01/20/2011

I went to my writing class today. I think I made a new friend. She is really soft spoken & nice. We havethe same name, just not in the same order. I can't wait to ask her to coffee & chat. I made another friend when we moved to the pc lab. Have you ever tried taking to someone about something that you do every day & don't even think about & they look at you like your insane? I got that to day. I was playing around waiting for people to finish their test (I finished mine in 2mins & got a 100 thank you!). I was changing the color of my screen, the back ground & just making it more friendly to me (It resets once you shut down). One of the girls in class was watching me & she asked me how I did that. I tried explaining the steps without showing her & she just looked at me with that glassed over look in her eyes. (Sigh, roll my eyes.) I showed her how, she was all kinds of happy & suddenly I was her personal IT. I spent the rest of the class time showing her how to open a doc, upload, & my personal fav where we were on the D2L site while I was trying to follow the teacher myself. Please pay attention people. I will not be there when your trying to hand in your homework. 

We are suppose to write an observational paper on one place. I think I have figured out where I am going to write it about. The St. Paul's farmer's market. There should be a lot going on so tones to write. Now all I have to do is make it fit. APA format: 12 pt Times New Roman font, double-spaced, 1 inch margins, title page, and running head. I hate double spaced. Sigh. So much to write about that I might have to take notes & rough it out later.

 
 I have been working on all my homework, so that writing the rough draft & reading ch2 for this class is the last of my homework for the week. Then I get to start all over again! YaY! I am really enjoying going to college for the first time. I just home I can keep up. My mom said she has some HTML & XHTML books that she will give me for my class, they are a bit old but they are better then nothing. (Fingers crossed.)

Deep Dish Apple Pie with Brandy Pecan Crumb Topping.

This is one of the best apple pies ever, I might just go off my diet to eat a slice. 


Ingredients:

	Here is the recipe for the pastry dough:
	1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
	2 ounces granulated sugar
	3/4 teaspoon Salt
	1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter cold
	4 tablespoons ice water
	For the filling:
	3 pounds Gala Apples , fresh
	1/2 cup brown sugar , firmly packed
	1/4 cup granulated sugar
	2 tablespoons whole butter cut up into pieces
	2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
	1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
	1 teaspoon cinnamon
	1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
	1 ounce Brandy
	For the topping:
	2 tablespoons butter room temperature
	2 ounces light brown sugar
	1/2 ounce Brandy
	2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
	1/2 cup pecans chopped fine
	1/4 cup walnuts chopped fine

Preparation

To make the pastry dough: In a kitchen aid mixer you will mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and butter until the mixture resembles a coarse cookie dough. Add cold water and pulse until the dough has come together.
Take the dough from the mixer and add to a lightly floured work surface. Start to knead the dough out with your hands until flattened somewhat. Once the dough is flat to about a half an inch to an inch in thickness you will cover it with plastic wrap and hold in the fridge for one hour.
 To make the filling: Peel and core the apples. Cut the apples into 1/2-inch wedges and in a bowl toss the remaining filling ingredients sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, vanilla bean paste, Brandy,flour and cinnamon until they are completed coated. Now  add your pieces of butter and give it quick stir.Preheat your oven to 350°F.
  In a small bowl with your fingertips blend the butter, brown sugar, and Brandy. Then add the flour and mix until it is smooth, then blend in all nuts. Wrap the topping in a saran covered bowl and chill for one hour.
 To assemble the deep dish apple pie: Prepare a lightly floured surface and roll out the dough until it is about an eighth of an inch thick. Then add to a seasoned cast iron skillet. Start spooning the apple pie filling into the dough lined skillet.
  Bake the pie for about 30 minutes and turn 108 degrees and then cook for about another 15 to 30 minutes in the oven. Then remove the pie from the oven to add the crumble topping over the top of the pie, and then sprinkle with some brown sugar. Continue to cook until the brown sugar is nice and melted, and starting to turn caramel in color. It may take another 15 to 20 minutes. Place on a wire baking rack to cool.
 You can serve this pie warm, or at room temperature, and as with all apple pies, it is of course fabulous with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!