Pork and Apple Pie for Foodie Extravaganza

October is a great month!  The leaves start changing, the apples and pumpkins are ready for picking, people are passing out candy and decorating their houses with ghosts and witches, my daughter, nephew, 2 nieces, and sister in law celebrate their birthdays.  Then, to make things even better......They go and make it National Pork Month.  I am squealing with delight!  Oh c'mon, it wasn't that corny....well, I guess it was.

I just want you to know that I am not the only one who is excited to celebrate National Pork Month. There is a whole group of us who are going to share fantastic Pork recipes with you today.  We all belong to a group that we call Foodie Extravaganza.  Each month our host chooses on of the many food holidays that are celebrated during that time period and tells us what it is.  We all get busy in the kitchen and at our computers and present our dishes to you on the second Wednesday of each month.

I decided to share a recipe that I found on epicurious.com for Pork and Apple Pie with Cheddar-Sage Crust because.....I had to wipe the drool of my chin when I read it. I kept pretty true to the original recipe except that I used my food processor when making the crust and used olive oil instead of vegetable oil when cooking the onions and pork. I also used panko bread crumbs. 

This is not the easiest recipe I have ever made nor is it the hardest.  It takes a little bit of time as the crust has to refrigerate for a while before you roll it out but you can always make that a day or two ahead of time. The crust is very stiff and took some muscle when I did roll it out.  It is more like a shortcrust than a pie crust. And it ended up being a very rustic looking pie which is what I would think a Pork and Apple pie should look like.

I put it together and stuck it in the oven with a little prayer since I had never made nor eaten a Pork and Apple pie and I had gone and invited company over for dinner.  What the heck....if it doesn't turn out there is always pizza....right??

When you are ready to assemble the pie, roll out the bottom crust and place in a deep dish pan.

Next, layer in the seasoned pork and onion mixture that has been pulsed in a food processor.

Then you are ready for the apples that have been slightly pre-cooked.

Top with the second crust, coat with an egg wash and put it in the oven.

It turned out beautifully!

And it was delicious.  I will be making this again. 

The flavors were lovely and the spices in the pork mixture were perfect.

What I will do differently the next time I make this is prepare some gravy to go along with it.

Gravy would have made this very good dish, awesome.

Pork and Apple Pie with Cheddar-Sage Crust

as found at Epicurious.com

Crust

2 1/2 c. flour

2 t. dried sage

1/2 t. table salt

2 sticks of butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

3 oz. white cheddar cheese, finely grated (I used Cabot)

6-8 T. ice water

1 egg blended with 1 T. water

Place flour, sage, salt and butter into the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times until the mixture looks like cornmeal with pea size pieces of butter remaining.  Add the cheese and pulse once or twice.  Remove to a bowl and sprinkle with 6 T. of water.  Mix with clean hands until the dough starts to come together adding the additional 2 T. of water if needed.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly, only 3 or 4 times.  Divide in half and form 2 balls one slightly larger than the other.  Place both balls onto sheets of plastic wrap, cover and press into discs. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Filling

6 large apples, combination of sweet and tart, cored and sliced 1/4" thick.

2 T. olive oil

1 small onion, finely diced

2 lbs ground pork

1 T. firmly packed brown sugar

1 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground ginger

1/4 t. ground cloves

1/4 t. ground allspice

3 1/2 T. panko bread crumbs

In a large dry skillet, over med low heat, cook and gently stir the apples just until they start to soften, about 5 minutes or so.  Remove to a plate and set aside.

In the same skillet, add the olive oil and raise the heat to med high.  Add the onions, pork and spices. Cook and stir, breaking up the pork, until the onion is softened and the pork is lightly browned. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

With a slotted spoon remove pork and onions from pan into the bowl of a food processor, leaving behind any drippings from the pork.  Add the bread crumbs to the food processor and pulse 5 or 6 times until the it resembles fine sand.

Preheat the oven to 425*.  Roll out the larger amount of pie dough, between two pieces of parchment paper, to approx 13" and place in the bottom of a deep dish pie pan.  Add the pork mixture and press down with clean hands, top with the apples.  Roll out the top crust between the parchment paper and lay over the apples.  Fold the bottom crust over the top and crimp edges.  Brush with the egg wash and place in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 375* and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes, until crust is golden.  Allow to set for 25 minutes before cutting and serving.   Print Recipe

Let's see what other creations were made to celebrate National Pork Month

• BBQ Pulled Pork with Mac and Cheese Flatbread by From Gate to Plate 
• Chili Verde Pork Posole by Culinary Adventures with Camilla 
• Freezer-friendly Spicy Pork Burrito by Brunch with Joy 
• Healthy Sausage and Rice by Fearlessly Creative Mammas
• Italian Sausage No Crust Quiche by Cookin' and Craftin' 
• Jamie Olivier's Pork Roast with Crackling by G'Gina's Kitchenette 
• Mojo Shredded Pork with Black Beans and Rice by Our Good Life 
• Parmesan Spinach Stuffed Pork Loin by Cooking with Carlee 
• Pork and Apple Pie by A Day in the Life on the Farm 
• Pork Chops with Spiced Apples by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Pork Meatball Mini Subs by The Freshman Cook 
• Pork Schnitzel by Making Miracles 
• Spicy Sticky Pork Ribs by Food Lust People Love 
• Sweet and Sour Pork by Tara's Multicultural Table 
• Thai Basil Meatballs with Peanut-Basil Sauce Two Ways by Caroline's Cooking

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of the month. If you are a blogger and you're interested in joining in the fun, visit us at our Facebook Foodie Extravaganza page. You can also visit our past party submissions on our Pinterest Foodie Extravaganza board .

Thanks for joining us this month and hope you come back to see what we're celebrating next month! 

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