ksmith | Lake effect

Lake effect snow moving south from Wisconsin. We could get pounded overnight, which means I will be shoveling sometime tomorrow. Oh well. It will give me a chance to work off holiday calories.

The pie proved...OK. I should have used brandy or liqueur in the crust instead of vodka, something that would have imparted some flavor. The filling is decent, and I expect that as with anything containing fruit and spices, it will taste better tomorrow. But it needs something, and I'm not sure what. The next time, I will try the additives that Alton Brown used. Applejack, apple cider, and apple jelly.

I will say that the filling does taste fresh and not at all oversweet. I find many pie fillings inedible because they contain way too much sugar and nothing in way of flavor--this goes for better bakery pies as well as the cheaper frozen varieties.

That's one problem when you start making things from scratch. Even if they only come out halfway decent, they still taste better than anything from a shop. And then you're stuck spending more time in the kitchen than you can afford to at times, because you're hooked.