And Yet I Still Seem Surprised at the Holiday "Spread"

I mean, it shouldn't be hard to figure out......the heavy whipping cream alone must be like a fofillian calories. And lately I've taken a fancy to adding it to all of my dinner recipes that call for milk (or cheese, or sour cream, or cream cheese, or those especially beloved recipes that call for all four). I've just found that having a carton of the stuff hanging out in the fridge is quite to my liking. Even though my belts will disagree. Oh January, I'm so not in the mood for you yet!

So in keeping with my new hobby--publishing all sorts of diabolically delicious recipes--here is one of my bestest:

Pie's Apple Pie

(It has taken nearly 16 years of marriage to find the perfect pie recipe. (Thanks allrecipes.com!) Apple pie is Pie's favorite. I make this particular pie for his birthday and Father's Day and of course for the holidays.)

Use homemade crust. Don't even bother if you aren't going to make the crust yourself. You may already have your favorite pie crust recipe. Use that. But if you don't, here's my tried-and-true double crust recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens (red plaid) cookbook I got as a wedding present in 1993:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
6 to 7 Tablespoons ice water

Stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 3 Tablespoons of the coldest water you can get onto the mixture. Gently mix with a fork. Sprinkle 3 more Tablespoons (or more) of water onto the dough, gathering up the dough in a ball. Divide the ball in two, with one ball having slightly more dough than the other. Roll out the larger ball into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place crust into your pie plate. I like to use a very deep and wide pie plate (about 10 inches wide by 2 inches deep). Save the other dough ball for later.

And now for the Apple Pie:

1/2 cup butter
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
8 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced

Preheat oven to 425. Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Stir and cook over medium low heat for 2 minutes (it should be bubbly but not turn brown). Add water, white and brown sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer. (This makes a caramel-like sauce that is absolutely delish. I discourage you, though, from eating this with a spoon straight out of the pot as if it were some sort of soup. You will scald the roof of your mouth.)

Using your pie plate with the bottom crust already in place, fill the crust with the apple slices. Gently pour the sauce evenly over the apples.

Roll out the top crust and make slits in the crust to vent. I sometimes use small cookie cutters for this instead of making slits. Place the crust on top, making sure you seal the two crusts together at the edges so the filling doesn't leak out. Make the crust look pretty by fluting the edges or decorating the top crust with cutouts from the left-over pie crust scraps you shouldn't have eaten anyway.

Bake 15 minutes in the oven and then reduce the heat to 350 for the rest of the time (35 to 45 minutes).

Prepare for the onslaught of compliments, et al.