Apple Pie

In September, our friend Penny, of Sweet Sadie's Baking, entered a pie baking contest at Chudleigh's apple farm. Meredith assisted preparing the crust and we all pitched in to peel and core the apples.

A Ginger Gold apple at Chudleigh's.

Penny prepared for a long night of pie baking.

Meredith's pie wasn't as refined (we bought a prepared crust), however, she based her filling on Penny's method.

Apple Pie

2 prepared pie crusts
Apple Filling
4 medium Ginger Gold apples
4 medium Macintosh apples
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground allspice
2 tbsp butter
1 egg white, beaten lightly
1-2 tbsp sugar, for topping

1. Combine 3/4 cup sugar, salt, allspice, cloves and cinnamon in small bowl.
2. Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/2-to-3/4-inch slices and toss with lemon juice, then add sugar mixture and toss again. Let mixture sit for 30 minutes. Drain and boil juices with 2 tbsp butter for 5 minutes to reduce. Pour 1/3 cup of these juices back over apples.
3. Remove dough from refrigerator. If it is still stiff and very cold, let it stand until the dough is cool but malleable.
4. The pie is baked on the oven floor. If you have a pizza stone available, place it on the oven floor and cover it with foil before preheating the oven.
5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
6. Gently press dough into sides of 9-inch pie pan (glass, foil, or tin) leaving some crust hanging over the lip of the pie plate.
7. Empty the fruit mixture, including juices, into the chilled pie shell and mound slightly in centre of the pie.
8. Place the second dough round over the filling. Trim the top and bottom edges to one half-inch beyond the pan lip and tuck the rim of dough underneath itself so the folded edge is flush with the pan lip. Flute edging or press with fork tines to seal.
9. Make a 1-inch hole in the top crust in the centre of the pie. Cut four slits at right angles on the top around the centre hole. Brush egg white onto the top of the crust and sprinkle evenly with remaining tablespoon of sugar.
10. Reduce oven temperature to 425-degrees. Place pie on the floor of oven or the pizza stone and bake for approximately 25 minutes, until the top crust is golden.
11. Reduce oven temperature to 375-degrees and continue baking for an additional 30-35 minutes, until the juices bubble and the crust is deep golden-brown.
12. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to almost room temperature, at least 4 hours.

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Skagway Brewing Company Spiced Carrot Soup

I garnished the soup with a little more fresh ground
pepper and some toasted cumin seeds. You might find
the cumin a little strong.

This is one of my favourite recipe stories.

Meredith and I honeymooned in Seattle for a couple days before embarking on an Alaskan cruise. It was beautiful.

Waiting to eat some crab and drink some
Alaskan beer in Ketchikan.

Taken during our air tour in Ketchikan

When we were in port in Skagway, after the bus tour, we walked around town. That's when I saw The Skagway Brewing Company. It was one of two breweries and the only brewpub in Alaska at the time.

Enjoying some down time at the
Skagway Brewing Company.

We had finished touring the town and had some time to kill - and I was hungry. The beer was great and I ordered a spiced carrot soup to tide me over until we got back to the ship.


Well, the soup was amazing. I had to have the recipe. I asked the bartender, who said that the chef would gladly share it, however, he's really busy right now. I told her that I could wait - and I did. We waited for about three hours, sipping through our pints and talking to people in the pub. We had a great time.

When the bartender realized that I wasn't leaving without the recipe, she went into the back, scratched some notes on a piece of paper and handed it to me. I returned the favour by buying a shirt and an oilskin cap to remember the brewpub.

The recipe itself wasn't very detailed. No quantities, just ingredients, when to add what, and how. It was up to me to figure out the rest. I made it once when we got back, but the recipe has languished in my "to-do again" box since then.

Now that the days are starting to chill, it was definitely time to bring that recipe back. I got everything together on a quiet Sunday when we were in the mood for a nice soup with some bread for dinner. It's not exactly what you'd be served in Skagway, but it's pretty darn good.

Skagway Spiced Carrot Soup

3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 tsp salt (if chicken stock is low- or no-sodium)
2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 tbsp fresh garlic, minced
500g carrots, grated (1 lb)
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
3 cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp pepper
1 medium potato, peeled and grated
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup cream

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a deep pot. Saute onions for 2-3 minutes. Add salt, ginger and garlic and saute an additional 2 minuets. Add carrots and saute an additional 2-3 minutes.
2. Add dried cumin, ginger cloves, nutmeg and pepper, and saute for an additional 1-2 minutes.
3. Add potato and chicken stock, cover and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce to medium and let simmer for 10-15, until vegetables are tender.
5. Puree using an immersion blender and add cream.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
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Chicken Tajine with Apples

Running out of new ideas for a Friday dinner, I found a recipe for Moroccan chicken on a Foodland Ontario website. The point of the recipe was mostly to pitch the benefits of Ontario-farmed chicken, apples and onions to unsuspecting consumers.

But really, what does this guy know about Moroccan food? (Running a province, yes, Moroccan food: not so much.)

So I ran with the recipe as a base and fixed it from there - eliminating the cornstarch, adding saffron and swapping out the boneless, skinless chicken for recognizable pieces. My friend Simon called it "de-Martha-Stewartifying - making the dish much more my style, and specifically less... umm... this guy.

Chicken Tajine with Apples


2 apples, cored, peeled, thinly sliced and tossed in 2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
dash salt
1 to 1 1/2 kilos chicken legs and/or thighs
1/4 cup oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp ginger, minced
2 cups chicken broth
pinch saffron, infused in 1-2 tbsp hot water
2 tbsp cup raisins
1/4 cup blanched almonds
4 dates, pitted and chopped
7 dried apricots, chopped

1. Core, peel and slice apples into thin wedges, toss in lemon juice and set aside.
2. Combine cumin, chili powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper and sprinkle onto chicken.
3. Heat oil on medium in a large pot, brown chicken on both sides. Set chicken aside.
4. Saute onions in the same pot for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and saute for an additional 2 minutes.
5. Place chicken back in the pan and add broth and saffron. Bring to a boil and let simmer on medium for 25-30 minutes, uncovered.
6. Add apples (with lemon juice), dried fruit and nuts, reduce to medium-low and let simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

Serve with cous cous or rice (for gluten-free)

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
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