Cast Iron Skillet Apple Pie

[Jimster]

Totally way off topic but I just pulled this out of the oven tonight. Turn up the sound to hear the bubbling, sizzling pie filling. Smells great!
I am virtually sharing this with everyone along with strong black coffee or the beverage of your choice.

phpBB [video]

[Son of a gun-ner]

Hmmm. So, you live in Illinois, which makes that an American Pie. . . .

Does it contain cinnamon?

[43rdRecceReg]

Exactly the same as a British apple pie, and a slice with fresh cream, would be very welcome right now Some people put cloves in theirs, but I prefer pies made with a mix of 'cooking' apples
and sweet dessert apples, and with very little added sugar. I noticed when visiting my brother's family in Massachusetts (near Boston, on the Cape), that many standard meals- perhaps unsurprisingly- look identical to traditional Britsh meals and recipes, but have different names. But we don't eat much meatloaf here...
Apple crumble is equally desirable, but requires a good custard.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/applecrumble_2971

[Jimster]

Yes, cinnamon and Granny Smith apples. Mmmm!

[Son of a gun-ner]

I was very lucky to grow up in a house with 5 fruit trees in the back garden, two different types of red eating Apple, one cooking apple, one pear and one Victoria plum. And my mother made fruit pies to die for.
And I never ate a crumble till my late 40's.
Now I do most of the cooking, and I've only ever once baked anything sweet, and that was a banana cake.

[Son of a gun-ner]

Back to my childhood garden.
The cooking apples were a green that was half way between Granny Smith's, and those French Golden Delicious, but they were huge, like the Hulk of apples. They were as big as two and a half to four Granny Smith's each. And the pears were the biggest I've ever seen, and harder to bite into than apples. I have looked high and low for pears like that in every type of place that would sell pears, and I've never found anything to compare.
We sold that house after my father died thirty two years ago. When I first downloaded Google earth I took a look at that place, and all five trees were gone. I find that quite sad, as I very nearly bought that house from the estate, but as the money from the sale was going equally to his grandchildren, I couldn't really haggle the price.
Oh well.

[Jimster]

Great memories though some bittersweet.
I grew up near an apple orchard and would occasionally sneak over the barbed wire fence for a sweet juicy red apple. Actually it’s still there mostly. Great memories indeed.

[Xiaoshan_Sailor]

Thanks for the memories of days gone by. I grew up in West Virginia so had plenty of fruit trees & berry bushes around to enjoy but, sadly, not many here amongst the concrete canyons where I now live. I tend to go the quick route & make cobblers but my family think they're far too sweet since most Chinese desserts eschew sugar or very little of it.

[Son of a gun-ner]

Yeah, growing up I think my fondest memories were in that garden, I spent as much time as I could out there or out the front.
The local area had quite a few cherry trees, and it was quite a challenge to climb some of them.
The house itself, originally built in 1932, was built out of slightly different bricks, as was next door, than the rest of the street, the pair, which are a semi detached building were apparently hit by a bomb, and I believe it to have been a V1.
Thanks Jim, your Apple pie certainly brought a smile to my face today.
The best part of those outdoor memories was my cat. We were around the same age, but as cats grow up quicker than us humans, she was my protector, and boy, look out any dog that came along when I was out the front. One dog, a male German Shepherd, which wouldn't pass our front gate, it would take a wide pathway as near to the road as possible, luckily for the dog, there was a large green between the house and road for it to feel safe lol.
Gosh, I loved my Sooty, a black and white cat.
Now, I have two female black and white cats and a male German Shepherd lol.

Edit, and I should mention, I now have a Royal Python (Ball Python), I call it cat tv lol.

[43rdRecceReg]

Great memories though some bittersweet.
I grew up near an apple orchard and would occasionally sneak over the barbed wire fence for a sweet juicy red apple. Actually it’s still there mostly. Great memories indeed.

That's called 'Scrumping' here, Jim. Hence the term 'Scrumpy' for cider (from taking withered apples). I suspect that kids have been sneaking (or launching commando raids ) into orchards
since the Middle Ages. Then again, apples and temptation go back to biblical times...

Usually, orchard owners (in my own raiding experience- circa nine years old) weren't apt to take reprisals, if the apples were 'windfalls'.
We had a rhubarb field locally, and armed with a bag of sugar (a couple of years after rationing ended, this is... ) a sweet snack could be had- until, that is, the indigestibility of raw rhubard took it's toll on the colon Thereafter- a sub-ten second 100 yd dash to the nearest toilet was the norm.
Incidentally, Rhubard crumble is very popular in the UK, especially as a winter 'comfort' dish. The caramelised bits around the edges of the crumble are especially tasty.
Followed by a cup of Lavazza (Robusta and Arabica beans), and a 15-year old Drambuie (Liqueur Scotch whisky, with honey, herbs and spices)- can keep the Winter ootside.

I think a motorised (RC controlled) apple pie dish + pie would be an attractive, if bizarre novelty.