Old fashion apple pie

Fall brings back so many memories, one of them being apple pie. Apple pie is one of my favorite desserts but something I rarely make. This past weekend I had a few friends over for dinner (Thanksgiving style meal) and eventhough I had a couple of cakes my husband ordered from a bakery I wanted to show them a real American meal and what's more American than "Apple pie"? Of course I wanted to stay on the safe side and make sure my pie came out perfect, so I cheated and used a Martha Stewarts recipe without making any changes of my own. Ok, so maybe I omitted the lemon zest but that's only because I think the juice of 1 lemon will make this pie tart enough as it is (I was right).


Makes one 9-inch double crust pie

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
4 pounds assorted cooking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-to 1/2-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, washed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, ,cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling


Directions
Turn out 1 piece of dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 13-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit into 9-inch pie plate. Trim edges flush with rim. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

Roll out remaining dough on parchment paper to a 13-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to a baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk egg yolk and cream in a small bowl; set egg wash aside. Put apples, lemon juice, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl; toss to combine. Fill pie shell with apple mixture, and dot with butter. Lightly brush edge of pie with a wet pastry brush. Place dough round on top of pie. Trim edges flush with rim; press to seal. Crimp edges as desired. Make four 1/2-inch slits in center of pie. Brush top with egg wash; sprinkle with sanding sugar. Freeze 30 minutes.

Place pie on a baking sheet. Bake until crust begins to turn golden brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 35 minutes. Cover with foil if browning too quickly. Let cool completely on a rack.


Basic pate brisse recipe

Makes enough for one double-crust or two single crust 9-inch pies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
Directions
Pulse flour and salt in a food processor. Add butter, and pulse until mixture forms coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds.
With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky, no longer than 30 seconds.
Divide dough in half, and shape into disks. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. Dough can be frozen up to 1 month; thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using