Rick Casali’s Recipe for Apple, Pear, Cranberry, and Ginger Pie

Remember it was two years ago when TILife’s copy editor, Elspeth Naismith, presented "Call for Recipes!" The article showed a tea towel that proudly hangs in her kitchen and provides the ingredients for a "Traditional 1000 Islands Shore Dinner," written by the late Les Cook, a renowned Canadian fishing guide. Elspeth suggested that our River communities have many farmers, restaurants, storekeepers, and, yes, both year-round and summer residents who have favourite recipes with special River meanings. Since then, we have published some fantastic culinary suggestions!

Rick Casali’s Recipe for Apple, Pear, Cranberry, and Ginger Pie

Carl Lueck’s recipe for his blueberry pie in the August issue inspired me to share my own recipe for my favorite holiday dessert. I love apples in most any form. Honey Crisp and Galas are two of my favorite varieties. We had apple trees on our Grindstone Island property, which was named The Orchards. One of those apple trees survives today, and Kevin and Emily Wood have given Anne and me a bag of apples from this lone survivor. Our cook, Alice Rusho, made delicious apple pies and other recipes from the fruit of these trees.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are always special holidays for the Casali family. Whether at our home or at the homes of our family or friends, I always bring my famous apple, pear, cranberry, and ginger pie. Having fresh cranberries is a key to making my pie. For years, I have pleased family and friends with this recipe – more often than not served warm, with vanilla bean or French vanilla ice cream. It’s a crowd favorite, and I have shared the recipe countless times. My recipe has evolved over the years. Finding crystallized ginger can be a challenge, but most grocery stores carry it, if you look hard enough. Anne always cautions me not to add too much ginger, as it can overpower the apples and pears.

Like Carl, I use Pillsbury refrigerated pie dough. I don’t have the patience to make the dough from scratch. But I do feel that this brand is the best store-bought dough available. One tip is to allow the pie dough to warm up a little (but not too much!), before unrolling and using it. If the rolls are too cold, the dough can be brittle and break, or stick together, making it difficult to roll out.

Another tip is to use a Johnny Appleseed tool to peel, core, and slice the apples. This little machine has a suction cup to attach it to your kitchen counter workspace. To work best in the machine, the apples can’t be too ripe and need to be on the firm or crunchy side. Otherwise, the four stainless tines will spin inside the apple core. Amazon and Lee Valley Tools both sell the Johnny Appleseed machine, and they make great gifts.

Rick Casali, Jr. and his daughters Isla and Brita recently harvested four bushels of apples from their trees in Galesville, Maryland, so we had a peeler/corer delivered so that they can make lots of apple dishes. We also make an outstanding apple crisp dish using oatmeal, raisins, and lots of cinnamon.

Rick Casali’s Recipe

Yield: 8 to 10 servings
For the dough, I use Pillsbury’s refrigerated dough sheets from the market for both crusts. Let the dough warm up a little before handling. This recipe is so easy, especially on Thanksgiving or Christmas mornings.

Filling:

6 – 8 Granny Smith, Gala, or Honey Crisp apples, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch slices
2 – 3 firm Bosc pears, peeled and cut into ¼-inch slices
2 cups raw (fresh) cranberries, rinsed
¼ cup crystalized (aka candied) ginger, chopped into very small pieces
½ cup flour
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ Tablespoon nutmeg
½ cup brown sugar
2 to 3 Tablespoons lemon juice (freshly squeezed or commercial)
¼ cup melted butter, to brush on top pie crust before baking

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Roll out pie dough, line bottom of a 9 inch pie plate with one sheet of dough, and set second rolled out sheet aside.
2. Mix together apples, pears, cranberries, and ginger in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. In another small bowl, mix together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then carefully blend it into fruit filling.
4. Pour mixture into pie dish/bottom crust. Sprinkle lemon juice over pie filling and shake a bit more cinnamon over filling.
5. Carefully place top crust over pie, and crimp edges between your thumb & forefinger.
6. Using a fork or knife, poke holes into crust to allow steam to vent, and brush top of pie with the melted butter. Garnish pie top with holiday designs (optional).
7. Cover pie with aluminum foil tent so it does not burn and bake in preheated oven for approximately 30 – 45 minutes, removing tent 10 minutes before the end of baking.
8. Allow pie to sit 20 minutes before cutting. Serve it warm or at room temperature with Vanilla Bean or French Vanilla ice cream. Keep pie covered at room temperature for a day, or refrigerate for up to four days.
9. By Rick Casali

Rick and his wife Anne cruise the River in a recently purchased 1968 Chris Craft 31 Commander, which they named "Foxtrot". They also have a Seaway 24 named "Miss Annie" Rick is a regular contributor to TI Life, providing many in-depth articles about Thousand Islands boats and the boating world. This is his first recipe but I bet there will be more!

During his youth, from 1947 to 1976, his parents had a cottage on Grindstone Island named The Orchards. Rick now splits his time between Stuart, FL, and the River. He worked for Columbia Gas System for 29 years and ran their Washington, DC office. Then in 2000, he started brokering boats and yachts, and he continues as a broker with North Point Yacht Sales.