(Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, many of us will be spending the holidays at home. In fact, a recent study showed 72% of Americans will reduce their visits to loved ones this holiday season. That means some of us will be cooking the holiday meals for the first time. We turned to some experts for this series of stories to help us through this daunting task, presented by Hofmann Sausage Company.)
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Syracuse, N.Y. — You can smell the cinnamon, sugar and butter from the sidewalk outside on Allen Street. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think you were walking by a bakery in New York City.
“This is our passion,” said Janine Shenandoah Hills. “We both love to cook, and cooking with my son makes it even better. That’s what Thanksgiving is supposed to be.”
Janine and her son Raineen are both trained chefs, specializing in pastry arts. Janine got her culinary degree at Keiser University in Sarasota, Florida, and she bakes in her commercial kitchen at their home on Allen Street. Rai and earned his diploma at the International Culinary Center in New York City. He’s a pastry chef at Saint Urban Wine Bar & Restaurant in the city’s Westcott neighborhood.
When they’re sharing Janine’s kitchen, she’ll quiz him on measurement conversions (Their recipe books don’t measure in cups and tablespoons; real chefs measure by weight.). He’ll ask her about the best desserts she’s made at culinary school, and he’ll try to one-up her with one from his.
By the end of the conversation, they will have made the perfect pie.
Classic Thanksgiving Apple Pie
An apple pie made by Chef Raineen Hills and his mother, Chef Janine Shenandoah Hills. Holiday cooking at home.Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com
The Hills use a variety of apples for each pie. Janine says the apples all have a similar taste, but the different varieties have unique textures. “You can feel the difference with each bite," she said.
She’ll usually use two kinds for each pie. They’ll choose from Granny Smith, gala, pink lady and honey crisp, depending on which apple orchard they visited or what’s available at the store.
Before peeling the apples, they’ll make a sweet crust, known as pâté sucrée. It’ll chill in one of her refrigerators for hours before they unwrap it and flatten it with a rolling pin.
To start building the crust, sift 4½ cups of all-purpose flour with 2 cups of sugar. Mix in two sticks of unsalted butter by hand until the clumps become the size of peas. Then add a couple tablespoons of water to even it out. Divide the dough in half, one for the pie’s base and one for the top. Flatten lump into the shape of a 5-inch pancake, and wrap each tightly in plastic.
As the dough chills, peel the apples. The Hills use a hand-crank peeler to blaze through the apples quickly. They core each apple and slice it into quarters before they go into a mixing bowl. Rai sprinkles a few drops of lemon juice over the bowl to keep the apples from browning while cutting the rest.
In a stock pot, heat the apples over medium heat with cinnamon, nutmeg, corn starch, vanilla and lemon juice. Then add a pat of butter. The apples will soften slightly.
Roll each patty of dough to about 10 inches in diameter. Put one piece of dough into a pie plate. Janine uses disposable aluminum plates, mostly because she’s cooking for customers. She also likes the convenience of not having to clean up the dishes.
Add the apple mixture to the top, and cover with the other piece of dough. You can get fancy and cut the top shell into strips and create a lattice top, or you can just leave it intact (just be sure to cut slits to allow the apples to vent while cooking).
Brush the top crust with a mixture of milk and butter.
“I then like to dust the top with some sugar,” Rai said. “It gives it a little sweet crunchiness, and it adds another layer of color to the pie.”
Place the pie on a cookie sheet or sheet pan. In an 325-degree oven, bake the pie for 30 to 40 minutes.
Ingredients
5 pounds of a variety of apples (Granny Smith, gala, pink lady, honey crisp)
4½ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
¼ tablespoon ground cinnamon
¼ tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ cup milk
1 egg
2 sticks butter
2 tablespoons water or little more
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
THURSDAY: Home for the Holidays: Cooking the perfect Thanksgiving turkey (video)
FRIDAY: Cooking the perfect mashed potatoes and other side dishes (video)
TODAY: Cooking the perfect apple pie (video)
TUESDAY: Whipping up a charcuterie board and other easy apps (video)
WEDNESDAY: Pairing drinks with your holiday feast (video)
Charlie Miller finds the best in food, drink and fun across Central New York. Contact him at 315-382-1984, or by email at cmiller@syracuse.com. Follow him on Twitter: @HoosierCuse.
The Link LonkNovember 23, 2020 at 10:05PM
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Home for the Holidays: Cooking the perfect apple pie (video) - syracuse.com
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