Miss Sheri's Kitchen

There are 3 beautiful little girls, 2 of them twins, who live on either side of me and refer to me as "Miss Sheri"...and every time they show up at my door there are 2 things that I know for sure will happen.  

One is that I will get hugged...and hugged and hugged.  Which is awesome because there plenty days around this little house that I'm called "mean Mommy" or "slave driver".  So to be hugged - i'm more than good with it.

The other is that they will ask me what i have for them.  Like candy.  Or cookies.  Or cake. Or pie.

And they usually always find something here.  As do my hips.

So this week...it's pie. Because I had the stuff on hand, and because the one that is currently referring to me as "mean Mommy" requested it.  And I'm weak and would like a new title.

And because I'm still teaching my girlfriend Ashleigh what her stove is for...this is another one for you Ash.

    source - my kitchen stove.


So, to be honest here - this is premade pie crusts.  I know - I'm a slacker.  True.  Just go buy some Publix or Pillsbury dough and call it done.


The rest is all me (or you) - and also, in my opinion, the most fun part of the process.  I think a glass of wine and having Bethenny Ever After on the TV helped.


So Ashleigh - here is what you need.

•     A pie plate,pan, dish - whatever word you use - it's all same in my world.
•     Some baking non-stick spray - not the regular PAM, after all it's a pie not a casserole.  
•     A bag of Granny Smith apples.  Ashleigh - these are the GREEN ones.
•     Between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of brown sugar.
•     Between 1/2 and 1 cup of regular sugar.
•     1/4 cup of all-purpose flour.
•     Either 2 tbsp of apple pie seasoning OR
•     smidges of cinnamon, nutmeg, a little clove (very little) and a little allspice (litte = less than a smidge) and i'm not accurate on each of these here because you might want more cinammon where i like more nutmeg.  Just make sure that all your smidges and "little"s total abot 2 tbsp.
•     1 egg yolk
•     2 tbsp of butter
•      dash of milk.

     Now - to create:

1.     Roll one of the sleeves of pie dough across the pie pan.  
2.     Preheat oven to 425
3.     Peel and slice your bag of apples into a deep mixing bowl.  Make sure that your slices are not thick.   It will take too long for them to cook through.  Thinner slices work better.  ( I was about 4 apples short of a full bag here which is  why my pie is somewhat short, or flat.  Normally, I like to use an entire bag and make a heaping pie but I didn't want to stop watching Bethenny  drive to the store to get more. )
4.     In another mixing bowl - mix all of those dry ingredients together really well.
5.     Pour these dry ingredients over your apples and toss them until all the slices are really covered well with all that sugary goodness.
6.    Tumble apples into pie pan and watch about 3 of them skate across your newly mopped floor.  Or maybe that just happens to me.
7. Dot the top of the apples with your butter.  (Ashleigh, this means to cut up those 2 tbsp of butter into pieces and place all over your pie filling.)
8.   Roll remaining pie crust over top of pie and pinch closed all the way around rim of pie pan.
9. Fork your crust about 4 times randomly.
10. Whisk your egg yolk and milk together and brush over crust.
11. Lay a piece of foil over pie and slide into oven.
12. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes and then turn oven down to 350 and bake for 45 minutes more.
13. For the last 10 or 15 minutes - remove foil so that your pie crust turns golden.

This Southern Life.

When you tell people that you live in the south, certain states automatically jump to mind.  Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama...but oddly enough, never Florida.  

I've even heard some folks say "..that ain't the south!".

Really...?

Well, I'm pretty sure it is.  And I'm pretty sure there a sign a little more than few hours south of here that says "southernmost point" of the U.S.

Maybe it's because you hardly ever meet someone actually from Florida, someone that knows what a Florida cracker is. (Hint...it's not a snack.) 

A Florida cracker is someone that comes from a long line of Florida-born folks.  

And it's a good bet that it's someone who can trace their roots back to the pioneer days where cracker houses were nestled along the St. Johns river,  where you could jump into Blue Springs and cool off and make nice with the gator giving you stink eye for being an interloper.  That's ok...that stink eye gator better mind his manners because he makes a wonderful dinner.  Tastes like chicken.

  

Can you spot the crackers above?  They're the ones wearing long sleeves.  We crackers stay cold until about June.

I might even confess to still having the space heater in my bedroom.  Maybe. 

.The great thing is i don't have to spend more than a little over an hour in my car to see this.   

And Southern Living can only give you so much eye candy in one issue.  Here, you can walk the streets with a camera for days and never see it all.  Or smell that jasmine that you see climbing up the roof line.
 

It's good to be a native.