Apple Pie and a new series!

Easy and decorative spring time apple pie.

Hi folks.

Welcome to the new series!

It's going to be so much fun!

I am so excited to show it to you!

Otherwise why would I be so excited!

And use all these exclamation points!!!

You all know I love sharing the love with other bloggers. I do a weekly series called Lunatic Loves These Links where I  pick things that catch my eye every week. I bookmark a ton of recipes. Yet I realized I don't make other blogger's recipes a whole lot. So this got me to thinking, which you all know is some dangerous stuff. I realized I want to continue sharing the love so I decided to start a new series. It will highlight one blog each week, and I will make something of theirs that I bookmarked. Me being ,well... me, that was not enough. So I decided to start doing some fun interviews. Think Barbara Walters but with more silliness and lots of exclamation points!!! Cuz they are just good fun!!! Am I right or am I right! See you are excited now too right! The exclamation points are luring you in and making you all weak with anticipation. The power of the !!!

So here's the deal.

The down low.

The name of the new series is...

wait for it....

ready....

set...

BURNING DOWN THE KITCHEN WITH ______________!!!

Okay so it's kitchy, I am nothing if not kitchy. It will have what I like to call rapidfire questions with the blogger as well. Just silly questions that we all want to know the answers to. Or at least I do. Cuz that's just how my mind works. So every Tuesday you will see a new blog highlighted here with an interview and some other fun things as well. As it grows I am hoping people are willing to play along. I also hope the readers enjoy it.

Now without further annoying *!!!* and ramblings I give you the very first in what will hopefully be a wildly successful series. Enjoy!!!

BURNING DOWN THE KITCHEN WITH FAMILY FEEDBAG

Amy Bronee runs the blog Family Feedbag. She is a pie genius. I am not even kidding. Pure genius. She makes the most beautiful and creative pies I've ever seen. Designs go on top and things get cut out of the crust. She never fails to impress me with her pie skills. Amy has a wide variety of recipes on her blog. This lady does more than pie. Everything she makes is perfection from soup to cookies to chicken to pasta and everything in between.

I contacted Amy to see if she would be okay with me making one of her pies and then posting about it. She was super sweet. This lady is a gem. She answered all my questions and was patient when I had to reschedule due to new blog hiccups. Thank you Amy for playing along and letting me feature your blog this week.

Rapidfire Q & A with Amy Bronee of Family Feedbag:

1. How did you get started blogging?

I had some friends who were blogging and it seemed like something I could do from home while caring for my kids that satisfied my need to be constantly creative. I wrote my first post when my youngest son was six weeks old and I can't seem to quit.

2. Favorite thing about it?

Being adventurous and creative with new ingredients and techniques. That's really exciting to me.

3. Least favorite thing about it?

Feeling guilty if I'm not posting as often as I'd like. I think most bloggers can relate to that!

4. Favorite food?

So hard to choose! Anything with cheese.

5. Least favorite food?

Pickled fish. I don't get it.

6. Your best dish?

Seared pork chops with rosemary mushroom sauce. Oh, and apple pie.

7. Your worst kitchen mishap?

A roast that took three times as long to cook as it should have.

8. Favorite place to shop?

Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA, The Root Cellar in Saanich, B.C. and The Old Country Market in Coombs, B.C.

9. Fave place to eat?

Fish and chips down on the dock.

10. Nutella or biscoff?

Nutella.

11. Chocolate or peanut butter?

Both. Together.

12. Mashed potatoes or french fries?

I'm gonna have to say fries.

13. Soup or salad?

Salad. I think?

14. White bread or whole wheat?

Depends. Whole wheat for most things, but I like white pizza dough.

15. Coke or Pepsi?

Diet Pepsi.

16. If you could cook with one famous person who would it be?

Jamie Oliver. We'd make an incredible slow-cooked meal and sit around a big rustic wooden table with both our families and laugh until our bellies hurt.

17. If you could take one kitchen item to a deserted island what would it be?

A wooden spoon because it would make a good paddle.

18. Apron or no apron?

Apron.

19. Messy or tidy kitchen while you work?

Messy.

20. Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? Is blogging still in the picture?

