put them down on top of it.
Then the Odd strips again, etc.
The final result is the wonderful crisscross pattern.
Now, take the excess dough you set aside before and form small strips to add them around the edge of the pan/dish (pic. 34).

Brush the crisscross pattern with egg wash (pic. 35) and sprinkle with some more brown sugar (pic. 36).

At this point cut some aluminum foil strips (pic. 37), and cover the dough on the edge of the pan (pic. 38). This helps it not being burned. You can also use some special metallic pie rings that exist in the market.

Place into the oven at the lower third rack, at 220 degrees Celsius/425 Fahrenheit and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil from the edge and continue baking for 30 to 45 minutes more.

IMPORTANT: Do not cut the pie for at least 3 hours after removing from the oven. This will help the pieces to stay together when you cut them, and will allow the juices to be absorbed.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. You can also dust with some caster sugar.
Kali oreksi!

Tips:

Use a variety of apples (at least 2 types); your pie will taste so much better!

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Puff pastry hand pies with mushrooms, peppers and smoked turkey

littlecookingtips — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:40:44 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou

Calories (per serving):

580

Servings:

Serves 6-8

Preparation Time:

30 minutes

Cooking Time:

45 minutes

Who doesn't like puff pastry pies? This time will filled some individual puff pastry hand pies with peppers, mushrooms, smoked turkey and cheese, making a great appetizer / snack we can enjoy in any occasion!

Ingredients:

- 1 puff pastry package, 500gr/17oz
- 150gr/5.3oz (about 1 cup) common (champignon) mushrooms, in thin slices
- 80gr/2.8oz green bell pepper (1 medium sized), cut into small squares
- 50gr/1.7oz smoked turkey slices (about 5 slices), cut into small squares
- 250gr/8.5oz grated cheese (prefer a mixture of cheddar, edam, dubliner)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons olive oil

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Preparation: Thaw puff pastry. If you can't find any package with individual pies already cut, you can buy the classic puff pastry sheets and cut 10cm/4inches circles from each sheet.

Sautee the mushrooms and the peppers in a nonstick frying pan, on medium to high heat, for about 10 minutes, until the moisture is evaporated.
Remove from heat and keep aside.

Put some nonstick baking paper on a medium sized baking pan, and start putting the pastry circles (image 1). Put 1-2 tablespoons of the peppers/mushrooms mix in the center of the circle (image 2). Add some turkey on top (image 3).

Cover with grated cheese, and brush with egg the edge of the circle (image 4). Do the same with the egg in another empty circle (image 5) and cover the first circle with the ingredients (image 6), pressing well the edges to make the two sheets stick together.
Brush the top with some egg.
Do the same with the rest of the ingredients and pastry circles. The ingredients are enough for 6-7 pies. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit) for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Let the pies cool down a bit before serving. Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. You can add feta cheese, or replace some of the ingredients with others, according to your liking.
2. Instead of using 2 circles of pastry for each pie, you can also do the following: Put a bit less stuffing in each circle, and fold the circle in the middle, creating half-moon pies. Be carefull to press well the edge to make it stick. This way, you can make more -smaller- pies.
3. They 're great for breakfast (serve warm)!

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Low Cost

Traditional Greek Potato Garlic dip/spread (Skordalia)

littlecookingtips — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 12:19:14 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou

Calories (per serving):

266

Servings:

Serves 6-8

Cooking Time:

15 minutes

Skordalia (Garlic dip), is a very common dip in Greece and is usually present on the side of fried cod or boiled beetroots. It's made either by using bread or mashed potatos. In this recipe we are using potatos.

We believe that this way it's better for those not used to spicy food containing garlic. The bread version is stronger in taste. It's an easy recipe and the result is "powerful"!

Ingredients:

- 700-800gr/25-28oz/1.5-1.8lb potatoes
- 4-5 garlic cloves (around 20gr/0.7oz), minced
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 160ml extra virgin olive oil (2/3 of a cup)
- salt

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Preparation

Peel and cut the potatoes in cubes (4-5 cm/1.5-2 inches thick).
Place them in a pot with slightly salted boiling water and boil them until the they are softened enough to mash (when ready, they can be easily pierced with a fork).
Then remove from the pot, drain the potatoes and them in a bowl.
Mash the potatoes and add the garlic and the vinegar.
Stir to incorporate, and then add the olive oil and the salt, stir well, until they are absorbed.

Leave aside to cool down (minimum 30 minutes). This will allow the flavors to develop.
Serve it as a starter with some crusty bread and olives, or as a side dish for fried fish or boiled veggies.

Tips:

1. You can add or reduce the quantity of the garlic according to your preferences.
2. Be careful with the salt, as this recipe requires a bit more than usual. Just taste it when adding the salt to achieve the desired outcome.

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