Gobble, Gobble: Apple Pie from Chef Nick Badovinus of Neighborhood Services

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday time.

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest it meant the opening of ski season ( if we were blessed with some early snow). It meant pheasant hunting with my Pop and my uncles along the canals of centeral Washington that my grandfather built in the 1950s. I happen to have a late November birthday that every few years falls on Thanksgiving itself. Nice.

Thanksgiving was and still is football, feast, family and friends, all of which added up to something decidedly American.

But the best part of the holiday is the cooking, the smells and the tastes. It was these things that really sparked my interest in learning  to cook.

The savory smell of  frying bacon for Uncle Roger’s green beans. The sound of the basting butter sizzling in the roasting pan of the turkey. That first crispy, sweet and salty cut of the ham. All of these set against the chill of the late November air. Sage, cinnamon, garlic, honey, it was all too much!

It was at Thanksgiving  that I had my first bite of what to this day continues to be my favorite dessert of all time: Nancy’s sour cream apple pie. Washington state takes apple pie very seriously. I actually found myself saving a little room for seconds, thirds and fourths (for breakfast) of  is it. This is one of those magical dishes that meant I was home, and loved.  That is really what Thanksgiving is all about.
Nancy’s sour cream apple pie

1 3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1  teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3  cup butter

Apple cider (just enough to bind the dough)

ingredients for the topping

1/2  cup butter, room temperature

1/2  cup flour

1/3  cup brown sugar

1  teaspoon cinnamon

1/4  teaspoon salt

1  cup walnuts, chopped

ingredients for filling

1 1/2  cups sour cream

1   egg

1  cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

2  teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2  teaspoon salt

2 1/2  pounds (about 6 to 9 apples) Macintosh apples  (preferably from Washington state, my home), peeled, cored and sliced

Method:

Preheat the oven to 450° and assemble all ingredients. To prepare the crust, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Using your fingers, add the butter and mix until the dough is the consistency of coarse cornmeal. Mix in just enough apple cider, 1 tablespoon at a time, to moisten the pastry, using as little as possible. Roll out and place into a 10 inch  Pie pan.

To prepare the filling, combine the sour cream, egg, sugar, flour, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Add the sliced apples into the mixture and stir until the apples are coated. Place the filling mixture into the pie shell just before placing in the oven. Bake 10 min. of  450°, then reduce oven temperature to 350°, and bake another 35 to 40 min.

To prepare the topping, blend together butter, flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and walnuts. After the pies bake, remove and stir filling into crust gently but thoroughly. Place toppings evenly over top of the pie and bake at 350° for 15 min.

Allow the pie to cool before slicing.

Nick Badovinus is owner and chef of Neighborhood Services, Neighborhood Srevices Tavern, and Neighborhood Services Grill. Badovinus, a Seattle native and apple lover, declares that this pie, which was created by his stepmother Nance, is “flat out the best. Nance is a big reason I started to cook, and she still bakes the pie 10 times better.”