I'd love to still be creating with food and food photography. I'd also love to be connecting with home cooks in other ways, such as teaching cooking classes (which I'm starting at a local cooking school this March!) and, gulp, maybe a book?

Amy's beautiful collection of pies on her blog!

Amy's Springtime Pie, it's so gorgeous!

My version of Amy's pie, after it's cooked. Not bad. One petal is slightly off kilter.

Yup so Amy's looks way better than mine. I am so happy with the way my turned out though. I have to tell you pie crust is my nemesis. It's is my kryptonite. It can reduce me to tears in a hurry. I make a killer good pie but I'll admit they never look this pretty. I have a LONG way to go to reach Amy's pie making skills but I am determined to master pie dough if it takes me a lifetime. 

Print Pin

5 from 8 votes

Author Cravings of a Lunatic inspired by Family Feedbag's Springtime Apple Pie

Ingredients

• Ingredients for pastry:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• ¼ tsp vanilla salt
• ½ cup vegetable shortening cubed
• ½ cup cold butter cubed
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tbsp cold water
• Ingredients for the filling:
• 6 Granny Smith apples peeled, sliced and cut into chunks
• ⅓ cup vanilla sugar
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• Ingredients for the finishing:
• food colouring
• splash whole milk
• I used crystal sugar Amy used granulated white sugar, Amy's is a better way to go

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F).
• Pastry instructions:
• Combine flour, icing sugar and vanilla salt in a large mixing bowl.
• Now cut in shortening and butter into the bowl with a hand pastry blender until it looks like coarse crumbs.
• In a separate small bowl beat the egg, vinegar and water.
• Add this egg mixture to the flour mixture and blend with a fork until it starts to come together.
• Divide dough into two balls.
• Set one in fridge while working on the other.
• Roll first one out one a floured surface and then put in a greased or sprayed pie plate. Tuck the edges under.
• Roll out your second so it's ready to place over top when filling is finished.
• Directions for the filling:
• Place peeled and cut up apples in a bowl.
• Combine them with the vanilla sugar, flour and cinnamon. Mix well to coat.
• Pour into prepared pie plate.
• Directions to finishing touches:
• Place your second piece of dough over top your pie plate once the filling is inside.
• Cut off the excess and set aside for flowers and leaves.
• Finish your edges any way you like. You can pinch them or use a fork to seal the edges.
• Make slits going up like flower stems. I did three as the original recipe did.
• Now with the excess you want to divide into four pieces and pop them each in a small bowl.
• Add red food colouring to one and mix.
• Add green food colouring to one and mix.
• Add yellow food colouring to one and mix.
• Add blue food colouring to one and mix.
• Now you begin to form your flowers and petals.
• You make the leaves by pressing the dough into small diamond shapes and then cut little slits to make it look like leaves. Press these onto the crust going up the slit stems.
• Now make your petals by forming balls and then flattening them out. Use your finger to shape them almost like teardrops. Press them onto the crust and make little slits down the center for detail.
• Brush pie gently with milk and then sprinkle on some sugar.
• Place pie in the oven and cook for only 10 minutes on 425. Then turn down to 325 for another 45 to 50 minutes.

Notes

Cold butter and water makes all the difference in the world. Do not over work dough. Plain sugar sprinkled on it would look better than the coarse kind I used.

Source: Family Feedbag Springtime Apple Pie and Fall Apple Pie

I would like to thank Amy from Family Feedbag for letting me feature her today on Cravings on a Lunatic. It was a pleasure and honour to work with another Canuck. Amy is located in the province of British Columbia which I have a fondness for as my sister lives there. I encourage everyone to check out Amy's site. This lady is a Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Winner. She also teaches cooking classes at Hayes The London Chef.  Amy also just celebrated her 1 year Blogiversary so make sure you stop by and congratulate her on that. She can be found on twitter, pinterest and facebook. Thank you so much Amy and continued success in the future. I am certain there is a cookbook in your future and will be first in line for an autographed copy.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to read this today. It still amazes me that you all take time out of your busy schedules to read my blog. So thank you from the bottom of my heart. It means so much to me. I hope you can feel how much I enjoy what I do when you read it. If you have not signed up to receive updates by email or RSS please hop back up to the top of the blog to follow your one and only Lunatic. It would make me super de douper happy!!!