No more apple pie....

On September 27th, Shelburne Orchard hosted its 7th annual Pie Fest.  M and I entered two pies.  Well I made both but he supervised. LOL  We had been testing pies for over 4 weeks in preparation for the big day.

McIntosh, Pippin, Wolf, Paula Red....the list of apples goes on and on.  My dining room table was covered in apples.  I tried several kinds of crusts - All butter, butter and Crisco, butter and lard, butter and cream cheese.....butter butter butter.... The fillings were basic as the contest was a classic apple pie contest.  M kept wanting to get fancy and I think ultimately wore himself out.  For a man who does not like apples, he sure put away alot of apple pie.  The ultimate compliment I think and I thank him for his tenacity.

I had a couple of meltdowns.  Crust was not pretty enough...pie exhaustion.  But we finished at 4am the day of the contest.  Before I reveal the pics....here are my top tips.

• All butter is the way to go - though it is the most difficult crust to deal with
• Lattice tops DO count as double crust entries - we were not sure. 
• Lattice tops can hide alot of flaws
• Pyrex glass pie pans are the best - they allow for the crust to brown on the bottom
• I loved Pippin apples - firm and tasty - no falling apart in the pie
• Put sugar in your crust - no question just do it.
• Half and half wash over egg wash
• Murray River salt is awesome!

Now the pictures.....

My pie - Classic Apple Pie

M's "Pie"

The Competition

The Mother of All Pies

So the real question - did we win?  Sadly...no.  But I know my pie was up there with the best. The judges came back a few times to retaste my pie.  I need to work on my appearance...needs to be fancier.  I will post the recipes later this week.

But I am now sick of apple pie. I keep finding dough all over my kitchen and I still have a whole bowl of apples left.

Happy Autumn!

And IT'S ON!!!!!!!!

My submission for the Newman's Own summer recipe contest.

Newman’s Own Lighten Up! Italian Grilled Vegetable Salad

Serves/Makes: 6 Prep: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
8 ounces boxed couscous
2 red peppers – sliced into 1inch chunks
1 green pepper – sliced into 1 inch chunks
1 red onion - sliced into 1 inch chunks
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
4 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
2 teaspoons roasted minced garlic (available in your produce section by the jarred garlic) - optional
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ cup Newman’s Own Lighten Up! Salad Dressing
4 ounces Feta cheese, crumbled

Wooden skewers

Directions:
Prep and heat grill for vegetables.

Cook couscous according to package directions. Set aside and cool.

Toss the red and green peppers and the red onion in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and salt and pepper. Slide the vegetable chunks (kabob style) onto wood skewers. Place the skewers on a hot grill until vegetables have grill marks and are softened. Approx. 10 minutes.

Add grilled vegetables, fresh spinach, oregano, parsley, lemon juice, and the Newman’s dressing to the couscous and toss mixture. Chill salad for 1 hour.

Toss with Feta cheese before serving.

Her Competitive Nature Comes Out

I am itching for a fight. No...a showdown...NO a Dinner Impossible episode!!!!!!! I have thought about competitively cooking for a while. Visions of me in a white apron holding that fabulous pie/cake/entree/appetizer and humbly accepting that WHOPPING check while my fellow contestants look on with seething envy.

"How does she do it? It tastes like pure heaven. Bitch.", they mumble under their breath.

Of course, I am there just for the pure joy of cooking - the money and the admiration are nothing next to the satisfaction I feel from just nourishing my fellow human beings. *sigh*

Of course those who know me are now crying BULLSHIT and they would be right. I have a mean competitive streak. Even the other night it lead me to tormenting a 12 year old after wiping up the floor with him at UNO. Hey, he was the one that started talking smack first. But I digress...

Cooking contests...I am ready to join in on the fray. I have won one contest for some Thai spiced nuts - insert Keith Carradine joke here - I will post the recipe later on. But I need more...maybe the country fair in the fall...but that is too far away. I am scouring this web site for possible options. Anyone got any they think I should go for?