For Thanksgiving this year, I've drawn pie duty. I'm again making pumpkin-pecan pie, and to that I'm adding our familial apple pie. We buck tradition a bit by using McIntosh apples. Conventional wisdom considers McIntoshes too soft for cooking and recommends firm apples like the Granny Smith, but according to family lore, a previous patriarch could not abide hard pieces of apple in his pie, so our tradition developed accordingly. In any case, it's the apple pie I grew up with, and it tastes fine to me. Here's the recipe, as written out by my mom:

Pastry:

Box of crust mix works great! But if you insist on from scratch:

• 2 Cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 Cup oil
• 1/4 C. milk
  • 1) mix with fork, 2) if too sticky sprinkle with small amout of flour and mix again, 3) form into ball and split in half

Roll out on floured wax paper — flour top of dough and the rolling pin (alot) so it won't stick.

Flip over onto pie plate and carefully pull off wax paper. Fit carefully and evenly into pie plate.

Filling:

• 8-10 apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin
• 1 Cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Mix all together till apples are evenly coated. Place in crust-lined pie plate.

Top Crust:

Roll out remaining dough and invert on top of apples — pull off wax paper. Tuck and fold top edge under bottom edge of crust all around. Seal edge by pushing fork tines down onto edge all around. Cut slits in top crust. Bake 425°F for 50 minutes — till top crust is brown.

Happy Thanksgiving, one and all.