Another Recipe
Oct. 19th, 2008 11:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
syzygy_dwLast week, my mom took me shopping for a food processor as a combination birthday/anniversary/housewarming gift. I picked a KitchenAid 7-cup processor. Due to a few issues I had with the machine, I ended up exchanging it for the 7-cup Cuisinart. Although the KitchenAid works very well, and has a really handy extra work bowl for small jobs like chopping herbs, my main concern was the fact that it lacks any real versatility. Aside from a chopping blade (and a smaller one for the smaller bowl), the reversible 2mm slicing/shredding disk it comes with is the only one available for it. I don't get that. Why 2mm instead of 4mm? Who needs paper-thin slices of everything? Making only one (almost useless) disk for a machine with so much potential is like putting a Ferarri engine in a golf cart.
The Cuisinart comes with a 4mm slicing disk (which is the standard one that comes with all their machines) as well as a shredding disk, a chopping/mixing blade, and a dough blade, and bonus, there are plenty of other disks available. Plus, if I decide to upgrade to a larger model eventually, the same disks will fit the 11-cup Cuisinart. Unlike the KitchenAid, which is a stripped-down version of their 12- and 9-cup processor, the Cuisinart doesn't lose any functionality because of its smaller size. It really is a smaller version of the 11-cup model, which is perfect for people like me who have limited kitchen space and don't need to feed a family. I am much happier with the Cuisinart, and I'm glad I made the switch.
So, introducing the newest member of the household, Mr. Roboto*:
Oh, The Pie, spoken of in story and song. The Pie has become so iconic in our family that it doesn't even need a name. Originally, it was the "Sour Cream Apple Struesel Pie" from one of Jean Paré's Company's Coming cookbooks. However, over the years, both my mother and I have made some variations to The Pie, so I don't feel bad aboutplagarizing posting the adapted recipe here.
Ingredients:
For the filling:
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of flour
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 cups apples, peeled, cored & chopped
For the topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, cut up
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pie crust
Combine the first seven ingredients in a large bowl, and add apples. Pour into an unbaked pie shell (use your favourite pie crust recipe, or a frozen crust). Blend topping ingredients until crumbly.
Cover the pie with the topping, and bake at 375ºF for 50 minutes or until topping is golden brown.
I can't tell you how much easier this recipe was to make with Mr. Roboto. Making it by hand could take hours, because it's a lot of chopping and mixing. With the processor, the longest part was peeling and coring the apples (which I still had to do by hand, bah). Chopping them took mere seconds. Just load them into the tube and BZZZT! Chopped apples! I also mixed both the topping and the sour cream mixture in there, and trust me, it took longer to put the ingredients in the bowl than it did to mix them. Usually, I mix the topping with my hands (it's a lot of fun, trust me!), but doing it in the processor means that the crumble comes out very evenly and takes just a few seconds. The result was a beautiful and delicious pie that I completely failed to take a picture of before it was eaten. Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto!
(Oh, you knew that was coming. Don't act all surprised!).
The Cuisinart comes with a 4mm slicing disk (which is the standard one that comes with all their machines) as well as a shredding disk, a chopping/mixing blade, and a dough blade, and bonus, there are plenty of other disks available. Plus, if I decide to upgrade to a larger model eventually, the same disks will fit the 11-cup Cuisinart. Unlike the KitchenAid, which is a stripped-down version of their 12- and 9-cup processor, the Cuisinart doesn't lose any functionality because of its smaller size. It really is a smaller version of the 11-cup model, which is perfect for people like me who have limited kitchen space and don't need to feed a family. I am much happier with the Cuisinart, and I'm glad I made the switch.
So, introducing the newest member of the household, Mr. Roboto*:
I've already chopped a bunch of stuff with it, and made Internet Bread (aka Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread). Tonight, I made one of my oldest and most beloved recipes: The Pie.
Oh, The Pie, spoken of in story and song. The Pie has become so iconic in our family that it doesn't even need a name. Originally, it was the "Sour Cream Apple Struesel Pie" from one of Jean Paré's Company's Coming cookbooks. However, over the years, both my mother and I have made some variations to The Pie, so I don't feel bad about
Ingredients:
For the filling:
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of flour
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 cups apples, peeled, cored & chopped
For the topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, cut up
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pie crust
Combine the first seven ingredients in a large bowl, and add apples. Pour into an unbaked pie shell (use your favourite pie crust recipe, or a frozen crust). Blend topping ingredients until crumbly.
Cover the pie with the topping, and bake at 375ºF for 50 minutes or until topping is golden brown.
I can't tell you how much easier this recipe was to make with Mr. Roboto. Making it by hand could take hours, because it's a lot of chopping and mixing. With the processor, the longest part was peeling and coring the apples (which I still had to do by hand, bah). Chopping them took mere seconds. Just load them into the tube and BZZZT! Chopped apples! I also mixed both the topping and the sour cream mixture in there, and trust me, it took longer to put the ingredients in the bowl than it did to mix them. Usually, I mix the topping with my hands (it's a lot of fun, trust me!), but doing it in the processor means that the crumble comes out very evenly and takes just a few seconds. The result was a beautiful and delicious pie that I completely failed to take a picture of before it was eaten. Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto!
(Oh, you knew that was coming. Don't act all surprised!).
*A food processor is a "robot culinaire" in French. How awesome is that?
