The Pie-Oli is Born

So, making things easier is what's hot right now.

My mom and I did the opposite this week. Why, you ask? Because we love to take on food projects when she visits. Because we had too much time on our hands. Because, why not?

We rattled through the typical seasonal flavors as we tried to decide on a project. Then we tried to figure out how we could turn the usual form on its head. There was some discussion about a kitchen tool I brought back from Rome 4 years ago and have yet to use.

And the pie-oli was born.

The apple pie-oli to be exact, with 3 glazes: calvados, maple, and lemon.

We shopped for the ingredients. And then the project sadly sat idle for a few days as we tended to a baby.

But finally, the night of the vice presidential debates (a fitting night for apple pie of some format, no?), we cranked it out.

As dinner cooked, we sautéed the apples. Tiny diced Granny Smiths, sautéed in butter and brown sugar. A pinch of salt and a splash of calvados added at the end.

Then we whipped up 3 different glazes. Again, because, why not? Glazes are easier than easy. We used 1/3 cup of confectioners' sugar as the base for each and added enough of each of the three liquids to get to the right consistency. For maple (our favorite because it added exactly the right does of sweetness against the pie crust), we used 2 tablespoons.

After dinner, we rolled some pie crust dough out super thin, laid it on top of the ravioli mold. Filled. Topped with another thin layer of pie crust dough. Rolled with the rolling pin. Pulled from the molds (which was surprisingly and thankfully easy). We brushed the sweet little pillows with egg wash, slitted the tops for venting. And in the 400 degree oven they went.

We pretty much stood in front of the oven watching them puff to perfect golden brownness. We pulled them out of the oven, lamented over how long they would take to cool, and stuck them in the cold porch to speed up the process.

Then we got to the fun part: drizzling on the glazes and evaluating which was best.

So, were these putzy? Yea, a little. Will we be making these for Thanksgiving instead of the standard pie? No. We'd have to make too many, and that could evolve beyond putzy to something close to tedious.

But making 24 of these was no sweat. And we'd argue they are pretty darn cute.