Books for cooks

BARBARA BURKE

"Apple Pie Perfect" By Ken Haedrich (Harvard Common Press, hardcover $29.95, softcover $15.95) 1/2

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Apple-pie book puts more
eye on crust

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It's almost impossible to make a bad apple pie using good ingredients. But to make a great one, you need to start with a pastry that's also capable of greatness, according to author Ken Haedrich, a former recipient of the coveted IACP Cookbook Award.

In his newest cookbook, "Apple Pie Perfect," you'll find 10 recipes for pie crust with step-by-step directions that will take the fear out of many a wanna-be pastry chef.

Three ingredients are essential for what Haedrich calls an "All-American" pie crust: butter, for flavor; vegetable shortening, for tenderness and flakiness; and white flour, not whole wheat. He prefers using a food processor rather than mixing by hand, pulsing, fluffing and working the pie dough ever so lightly until it resembles coarse crumbs.

The cookbook contains 100 recipes in all, from Traditional Lattice-Top Apple Pie, to Tropical Apple Pie with Coconut Crumb Topping, to Apple Pie Pizza.

Eight color photos, a guide to apple varieties, helpful hints and folksy anecdotes are scattered throughout the book. Most recipes make eight to 10 servings, but a handful of recipes are for individual pies or turnovers.

The following holiday pie combines the well-loved flavors of apple and pumpkin. Note that the apple flavor will be more noticeable if you use chunky applesauce and serve the pie well-chilled.

Pumpkin Applesauce Pie

1 9-inch deep-dish pastry shell, partially baked
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup chunky applesauce
1 cup canned pumpkin purée

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the eggs in a medium-size mixing bowl until foamy and blended. Whisk in the maple syrup and vanilla; set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, salt and spices. Whisk this into the eggs. Blend in the applesauce and pumpkin, whisking until smooth. Ladle the filling into the partially baked crust.

Place the pie directly on the center oven rack and bake for 50 to 55 minutes. To check for doneness, give the pan a quick little jab. The filling should not move in waves, but instead should appear set in the center. The sides may have puffed, but don't leave the pie in until the center puffs up because this is an indication that the pie is overbaked.

One other thing: When the pie is done, the outer area of the pie will have a flat finish, but the center will be more glossy. Serves 8 to 10.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (8 servings per recipe): 260 calories, 7 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 80 mg cholesterol, 280 mg sodium, 4 g protein, 45 g carbohydrate.

Rating Scale: Best in its class / Highly recommended / Recommended / Not recommended

Barbara Burke is a Hawaii-Pacific University instructor who teaches and writes about food and nutrition. Contact her at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813; or e-mail her at: features@starbulletin.com