Saturday, October 13, 2012

Apples, apples, apples!

Autumn is here, it's time for Apple-Picking!  And so we did. :-)  

Last weekend, we went to Apple Holler in Wisconsin, which was about 1.5 hours drive from Chicago downtown.   We had such a great time last year due to its bountiful harvest and of so many varieties that we decided to go back again this year.  However, due to the drought, some of the apples we had to pick from a bin, not from a tree!  Fortunately, for some varieties, like the Jonathans, there were still a lot we picked from the actual trees (see picture below).  And for me, it's much more fun, because my baby sister (whose name is "Apple" :-)) was visiting so she came with us!

The "Jonathan"
With three bags full of apples - what do you do with them?  Bake apple pie of course!  

I'm not really much of a baker and this was actually my first attempt at making apple pie.  My older sister has always been the designated apple pie maker (and baker for the most part) in the family, so I was content with just being the consumer hehehe.  Thank God for easy apple pie recipes and ready made pie crusts, I was successful in making my first pie.  I got the recipe from Pillsbury and it's called - "Brown Butter Creamy Apple Pie".  I followed the recipe practically to the letter, but instead of making my own whipped cream, I used Vanilla Bean ice cream (heavenly!)...  Took me about 45 minutes to prepare.


Nothing beats Apple Pie ala Mode!