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Living / Recipe Box
| Some of the Apples Grown in Bayfield • Cortland: Sweet-tart, white flesh. • Jonafree: Less acidic than a Jonathan, crisp, juicy, sweet-tart, spicy fragrance • Sweet 16: Unique flavor, customer favorite, sweet, juicy, crisp, good storage qualities • Gala: Firm, crisp, juicy, sweet • Redfree: Crisp, juicy, good all-purpose apple • Honeycrisp: Complex sweet-tart flavor, excellent eating apple • Liberty: Juicy sweet-tart and aromatic • Zestar: Sweet-tart with a hint of maple-sugar flavor • McIntosh: Tart, tender flesh, superior eating apple • Fireside/Connell Red: Big, sweet, firm, complex flavor, good storage qualities |
But when it came out of the oven a perfect golden brown, that crust held a heaping helping of steamy apple pie filling effortlessly, without falling apart. Biting into a slice, the crust melted like gossamer. It was a modern miracle. It was awe-inspiring. I have never been able to recreate it … but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped trying. (I’m going to give you the recipe, so you can try, too.)
For my family, late September or early October is the annual pilgrimage to our favorite orchard with the miraculous pies. We embrace the drill. Every year we pull up to the garage at the orchard and grab our box. The kids make a beeline for the playhouse, the family dog giving chase. I confirm my pie order before we drive down the path. (I don’t want anyone else grabbing my pie.) Usually we’ll run into Wava’s son, Bill Ferraro, who will take a few minutes to smoke his pipe and visit. (His wife, Claudia, can help with the secrets of Wava’s pie crust because she inherited the recipe and the skill.) It’s then that our kids get their refresher on the one unbreakable rule in Bill’s orchard: “Twist, Don’t Pull.”
Amazingly, the kids don’t bicker in the orchard. They work - happily. We walk around and see what else Bill has planted. We have a bushelful of magical family times in that orchard. Before you know it the box is full. We drive away with our apples, working our way through caramel apples, ready to tour a couple of other favorite orchards before driving home sticky and satisfied with the cinnamon smell of pie permeating the car.
Last year that big box of apples didn’t feel so big. My 6-foot son did away with many of them while grazing. Maybe this year we’ll pick two boxes … so I get a chance to make some other favorites and to try to perfect Wava’s apple pie!
Juli Kellner hosts the “Cooking with WDSE” series for WDSE-TV/DT public television in Duluth, where she is program director.
Swistons’ Apple Chili2 cans (12 oz. each) kidney or chili beans
1 can (12 oz.) whole tomatoes (or diced)
1 can (8 oz.) tomato paste
2 cans (11 oz. each) tomato soup
1 c. milk
2 lbs. hamburger
1 small sweet onion (your choice)
2 Cortland apples (Cortlands are tender, juicy, good keepers - an all-purpose variety)
Chili powder to taste
Cumin (optional)
Combine kidney beans, tomato paste, tomato soup and milk in a large pot. Cook over medium heat. Crush the whole tomatoes and add to the pot. Brown the hamburger and onion and add to pot. Core and dice the apples then add these. Season to taste with chili powder and cumin. Cook on medium heat for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. Top with sour cream, shredded cheese and crushed crackers.
This recipe by Betty Swiston and Laura Swiston is our most requested
from our Channel 8 show “A Bayfield Apple Feast.”
Wava’s Prize-Winning Apple PieCrust:
• 1-1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 c. lard (or same amount of vegetable shortening)
• A pinch of salt
• Ice cold water
(2 to 3 Tablespoons to hold)
Combine the ingredients to make the dough. Separate into two parts to make the top and bottom crusts for a 9-inch pie plate.
Filling:
• Crushed cornflakes (Wava used a “handful” - about 1/4 cup)
• 6 c. apples, cored, peeled and sliced (Wava used any apple her son had from the orchards, but see the list of sweeter and more tart apples, then choose to taste)
• 3/4 to 1 c. sugar (for sweeter apples, use less sugar) cinnamon
• salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
Crush the cornflakes and place on the crust. Then put in the apples. Add 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar, depending on the sweetness of the apples (taste them). Add a pinch of salt. Add enough cinnamon to cover the sugar. Sprinkle on the vanilla. Place the remaining crust on top and press down so it is flush with the apples. Seal the edges and cut vents. Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes or until done.
I’ll never forget how easy Wava Ferraro made this look!
