Barrister Bites

BARRISTER BITES By: Angelia Morie Nystrom

The University of Tennessee

LET’S TALK TURKEY... AND EAT PIE

For as long as I can remember, I have loved Fall. My dad always said that he thought Fall was sad because it got darker earlier, the leaves turned and fell off the trees, and it ushered in winter weather (which he always said was torture for a UPS man). I could understand his point of view, but I have never shared it. To me, Fall is a magical time, and there is nothing better than the month of November. I have always been a fan of November. The football Vols have traditionally done pretty well in November. Tennessee basketball begins in November. My dad’s birthday was in November, which always meant really good German chocolate cake (his favorite, homemade by my grandmother) and pecan pie (made by one of his favorite cousins). My wedding anniversary is in November. And, of course, there is Thanksgiving.

Of all of the “eating holidays” (for us, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter), Thanksgiving is the best. Thanksgiving is the unique holiday where we can focus on the fact that we are thankful for all kinds of things… including really good food.

Growing up, Thanksgiving began with lunch at my Mamaw French’s house. Lunch was always at 12:00 sharp and included our immediate family. My grandmother was a fantastic cook. My plate was always loaded with perfectly cooked turkey, cornbread dressing, and maybe one or two tablespoons of green beans—just so I had something from the vegetable food group. Dessert always included chocolate pie and banana pudding. When the Detroit Lions took the field, we usually headed for the car and off for round two.

“Lunch” at my Grandmother Morie’s usually started around 4:30 pm (because she kept on schedule about as well as my sixteen year-old). Her house was always full of people—lots of relatives, family friends, and the “randomers” who were quickly taken into the family and who were always welcomed (unless they ate too much of my dad’s German chocolate birthday cake). It was a day I looked forward to all year, and it never disappointed. Thanksgiving was always a day of non-stop eating… and, for this foodie, non-stop fun.

As the years have gone by, our traditions have changed. Our family has celebrated at home, at other people’s homes, and at restaurants. We have even managed to make it to New York for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade a couple of times. No matter where we are, though, Thanksgiving has always featured great food.

A few years ago when the family celebration was at our house, Hugh and I decided to make every dish in the Thanksgiving version of the Williams-Sonoma cookbook. While all the dishes were really good, the highlight of the Thanksgiving meal was the dessert—the Deep-Dish Apple Bourbon Streusel Pie.

This “pie” is prepared in a rectangular baking dish and combines elements of many classics—pecan pie, Dutch apple pie and pastry-heavy slab pie — to create something completely new. It is great when you are serving a crowd, as it will easily serve 12-14 people.

To make the pie filling, you will need 3 lbs. each of Granny Smith apples and Pink Lady apples (peeled, cored and cut into slices ¼ thick), ¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg, ¼ cup cornstarch, ½ cup bourbon (I prefer Pritchard’s chocolate bourbon), 2 TBS. vanilla extract. PLEASE NOTE: It is not a typo in the recipe when it calls for 6 lbs of apples. You will actually use that many. To peel, slice and core, I use the Williams-Sonoma apple peeler/slicer/corer. It makes the preparation of the apples much easier, and the crank on the machine is quite the workout (which will be needed if you eat this pie). For the streusel, you will need 2/3 cup allpurpose flour, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar, 1 TBS. ground cinnamon, ½ tsp. salt, 1 cup roughly chopped pecans, and 7 TBS. cold, unsalted butter (diced).

For the pie crust, I just use the Pillsbury pie crust rolled dough that is found in the refrigerator aisle at the grocery store. Pillsbury can make a pie crust much better than me—plus, it saves a TON of time.

To prepare the pie, roll the dough out into your baking dish, covering the bottom and sides so that it extends just beyond the rim of the dish. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 375°.

For the filling: In a large bowl, stir together the apples, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cornstarch, bourbon and vanilla until well combined.

For the streusel, in a bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and pecans. Add the butter and work it in with your fingers, pinching to form pea-size pieces.

Pour the apple mixture into the pie shell and sprinkle the streusel on top. If you want to be fancy, use Thanksgiving cookie cutters and another piece of pie crust dough to make decorative cutouts. Those can be placed on the sides of the pie and the top, as desired. I’m not fancy, so I don’t do this.

Bake until the streusel is golden brown and the apples are tender, about an hour and 45 minutes. If the top of the pie has browned after 1 hour, tent it loosely with aluminum foil and allow it to continue to bake. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool for at least 2 hours before serving. While this pie is wonderful by itself, I actually prefer it heated and then topped with vanilla ice cream.

Although this pie takes about an hour to make, it is worth the effort. Even if we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving at home, we always celebrate with this pie at some point in November. And for that, we give thanks.