Old Fashioned Apple Pie

We had a lot of fun making apple pie last week. I had more than my fair share of the pie... but it was just so good. So very, very, very good. And the best part was that I didn't even have to bake it myself!

My dear husband was in a baking mood and my lovely neighbour gave me a big bag full of baking apples. A match made in heaven. My husband is not that fond of the classic Dutch apple pie so he found an American recipe that sounded good.

Of course it was a team effort. Picture this. My husband doing all the hard work and me reading the Martha Stewart recipe on my iPad and taking photos. Seems like the perfect division of labour to me! There was a little catch though... we started making the dough very avidly and then realised that there was a lot of resting time required. Like that apple pie was not hitting the oven for at least one and a half hours. Oh well, that just meant that we'd have it for dessert.

Not!! Once we finally had the apple pie in the oven I watched a video on how to make apple pie (yes, should have paid more attention up front) where it was revealed that apple pie should rest for about 6 hours or more before slicing into it.

What?!
Seriously?
Seriously.

Apparently the juices need to settle (blah, blah, blah). But for once I decided that I can be patient. And I was rewarded. That apple pie was wonderful when we sliced into it the next morning. My neighbour came around with her daughter and we had us a little apple pie party. Happiness.

Here are a few more photos of the best (and only) apple pie we've ever made:

Here is a link to the Martha Stewart recipe and here is a copy with my notes:

INGREDIENTS

Apple Pie:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
(Pie Dough) Pate Brisee
12 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (I used baking apples since that's what I had!)
3/4 cup sugar, plus additional for pie top
Zest and juice of 1 lemon (I might use slightly less lemon juice next time to accommodate my kids)
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves (I left this out since we don't like cloves in my house)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg, beaten

Pate Brisee:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut in pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water


DIRECTIONS
Pate Brisee:
(Note: watch the video - it gives a great view on how to work this dough)
STEP 1
Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and process for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add the ice water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube, just until the dough holds together. Do not process for more than 30 seconds.
STEP 2
Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Divide in two. Place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten, and form two discs. Wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour before using.

DIRECTIONS
Apple Pie:

STEP 1
Heat oven to 190 degrees Celsius. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pate brisee into two 1/8-inch-thick circles to a diameter slightly larger than that of an 11-inch plate. (I am clueless with inches so I just kind of guessed here...) Press one pastry circle into the pie plate. Place the other circle on waxed paper, and cover with plastic wrap. Chill all pastry until firm, about 30 minutes.
STEP 2
In a large bowl, combine apples, sugar, lemon zest and juice, spices, and flour. Toss well. Spoon apples into pie pan. Dot with butter, and cover with remaining pastry circle. Cut several steam vents across top. Seal by crimping edges as desired. Brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle with additional sugar.
STEP 3
Bake until crust is brown and juices are bubbling, about 1 hour. Let cool on wire rack before serving.

Museum Speelklok

We did it! We made a resolution and are sticking to it.

Yes, we went to another museum. 

So our museum cards are not going to waste!!

(Imagine me grinning proudly)

This time round we went to the Speelklok Museum in Utrecht. It houses an impressive collection of musical instruments that all play 'automatically'. They have a guided tour every half hour and we went on it twice because the guide plays different instruments every time. That way you get to see and hear something new every half an hour! 

It has recently been renovated too and their new exhibition area was very good. The kids enjoyed it (they could press buttons and listen to sounds so they are easily pleased) and I also really liked it. Definitely worth a visit.

I hope you have a fun weekend!

Burgers at Steiger1

On a sunny Saturday evening before the summer vacation we headed towards Amsterdam.
In a moment of weakness I bought a Groupon for burgers at a restaurant called Steiger1. I really wanted a burger and it was a good deal so you can't really blame me for buying it!

The staff were very friendly and very accommodating towards the kids, who, let's face it, were not on their best behaviour that day. We sat outside on the terrace with a view of the water and the sun shining on our backs. Perfect.

We ordered our food and enjoyed the sun.
Then we couldn't resist some key lime pie as dessert.
Good times indeed.

Afterwards we let the kids play in a little neighbourhood playground.

All in all the food was good although it took a little long to get to us. If I find myself in the area I will definitely drop by this restaurant again!

Apple Pie Illustration

It is all about the apple pie today.

My husband baked one last night and I just had a big slice.

Heaven.

I'll post some photos and the recipe next week because trust me, if you have baking apples then you simply have to bake this classic apple pie!

Spanish Tortilla Flop

Sometimes things just don't work out.
I tried to make a tortilla, you know the type with potatoes and eggs which I've made before... but it just did not go my way at all. I mean it just went wrong, wrong, wrong.
I still ate it and so did the husband.
Put it in a serving bowl, cover it with fresh parsley and dinner is served.
Did not look that fine... but actually tasted fine!

Hummus!

Who can resist home made hummus?

Not me! Plus it is just so easy to make and I do love using my food processor.

Here's a link to the recipe I always use.

Now let's toast some pita bread and have a dip party tonight!

Naturalis

There are so many wonderful museums to visit in the Netherlands and we, (the husband and I), decided it is about time we made more use of our museum cards. So off we went with the kids to Leiden to visit the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre. This is heaven for kids and I found it pretty interesting too.

Would I visit this kind of museum on my own? No way. But let me stress again that the kids really loved it. Dinosaur bones, stuffed animals and a big sensory activity room... we were there for hours. Now I wonder which museum we will visit next!