Apple Green-Chili Pie With Cheddar Crust and Walnut Streusel | Walnut Giveaway from California Walnuts | Pie Month

Part 3 in our Month of Pie series. Pie Month is a celebration of things we love. Because life is hard, and there should always be more pie. Have a look at the other entries. Really. 

Pie #1 - Lemon Cream Icebox Pie

Pie #2 - Malted Crisp Tart

Pie #4 -  Peanut Butter Cream Pie with Chocolate Cream Pie, Caramel & Deep Dark Fudge

There’s a giveaway at the end of this post. Walnuts, people.

Pie isn’t always easy. But it’s always worth the challenge. And sometimes, one time, you make your first successful crust.


When we started thinking about the Month of Pie, back in November, I put a call out on Twitter for people to share their favorite pies. So many great suggestions came rolling in, but one stood out as a challenge. Did we dare make this pie? 


Sean Timberlake, who runs Hedonia and Punk Domestics, responded that there was one pie he liked a lot. It’s from Chile Pies and Ice Cream in San Francisco. Apples, roasted green chilies, walnut streusel topping, and a cheddar cheese crust. It sounded like a mashup of the Southwest and our favorite cinnamon crumb apple pie. 



So this weekend, I decided I was up for the challenge of something different. With a quick search, I found the recipe for the pie Sean liked, from the November 16, 2010 edition of the New York Times as the lead in a profile of innovative pies and their makers. Which means at almost the same time Sean mentioned it to me, the Times was printing it. Clearly, this makes Sean a trendsetter of record. And Sean clued me into the secret topping, not in the NY Times recipe, which is the chili honey. The chili honey is a stunner. Like liquid red hot candy.

This pie is a beauty. A breeze to make. The crust was a complete success. It’s the first time I’ve ever made a pie crust that was worth eating and held together. And the cheddar in there really stands out (I used Kerrygold Reserve Cheddar which added a tangy depth of flavor). I no longer fear the crust.


The streusel topping? Brilliant. Steal this topping. The perfect texture for the softness of the chilies and apples. The walnuts come through strong, with the sweet crunch from the brown sugar and the butter.


So, what about the chilies? Honestly, they’re a challenge. This is going to be right in some reader’s crave spot, and for others it will miss completely. I love this pie. Karen respected it. That’s OK. Part of this Month of Pie is to move beyond our tried and true, and chilies in our apple pie stretched us toward new flavors and forced us to think about pie differently.


Apparently, 2011 is the year of the Pie, according to a story on NPR that came out right as we started our Month of Pie. With such focus, the traditional pies, the classics, will remain. But a month of pie, let alone a year, demands new approaches, new considerations. And this is always good, not matter the results. 

Recipes

• Apple Green-Chili Pie With Cheddar Crust and Walnut Streusel (via the NYTimes.com)
• New Mexico chili honey (via Food.com)

Walnut giveaway
We were lucky enough to receive a five pound box of walnuts from California Walnuts. We love these folks. They supported us during our weird, funny, and sad online-only conference, BlogHer Food Pity Party. #BHF10PP for those in the know. (Side note...we’re running #BHF11PP. Stay tuned for the wallowing). 


California Walnuts sent us gift of walnuts from their latest crop, and we told them we were going to share the love with our readers. So here’s your chance to win a ton (OK, five pounds) of beautiful walnut halves, all thanks to California Walnuts.


Sorry, the winner was already chosen. But feel free to tell us your favorite pie in the comments below. We love the inspiration.


Here are the rules:

• Leave a comment below telling us your favorite pie for your first entry.
• This contest is open to people (and animals, I guess, if they have internet access) in the US AND Canada. Love you, Canada.
• All comments (and extra entries listed below) must be entered by 12:00 pm Eastern on Friday, January 14.
• We will announce the winner, chosen by random.org, at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, so come back and see if you won.

For extra entries
Listen, you don’t have to do any of these if you don’t want. Just do them if you feel like it.

• Go “Like” California Walnuts on Facebook if you’re on FB. Come back and let us know that you “Liked” them. (or tell us that you’re already their fan on FB).
• If you use Twitter, tweet something nice about @CaWalnuts & @thepeche (put us both in the same tweet, please).
• Go “Like” The Peche on Facebook. If you’re already a fan, you’ve already received an extra entry.

Disclosure

We're not receiving any compensation for this giveaway. We just like California Walnuts.

cinnamon crumble apple pie

Let's talk pie.

I want it. Pretty much every waking moment. I think of pie as less of a dessert and more of a lifestyle choice. Some people have dogs. Or run. Or have a pied-à-terre in Paris. I have pie.

Unfortunately, I can't make a pie crust to save my life. I have tried repeatedly. My mom makes a great crust. She showed me how to do it. I failed. I followed the America's Test Kitchen recipe with vodka in it (bonus points for that). Failed. I tried the pie crust from the Baked cookbook. Failed. It's either too thick, too thin, or too warm while rolling it out and the butter melts, killing any flaky life left in it. Forget crimping the edges, that ribboned edge of crust poking above the edge of the pie plate. I think there's a gene for crimping, and apparently I am recessive.

Karen, however, makes a glorious cinnamon crumble apple pie. It is perfection, crust included. Heavy on the apples without cloying sweetness. A crunchy topping that makes you wonder why anyone would ever want a double crust. A test of a great pie for me is if I want to eat it for breakfast the next day. Whenever she makes it, I can promise I know what I'm eating in the morning.

I know it's almost Spring. But today's chilly and rainy, reminding me that March hasn't flipped the switch quite yet. And I really hope I'm having pie for breakfast tomorrow...

(Hint - if you are a recessive pie crust maker like me and you live near a Trader Joe's, get their frozen pie crusts. I'm not hating them at all.)

Recipe | cinnamon crumble apple pie [via epicurious.com]