Apple Pie

Mr. Brady is always trying for the perfect apple pie. I don't usually care for apple pie much, but I wanted to get in on the action. So I found a top rated recipe and read a bunch of its reviews. I loved this one.

Lower your oven rack one notch. Preheat oven to 350. Line deep dish pie plate with bottom crust. Plan out your top crust before you start the other stuff: cut strips for a lattice or fun designs (even using cookie cutters) for venting.

The filling involves 2 easy parts: peeling/cutting the apples (easy if you have a corer slicer tool) and making the syrup to go with it. If you're doing it by yourself, do the apples first; the syrup hardens quickly, reviewers say. We used 5 large apples: 2 Granny Smith and 3 sweeter firm apples. We chopped them pretty small.

On stovetop melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

Add, stir constantly and bring to a boil:
3 TB flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix about 2/3 of the syrup with the apples and pour onto the bottom crust. Add the top crust (crimping the edges) and brush the rest of the syrup onto the top crust. Bake until golden brown (I forgot to time it)--somewhere between 45-60 min.

Other reviewers suggest brushing the bottom crust with egg white to avoid crust sogginess, as well as adding cinnamon if you like it. I think I'll try those next time.

French Bread

4 loaves! I freeze 2 of them for later.

Let sit until foamy:
4 1/2 cups warm water
4 1/2 TB sugar
3 TB yeast

Add:
1/2 cup + 1 TB oil
2 eggs
3 tsp salt
12-15 cups flour (you know, mix a few cups in, mix, add more while mixing, etc., until bowl is scraped clean)

Let rise.

Form 4 loaves on 2 cookie sheets (I use my kitchen scale nowadays to make them each about the same size). Bake at 375. Actually, I just accidentally baked mine at 350 with my speed bake option and I think I like them better. Also, you can glaze them with egg white mixed with water before baking if you want.

Fajita Marinade

We used this yesterday. I would omit the salt and use half the cayenne next time (too spicy for some of the kids). The flavor was great, though. I used lemon instead of lime juice. We cut the raw chicken/beef in strips, marinated them for a couple hours, and then cooked them with the marinade on the stove.