The Joy of Apple Pie and Design Star: The Vote is In

Fall always makes me want to eat apples and bake apple pie (also, cook chili). And so, I set about cooking a lightly modified (for calories) version of a yummy and delicious apple pie. I took this recipe largely from the pages of the cooking Bible, The Joy of Cooking, substituting some lower calorie ingredients, but absolutely none of the taste. I also only used one crust to save those calories, substituting instead a Streusel topping with pecans. It looked like this:



There is a pecan or two that might look scorched, but trust me, this pie was perfectly baked. I served it straight from the oven with diet vanilla ice-cream-like product on top and it was. To. Die. For.

Suzanne’s Diet Apple Streusel Pie

Pie
1 Ready made roll-out pie crust (I use Pillsbury, but any kind will do)
2 Tablespoons I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
4-5 of your favorite apples, I used Granny Smith, peeled, cored and sliced thinly.
¼ Teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ Teaspoon Nutmeg
1 to 1 ½ Tablespoons Cornstarch
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
2/3 Cup Splenda Brown Sugar

Streusel
1 Handful to handful and a half chopped pecans
2 Tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
5 Tablespoons Splenda

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray pie pan/dish with non-stick spray, unroll crust and press and arrange it in the pan. Gently mix sliced apples with the Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cornstarch, Salt, and Splenda Brown Sugar. Only very tart apples require a full 2/3 cup of sugar (or a bit more). Only very juicy apples require the larger amount of cornstarch. The Granny Smiths require extra sugar and not so much cornstarch since they are quite dry and tart. If the apples are very dry, add 2 tablespoons of water.

Turn the seasoned apples into the crust and dot with the 2 tablespoons of butter.

For the Streusel, squish the butter, flour, and sugar together until the ingredients crumble. Sprinkle Streusel on top of the apples, then top that with the pecans.

Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 35-45 minutes. The Streusel actually cooks more quickly than the rest of the pie, so you’ll want to cover the top with tin foil when the edges of the crust start looking sufficiently golden brown and the crumbles look done anywhere from 10-15 minutes before the end.

This whole process is much better than burning an apple pie scented candle since you get all the scent PLUS a pie at the end.

LOVE!

I was treated to a long conversation with my friend, Kim, tonight. I’m posting this picture of her that I took about a year ago during a visit we enjoyed in Louisville. I really like this photo, it was taken at the Galt House Hotel. You’ll notice that the bar is actually a fish tank and that there is a fish, in fact, swimming around very near Kim’s left elbow. Because I am a dork, I spent an inordinate amount of the time we hung out there (sipping 2% milk) going, “Look! Fish!” Because Kim is a jet setting world traveler, she was not so much distracted by the fish. She nevertheless put up with my incessant aquatic rubbernecking with good humor.

Once Kim and I got passed the how-are-you’s tonight, our conversation turned to important matters such as Design Star, Vern Yipp’s wedding ring, Miss David Bromstad (how I WISH I could take the credit for that nickname; it is, alas, Kim’s), Candace Olson (best designer ever), Deserving Design (we are not impressed), Karen McAloon (aka Karen is a loon), and perhaps our favorite HGTV discussion ever: that time Hildi glued one zillion silk flowers to the walls of some sot’s bathroom. Check it out, I found a link to the before and after. Go here, hit “skip” on the add, then the bathroom will come up. Hit the “switch” arrow beneath the photo to see the nightmare that is Hildi’s ill-conceived hideous design transformation. I tell you, if that were my bathroom? We’d all be lawyering up.

In any case, congratulations to another Kim, Kim Myles, HGTV’s official next Design Star. She really did pull it out at the end and, if it couldn’t be Sparkle Josh, I’m glad to see a woman win it all. (But I'm still pissed about the trailer trash wedding reception and HGTV had better not pull some ridiculous unwinnable challenge like that next season. Or else.)

Otherwise, William Sledd has posted a video (FINALLY) encouraging his fans to vote for him as a guest commentator on the Rachael Ray show and showcasing some of his most recent media coups. Right now, though, you need to vote for William on the Rachael Ray show. Go on! The deadline is tomorrow.