As Derek Zoolander once said, “water is the essence of moisture, moisture is the essence of life.” Indeed, one of my first lessons as a pie maker is that water is a very important part of the process. For when I took my dough out of the refrigerator and tried to roll it, I found it tough and flaky. Having difficulty rolling out the pie crust, it was recommended that I added a little bit of water. But alas, the right amount of water before and if needed after is key. For while I added too little water initially, I added too much water in trying to correct the problem the next day and my pastry took on the consistency of cookie dough. In turn, it stuck to my hands, a big no no. We still used the pie crust as the bottom crust and hopefully it will turn out well tomorrow.

I also foolishly tried to decorate the pie but my design looks more like something Jackson Pollock would do, since I have no artistic ability whatsoever.

Fortunately, the filling is beyond awesome! It is what apple sauce wants to be. We infused our apples for five minutes in a boiling bath of apple cider. The mixture on its own was the cat’s pajamas, but mixed with cinnamon, sugar, etc. how could it not be even better? Indeed, the filling rocks. This is in no small part to having Tala as a great partner.

Hopefully it will be the filling, not the crust that shines tomorrow.