CNY Bounty American Pie.

It's has been so long since I've baked a pie from scratch. Mrs. Smith and the Pillsbury Doughboy have spoiled me. But when Becca invited us to dinner, I just knew I had to take a pie. The question was "Could I make a Bounty pie?"

First thing - flour. I had some Gianforte Pastry Flour - soft white whole wheat. A little texture never hurt anyone.

Next - shortening. I made one crust for us with Ingallside Meadows lard, and I decided to use butter from Queensboro Farms for the one I took to Becca and Kevin's.

Salt - some things you just can't replace. Probably could have skipped this with the butter.

Apples - a couple of Crispins and a couple of Galas from Split Rail Apple Farm with a little more flour and butter. Made enough for two pie fillings.

Sweetener - Bailey's Drunken Raisin Sauce from Old Goat Salsa. I had done a sampling demonstration with the Szareks of Old Goat at the new Nelson Farms store (in The Peppermill) in Hamilton that weekend. When I tasted this sauce, I knew just how I was going to make the pie.

I made standard pie crust using the recipe in my red and white plaid cookbook (Everyone has one of these, don't they?). Peeled and sliced the apples and tossed them with a couple tablespoons of flour and chopped cold butter. Then stirred in the Raisin Sauce (one jar for two pie fillings). Spread that in the pie shells and baked it until golden brown.

Oops - someone got to this pie before the photographer.

When we tasted it, there were hints of peaches - probably from the orange juice in the raisin sauce. The crust was flaky. I need to talk to Gianforte about getting this flour in bulk for all my baking.

Kevin and Becca served us a delicious meal of roast beef, potatoes and gravy, with fresh asparagus and a green salad. We drank some homemade honey meade, ate the pie, and then sipped some hop tea to bring the evening to a "bitter end". Wonderful good time.