Good to eat

So, as I hope someone noticed, I put up new food photos a week or two ago. At this point, those are mostly old meals - you can learn about them at Flickr, if you care for more detail. Recent holiday feasts will be coming, but I wanted to give these their time in the (very low-wattage) spotlight.

At any rate, this is, alas, a post about a failed pie. Looks gorgeous, doesn't it? My first-ever apple pie. I've done lots of elaborate cooking, but somehow this staple of Americana has eluded - indeed, intimidated - me. Step one is knowing nothing about pie crust, then step two is worrying about getting the filling right - I'm very particular about apple pies, so I hardly wanted to let myself down.

So I went with Cook's standard, classic apple pie: nothing fancy, or tricky. It's a long-lead item: about an hour to assemble, then another to bake, and a few hours to cool. And at the end of all that: heartbreak. I didn't take a picture of the overspiced puddle of soup hidden beneath that handsome crust, but I could barely choke it down. I consulted with a good friend who's an excellent baker, and it appears that a series of small mistakes may have led to the disaster. I suppose I should hop up on that horse again, but somehow, I haven't.