Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Balls Falls Thanksgiving Festival 2010


This photo of our trip to Balls Falls for the Thanksgiving Festival this year was just sent in by a Mr Jeff Winger. Henrietta is looking proud as a peach in her new hat and dress and Priscilla is stunning as always in a new lace skirt. Granny and Tessie seem to be having  marvelous time of it and teh Wizard... well, he looks confused as always!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

RECIPE: Caramel Apple Pie

Hello darlings, Henrietta here with a new recipe for you to try! I recently found this delightful looking concoction on a wonderful blog called Orange and Black - the Spirit of Halloween. The author of the bog had discovered it in the Apple a Day Cookbook by Janet Reeves. I must confess this is one cookbook that isn’t in my collection but I do love apples so it seems time I found a copy! The recipe sounded delicious and many of the blogs followers had tried it with success so I made up my mind to do so as well.

The perfect opportunity came when the Princess invited Priscilla and I over for dinner and a spooky movie last week, after our visit to Balls Falls. We volunteered to bring desert and agreed this pie would be the perfect thing. Priscilla whipped up the pie in no time (I was having quick nap after our long flight home) and we took it with us, baking it while we dined on a lovely feast set out by the Princess. 

As we sipped tea and talked of our days adventure, the enticing aromas of cinnamon, caramel and apples came wafting through the castle and beckoning us back to the kitchen where the pie was cooling. It was irresistible! I’m embarrassed to say we could wait no longer and sliced the pie up before it was properly cooled. The result was steaming clumps of apple, caramel and pastry. We should have waited longer and let it set but it was delicious all the same. It’s a lovely pie, and surprisingly not too sweet. The Princess declared it the best apple pie she had ever had and even had seconds. Priscilla and I agreed – it’s our favorite new recipe for Fall.

Here it is then, with a few alterations by Priscilla – Caramel Apple Pie.

Ingredients you will need for the pie:
·         Pie pastry to line a nine inch deep dish pie pan
·         Four cups of apples, peeled, cored and sliced
·         One and a half cups of brown sugar
·         One half of a cup of softened butter
·         One half of a cup of all purpose flour
·         One eight a teaspoon of salt
·         Two teaspoons of cinnamon
·         One half of a cup of chopped pecans

Instructions for the pie:
1.       Start by preheating your oven to a toasty three hundred and fifty degrees.
2.       Then line a sturdy nine inch deep dish pie pan with your pastry. Trim and finish the edges of the pastry. I haven’t included a pastry recipe because I find each cook has his or her own favorite – but if pastry isn’t your strong point feel free to buy a frozen pie crust, I won’t tell.
3.       Arrange the apple slices in the pastry-lined pan.
4.       Sprinkle the apples with the pecans and salt. Set aside.
5.       In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, flour, salt and cinnamon until a paste-like consistence forms.
6.       Pat the brown sugar paste mixture on top of the apple slices to form a top crust.
7.       Place pie on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for fifty minutes.
8.       Remove pie form oven and transfer onto a cooling rack.
9.       Let sit to cool until just warm (at least 45 minutes). I know it’s a chore but do try and wait if you can. We let our enthusiasm get the better of us and sliced it early but the result was mounds of pie instead of slices!
10.   Serve with freshly whipped cream or a rich vanilla ice cream.
Let us know how your pie turns out and if you agree it’s the perfect desert for a crisp cool day.