Apple Pie, an American Icon

Do you remember the 1974-1976  commercial  that referenced the four great American icons “baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and Chevrolet?” 

When I was making my apple pie last night I could faintly remember the commercial.  It was kinda nagging at me.  Was it hotdogs, apple pie and Chevrolet?  Or was it baseball, apple pie and Chevrolet? Neither felt  just right.  What was it I was missing?   Turns out I was close, but it was actually both,  baseball and hotdogs.   I guess I shouldn’t  feel too bad because at the time this commercial came out I would have been – shhhh –  don’t be alarmed – sit down –  okay – are you ready for this?  Nine years old.  Oh my gosh (panic in my voice) that was 36 years ago.   Where in the world did all those years go?

I guess there’s no sense dwelling on days gone by.   I might as well get to a more positive note.  The apple pie!

This it my favorite apple pie and there is no quest for another apple pie recipe. As much as I’d love to share it  with all of you it’s really a smidgen of this, and a dash of that kinda of recipe.  There are a couple of things I can share with you though.  I make my crust with vegetable shortening, not oil, and not butter.  I usually like to mix a couple different kinds tart apples into the pie (but if you do this make sure the textures are close in nature – meaning you want to use all soft, or all hard apples)  If you mix soft and hard some apples together the filling will not  cook evenly.  I like to place a pie baking ring around the edge of my crust to prevent it from browning too fast.  This can be accomplished with aluminum foil too.  Lastly, I’ve made a lot of pies over the years and they never look perfect, but when they taste good they don’t have to look perfect because everyone gobbles them up to fast to notice.

Do you have a forever apple pie recipe?   And, how old were you in 1974 🙂

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