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Christie Vanover, Chief, Command Information

Happy Independence Day! The Fourth of July is right around the corner, and if you’re like most Americans, you’ll be firing up the barbecue and lighting up the sparklers.

I guess I should be sharing a red, white and blue recipe with you, but there really aren’t blue foods. Blueberries are purple and so are blue corn tortillas. Blue cheese is barely blue, and blue crabs are only blue on the outside.

George Carlin nailed it in his stand up routine when he said: “Red is raspberry, cherry and strawberry. Orange is orange. Yellow is lemon. Green is lime. Brown is meat. There’s no blue food …It probably bestows immortality, that’s why we haven’t been given any.”

Sure we have blue M&M’s and Powerade, but they’re created with the magic of chemistry. So for the Fourth of July, I recommend you stick with the blueberries.

There’s nothing like a traditional flag cake. Bake a cake in 13x9 pan or a sheet pan and smear it with buttercream icing or cool whip. Then, add rows of strawberries to create your red stripes and a square of blueberries in the top right corner (leaving a scattering of empty spots) for the stars.

My favorite cake recipe was featured in the Sentinel Oct. 13. You can find it here www.forthoodsentinel.com/story.php?id=7700.

Instead of a flag cake, Dave, our editor, asked me to create a Fourth of July fusion dish with American classics like apple pie and hot dogs, but he also asked me to prepare something that he would eat, since

he wasn’t fond of the fruitcake stuffing idea from a couple of weeks ago.

I’m going to pass on putting chopped hotdogs in my apple pie because I value your taste buds.

Recently on MasterChef, the home cooks had an apple pie challenge. The judges expected a perfect, flaky, buttery crust. Honestly, without my recipe in front of me, I would have been nervous, too.

Many times, I use refrigerated piecrust because it works in a pinch. But in Europe, the refrigerated piecrusts are so much better. I mean exponentially better.

The shelf is lined with boxes of pâte sucrée and pâte brisée. The first is used for sweeter pies and tarts, and the second is used for savory dishes like quiches.

Making piecrust can be a science. There are so many different techniques out there. Some say use cold butter, others say use room temperature butter. I cheat and use Crisco instead of butter. It doesn’t yield a perfect French pastry, but this is an American apple pie, after all.



Homemade piecrust

1 cup Crisco shortening

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

5-7 T. cold water

Mix the shortening, flour and salt with a pastry blender. Add water one tablespoon at a time until the dough is smooth and doesn’t crack when flattened. Roll the pastry out, until it’s large enough to fit inside a pie tin.

Or, go to the grocery and buy a roll of refrigerated piecrust.



The filling

I was surprised when watching MasterChef to see so many contestants pre-cooking their apples. I have never pre-cooked my apples. I like them to retain their texture.

When I was stationed at Fort Riley, Kan., I was fortunate enough to participate in the annual Apple Day festival. The Historical and Archeological Society of Fort Riley bakes more than 1,000 apple pies for the event. You can buy them by the slice or you can buy a baked or frozen pie. Many buy frozen pies in bulk, and they save them for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

As part of the assembly line of bakers, I learned about the magical apple peeler, corer, slicer. This kitchen appliance is the key to a perfect apple pie.

You slide a whole apple on the end and crank the handle. As the apple spins, the peel spirals off, the apples are sliced evenly and the core is pushed out. You can boil the peels and cores with some cinnamon sticks and whole cloves for a nice kitchen aromatic.

After peeling four or five apples, cut them in half and toss them with sugar, cinnamon and ground cloves.

The first time I made apple pie, I threw my apples in the crust immediately, and when I cut into the pie, it was too liquidy. By letting the apples rest while making the topping, you’ll remove that extra moisture, so your pie has a perfect consistency.

Once the topping is done, pile the seasoned apples into your unbaked piecrust.



The topping

Some people prefer to top their apple pies with a whole piecrust or a lattice top, but I like crumb topping. It creates a dessert that’s more apple crisp meets apple pie. It’s buttery, sweet and has a hint of spice.

Just combine sugar, butter, flour and cinnamon with your pastry blender.

Then, pack that goodness right on top of the apples all the way to the edges of the crust.

You can freeze the pie at this point, or bake it up at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

Serve it plain or a la mode with cinnamon or vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce and you have an all-American dessert.

There’s nothing as American as apple pie. Enjoy your 4th, enjoy your Family and enjoy your freedom this Independence Day. Happy birthday, America.



Apple crumble pie

1 prepared piecrust

4-5 Gala apples

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

1/3 cup butter

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Line a pie pan with a prepared, unbaked piecrust.

Peel, core and slice the apples and toss them in ½ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and ½ teaspoon cloves. Let them set while making the topping.

In a bowl, combine ½ cup sugar, flour, butter and ½ teaspoon cinnamon with a pastry blender, until crumbly.

Layer the apples into the piecrust and top with the crumble topping.

Bake in a 400-degree oven for 40-50 minutes.