Monday Night Supper: a "Mean" Apple Pie with table setting tips, plus a champagne toast and Chinese Take Out

Apple Pie, 

Champagne 

and Chinese Take Out

greet your guests with chilled champagne--

one of my favorites is Pol Roget, and a perfect pairing with apple pie

During the fall we head over to "pick your own" apple orchards and stock up on fresh apple selections - our photos here are from past visits in Watermill, Long Island.  But, in winter, there are still lots of varieties of apples in local grocery stores.  Just make sure they are firm and crisp when choosing.  

Set the table extra special when ordering in Chinese food for an added, extra special touch of warmth.  I sometimes use a cashmere throw in the center of our large, farmhouse table, put out our pretty china and silver and a cornucopia of fresh flowers to add charm.

 Monday Night Supper

and 

my apple pie recipe

Sometimes you are just too busy to cook.  
We have a busy week planned and leaving tomorrow  for California, but tonight we have friends over for dinner.  We have  invited a group of fellow equestrians over for a quick dinner, before they head to the airport on a jaunt to the Winter Equestrian Festival in Palm Beach.  Gabby and I quickly whipped up our favorite apple pie, had a good bottle of champagne chilled and, um....ordered in Chinese take out!  

My bad...
and, especially for my food blog Monday Midweek Supper posts.  
But, that is what I hope to parlay to you here on Nest.  It is not always about being the super talented chef when hosting guests and entertaining,
 but about bringing friends into you home in a warm and congenial manner, with ease.

Living in New York City certainly has it perks, and one is good take out food available with the dial of a telephone.  We opted for a medley of Chinese food, set the table festively, and as I hit publish we are off to our fun.  By the way, this apple pie recipe is tried and true, and I have been making it for years.  It is also a bit of a cheat (store bought dough), but it's amazing, and an added bonus is the house is filled with the wonderful aroma of freshly baked apple pie!

Randy and Miles a couple years back hand picking apples in Watermill, Long Island 

Tamara’s quick and delicious

apple pie recipe

Crust:

1 box  refrigerated  pie crust 

(comes in a long box),

left out of fridge for a half hour so not too cold

Filling:

5 thinly sliced, peeled apples

(varying types – Macintosh, macaw, Fuji )

¾ cup packed brown sugar

Squeeze of one small, seedless clementine

TBS orange liqueur

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 generous slices butter

½ teaspoon salt

a sprinkle of flour

Roll out the dough on a floured board, thinly. 

Place one in the bottom of a pie plate and bake in the oven for 10 minutes 

or until lightly brown.  

Take out cool.

In a medium size bowl mix together your peeled apple, which has been sitting with a squeeze of lemon on it to deter it from turning brown. 

Add all the other items (not the apples yet) to a bowl and mix with a spoon until the brown sugar seems to melt a bit. 

Add the apples and generously coat.

just before adding to the pie, dust it with a sprinkle of flour. 

 Mix all together.  

Take the second rolled out dough and place it on tip.  

Crimp the edges together with your fingers, 

so both the pies are sealed together.  

With a fork or butter knife poke small holes randomly on top of the pie to allow steam to release while cooking.  

Cook for 30 minutes (but this varies drastically from oven to oven) or until the pie crust on top has turned to a medium to dark brown.  

a watch on the bottom crust.  

I like to pre-cook the bottom crust so it is a crusty, flaky and not soft.

Serve warm & with champagne!

I like to vary the type of apples I use in one pie.  Macintosh has great flavor but without the crispy crunch needed to hold up in a pie, so I usually use two Macintosh, two Fuji or a crispy version and 2 of whatever I find freshest in the store.

Use thin slices of apple.  
I am not a fan of large hunks of apple, and overstuffed pie.  
I like the delicacy of the apples cooked thinly and in a juicy baste so they marinate.
Once you put all your ingredients together if you notice there is not a little liquid from the sugar, juice combination 
add a little bit more clementine. 

We shared delicious Chinese Take Out:

ribs, pan fried noodles, wonton soup, 

moo shoo pork and vegetables w/ small pancakes

However, if you'd like to get a little ambitious, I love this 

Chinese Take Out Cookbook 
and learned to make 
recipes from it when I have time to
mimic my favorite take out varieties

Happy Nesting XO