Cooking on the Road - Crumb Top Apple Pie

Last week we took cooking on the road. To the Capitol City - Raleigh, North Carolina.

There is so much history as to how and why cooking happens in Raleigh that it would take a book. Dad has begun writing that book with amazing stories of the 22 years that he and Mom spent in the the NC Legislature in Raleigh. The stories are about politics, events and relationships. As usual, many of those relationships were bonded over cooking. Not just any cooking. Ruby's Cooking.

Ruby's Cooking used to be a noun and verb but it evolved into an event. There have been articles in Our State magazine and several newspaper columns over the years to describe Ruby's Cooking. The jist is that when Dad was in the legislature, he would call or maybe just run into someone somewhere and then invite them to come over to their Raleigh condo because Ruby's cooking. Over the years this included people (Dad calls them Ruby's customers) from the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government as well as reporters, family and friends from all over the place. These invitations were always last minute and it was always something people wanted to do. One reason was that after all of the required dinners that politicians attend, it was good to have real home cooking. Another reason was that everyone knew this was a family gathering so egos and agendas should be left at the front door. People knew that Ruby's Cooking would be a safe haven just like home is supposed to be. Mom and Dad have a lot of stories about various people who have come for dinner and what they liked to eat and how cute they were when they could just be themselves. I was present for a few of these events, but not all by any stretch so I'll leave those stories for others to tell. Mom and Dad can tell the stories, and also my sister, Judy can tell them. This is because Judy and Dad were both in the legislature for several years at the same time. At that time they were the only father/daughter in the NC legislature and maybe in the country. Judy served several counties in the Western North Carolina mountains and Daddy served three counties in the foothills.

Last week, we were cooking in Raleigh for a celebration of Judy's health and the doctors who helped her. Fifteen years ago, Judy had a kidney and pancreas transplant. Fifteen years later, she is very active and engaged in life. She has demonstrated huge amounts of courage and 'stick-to-it-ive-ness" (a word I learned from her). She has the intellect and the tenacity to stay up to date on health issues and to take control of her own health. She has also built strong relationships with the amazing doctors who help guide her through it all.

Judy set the menu and made the invitation calls. Mom and Dad supplied home frozen corn, home canned green beans, Mama's biscuits, Dad's special country ham, and fresh crowder peas from the garden. Dad asked me to make a Crumb Top Apple pie. I was also the driver. Being the driver to Raleigh events with Mom and Dad is always an adventure - more like a vacation than a duty. There are certain things that are rote. 1) We make sure we have diet coke with crushed ice for the trip 2) Dad likes to play the let's see if we can squeeze the entire trip out of one tank of gas game while Mom and I do not 3) There is always discussion about whether to go the old way or the new way. Mom and Dad love going the old way - highways 49 and 64 - because the pace is less hectic than I-85 and as Mom says, "the scenery is prettier". They also like to stop at a locally owned cafeteria in Siler City. Mom used to drive Dad back and forth to Raleigh for 22 years and she can tell you exactly where you are when you go the old way. She knows every tree and hill and stoplight. While Mom drove, Dad rested in the back seat of the car with his special pillow Quigley. In those days, Dad would work in his dental office from Friday thru Monday lunch. He would check on the Round Up on his way home from the dental office. Mom would pack their car for a four day stay in Raleigh and then drive the four hour trip to set up house in their Raleigh condo. It is amazing that they did this for 22 years.

So, we arrived in Raleigh last Monday evening and began preparations for Judy's celebration dinner to be held on Tuesday night. Dad fried the country ham, Mom and Dad made slaw and we all worked on other details. Judy's Raleigh condo is where Mom and Dad lived during the last years of their legislative terms. Later Judy and Hanse bought it. Hanse and I joked that we should all buy a condo in the same building so we would have kind of our own retirement building. Ironically, now Jackie has bought a condo there and Mom and Dad have bought another one. These are nice condos, but when you think of having a seated dinner party for 20 people it seems like an impossibility. At least now, we have three kitchens and all three were in use as Judy and Hanse made macaroni and cheese, Mom cooked a fresh turkey breast and the vegetables, Dad made pimiento cheese and I sliced tomatoes, onions, fruit, and made the apple pie. Mom also made 2 cakes of cornbread and cooked her special homemade biscuits. For appetizers we fried home grown squash.

Tuesday about 6 pm the guests started to arrive at Judy's condo and it really was a celebration. The doctors who are all in different locations now, were happy to reunite with each other and with Judy. I know how joyful we all are to have such a success story, but I can not really imagine being one of the doctors who were a part of pulling off this miracle. They are not only brilliant, but also such loving and caring people - real doctors as Judy says.

It was such a fun evening full of laughter and stories. The conversation was wonderful - from books, to politics, to sports, to medicine, to food, to friendship. As the guests were leaving, Dad wanted to give one of the transplant surgeons some unshelled crowder peas from the garden. The surgeon said, "can you teach me how to shell the peas". Dad said, "Well you're a surgeon, you should be able to do it." The transplant surgeon quipped, "Well I'm better at putting things in than taking things out!!" Hilarious. And thankful.

Nell's Crumb Top Apple Pie

I thought this was Mama Crowder's recipe until Mom told me she had gotten it from Nell Sperling.

Filling:

4 Cups Apples - use mostly green ones like Granny Smith and a few red ones
3/4 Cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Slice apples and cook in a small sauce pan over low heat with sugar and cinnamon until about 1/2 done. You want them to be cooked but firm, not mushy. Don't add water, there will be plenty of juice.

Crust:

Take a Pillsbury all ready pie crust and roll out into a pie pan. You can make your own crust, but these are good and they work for me.

Pour the cooked apples into the pie crust.

Topping:

1/2 cup plain flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Blend the topping ingredients until they are course crumbs. You can do this ahead of time or while the apples are cooking. Blend and scatter over pie.

Bake 35-40 mintues. Start at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce to 350 for rest of the time. Check to make sure the topping is cooked until melty and brown.