Today is my friend Megan’s birthday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!
To celebrate her birthday, Megan and her roommate hosted a Thanksgiving Potluck.
This was kind of amazing. These two lovely ladies managed to have at least 30 people in a New York City apartment. That in and of itself was impressive. They also made a lot of the bigger foods that would be difficult to transport, like the turkey and the mashed potatoes. 12 lbs of mash potatoes actually.
What is really amazing is that they did it in this kitchen:
That was one of the few moments where there weren’t tons of people filling the kitchen.
Thats the whole kitchen. There is that table and then that’s it. There is also no dishwasher.
Megan and Stephanie, I’m truly impressed.
And the food was amazing.
I had some turkey with cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, a little stuffing, broccoli casserole, and some tomato. I also had some delicious home made cornbread. So delicious. Every part of it.
I brought two things. I bought stuffed mushrooms (recipe coming soon!) and an upside down apple pie.
What makes it upside down? On the top of this pie, it has pecans, which almost makes it taste like a combination of apple and pecan pie. When you make it, you hide the pecan layer at the bottom of the pan, and then cover it with crust.
It comes out looking like a regular apple pie.
And then you flip it out of the pan to get this:
Thats not a great picture. I’m actually really disappointed I didn’t get a great picture of it completed. The key to this was baking it until it was almost complete. Then letting it cool so I could take it to Megan’s where I reheated it so I that the pecan could drip down the sides and I could peel the wax paper off.
I love making this pie. I got the recipe from an old friend that I don’t really get to see any more. I had so much fun the first time she and I made this pie together. I love baking but I really love baking with friends.
When we did it the first time, I didn’t have a great apple peeler, so it took forever. Luckily I had great company. I recently got an amazing peeler that fits in the palm of your hand. Peeling five apples took no time.
This pie turned out really well. And looked pretty. I’m not even kidding, two people came walking through Megan’s apartment searching for me to tell me that the pie was good. (Thats why I love baking.)
I also took the peels and baked them with cinnamon and nutmeg. That way they don’t go to waste.
Upside Down Apple Pie
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 1 hour-15 minutes approximately
Yields: 1 pie
Ingredients:
- 6 Tbsp butter, divided (4 T and 2 T) and melted
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 2 refrigerated pie crusts
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup of all purpose flower
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 5 large granny smith apples
Directions:
- Peel the apples and slice into 1/2 inch slices.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Coat a pie tin with nonstick cooking spray. Line the pan with wax paper or parchment paper. Coat the wax paper with additional cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, combine 4 T melted butter, brown sugar and chopped pecans. Mix well and put in the bottom of the pie pan. Spread evenly and press it into the pie pan.
- Layer one pie crust over this, pressing into the pan.
- In small bowl, combine 2 T butter, cinnamon, flower and granulated sugar. Pour over the apples and toss gently to coat the apples.
- Spoon the apple mixture into the pie crust.
- Add the second pie crust over the mixture. Seal the two crusts together by pressing down. Remove any extra after it has been sealed. Cut a few slits in the pie crust to allow for venting.
- Bake 1-1.25 horus or until the crust is golden brown. (I do 1 hour in my apartment and then 15 minutes before I’m ready to serve it.)
- If you’ve baked it straight through, let the pie cool for five minutes.
- Place a serving plate that is larger than the pie over the pie and flip it over. (The pan and the pie will still be hot.) Remove the pie tin and gently lift the wax paper.
- Serve warm or cool.
This is one of my favorite holiday treats.
Check back soon. Upcoming: stuffed mushrooms and pumpkin oatmeal. I’m heading out now though so those will have to get posted later.
Katie tries to Cook 