Governor J. Joseph Garrahy’s “Apple Cheese Pie”
“As American as apple pie.” You’ve heard the phrase. Are we the #1 producer of apples in the world! Abso—oh, no, we are not. Are we at least known for having the most variety? Huh, that’s the UK. Well, surely, we invented apples. Kazakhstan?? Really??
The long twisted road from obscurity to patriotism features Johnny Appleseed, suit salesmen, World War II and of course, advertising. Most of it remains a mystery and you can chalk a lot of the stories up to folklore. What we do know is that apple pie is the most America pie. How do we make it MORE America?
Cheese.
Governor J. Joseph Garrahy
Democratic Governor from Rhode Island
Favorite Food/Homespun Recipe: Recipe
Notable:
living in his office for three days while dealing with a snowstorm crisis; seemingly being a very decent guy
As always, I followed the recipe word for word, no alterations:
INGREDIENTS
TOPPING:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup sifted flour
8 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/4-inch bits
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
PIE FILLING:
cups tart apples, peeled, cored and cut lengthwise
into 1/8-inch slices
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
One 9-inch unbaked short crust sweet pastry shell
1 tablespoon butter, cut into 1/4-inch bits
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Combine all the topping ingredients, rub together with fingertips or use a pastry blender, until they are the size of coarse meal. Set aside.
Please fresh grate your parmesan cheese. No green cylinder stuff. From here on out, everything is pretty standard. Much like the Coolidge Pork Apple Pie, it’s just one strange ingredient in an otherwise normal recipe.
2. Place the apples in a deep mixing bowl.
Granny Smith, of course. Nice and tart. The apple of the early 2000s in the same way Honeycrips was the apple of the 2010s. Cosmic Crisp era now?
3. Add the lemon juice and turn slices with a spoon to moisten them evenly.
4. Combine the remaining dry ingredients and sift them over apples, until all are well coated.
5. Spoon mixture into the unbaked pie shell. Dot with butter.
This made an absolute MOUND of topping. The cheese mixture is heaping, and I actually left some off because it would’ve spilled over. No need to set off your smoke alarm.
6. Add cheese mixture. Bake for 40 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.
This took about 45 minutes for a golden brown topping, but every oven is different.
Voila! If you want to actually watch me attempt to eat it, go to the Cookin’ with Congress Instagram TikTok or YouTube. Lightly browned on top, this pie smelled quite strange as it baked. Half pie, half lasagna. I’m not upset about it though, and when it came out, it was overwhelmingly a positive aroma that radiated throughout the household. The only thing that would make this more America is a big ol’ slice of American cheese melted on top of my slice.
Verdict:
Odd, but not unpleasant. I actually like it more than the Coolidge apple pie. Yes, every third bite was weird, but the two bites in between? A delicious apple pie with just a hint of salty nuttiness.