Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1774) of John Chapman, generally known as Johnny Appleseed, Swedenborgian Christian missionary, early conservationist, and folk hero.  Chapman was known as Johnny Appleseed because of his large number of fruit tree plantings. He is regarded informally as the patron saint of orchardists in the U.S.A., and today is commonly celebrated as his day. March 11 is celebrated as Johnny Appleseed Day by some, but it is not widely recognized.

When planning this post I had no doubt that the recipe I would use would be my sister’s apple pie recipe which has gained quite a reputation.  She, Jane Mendola, used to be the owner/operator of a bakery, “The English Tart,” on Staten Island, NY.  Her productions, mostly her own recipes, were legendary. It’s not just brotherly loyalty that makes me claim that her baked goods are among the best I have had anywhere in the world.  She’s giving me her recipes – slowly – from memory, or from butter stained index cards, so that we can compile a book. Stay tuned. This pie will be a great favorite when you make it.  

© The English Tart’s Apple Pie

Ingredients:

Pie Base

9 in pie crust.
3 lbs of apples, mixture of granny smith and Macintosh
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup flour
½ cup sugar

Topping

½  cup flour
½ cup sugar
4 oz butter (1 stick) room temp
½ tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F

Peel, core and slice the apples.  Place them in a mixing bowl.

Add the flour, sugar, and cinnamon, and mix well. Pile the mixture into the pie crust. It will mound quite high.

Place the ingredients for the topping in a mixing bowl, and roughly squeeze and mix them with your hands, leaving large pieces of butter.

Sprinkle this over the apples, trying to cover the whole pie, being careful not to allow any of it to fall off.

Put the pie on a cookie sheet and bake at 375°F for 45 minutes.  Turn the pie after 30 minutes to ensure even baking.  Check after 45 minutes and bake a bit longer if not completely golden.