Fabulous Pie Crust and a Cutie Pie

I decided to be nice to my co-workers and make my favorite Autumn Apple Pie to spice up a fun fall Friday. I think baking for people really makes them happy and brightens up a dreary day like it's been here lately in the Midwest.
After misplacing (I don't lose, I misplace things ;-) my pie crust recipe, I came across this one and it's divine. It has vodka in it!! Now that's my kind of pie crust. Don't worry goody goodies, it cooks out and ads no flavor. It just ads moisture without aiding in gluten formation. It rolled out beautifully! Please try and let me know how you like it.
Foolproof Pie Dough by Cooks Illustrated
- makes one 9-inch double-crust pie -

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar (I added a smidgen more for sweetness)
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup cold vodka
1/4 cup cold water

Procedure
1. Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

And now for the CUTIE PIE recipe:

Any Animal Shelter in the U.S.

Look at that sweet face!! This is the "Dukie stare down."

"Mommy, can I have a slice of pie please? I've been a good boy, I promise!!"

Donate for a Chance to Win Philosphy Wash!

Since I'm taking part in three different run/walks I thought I'd post a link for all of you to donate to my causes if you're feeling generous. You don't need to donate a lot, I'm grateful for any donations at all.



The payoff is I'll enter you in my drawing for a Philosophy 3-in-1 body wash!


Here are the links for the three activities:
1. Komen's Race For The Cure (Must donate before 10-4-09)

2. American Lung Association's Corporate Cup Race (Must donate before 9-20-09)

3. Nebraska Humane Society's Walk For The Animals. (Must donate before 9-27-09)

** One entry for donating to one of my above causes.

** One entry for posting this giveaway on your blog.

** If you donate to the Walk for Animals, you get two entries. (Yes I'm a little biased, I love animals.) If you play your cards right, you could get a lot of entries ;-)



I'll pick a winner Oct. 5th. Which is the day after my last race.

Each of my causes are important in their own way. Good Luck :-)



Thank you!

What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

Let me preface you with the information that I am not a professional runner and never ran in high school, I'm pretty pathetic actually. In the past few weeks some races have sort of fallen on my lap:

1. Race For The Cure: I'm a member of the Junior League of Omaha and we have a team running in the race. I had always wanted to run in the Race For The Cure but never had the opportunity. While my family doesn't have history of breast cancer, it's scary. One in 8 women will get this scary disease and after losing an aunt (she married my mom's brother) to the disease, it's hit closer to home. I'm doing this race for her.
2. ALA Corporate Cup: Our dealership group is sponsoring this race and I've been involved with the marketing and planning of this event for the past month and a half . While I won't be running in the 10k (I'll die if I run the whole thing), I decided to run a quick 2 mile, non-competitive route. My grandmother had lung cancer (wasn't a smoker for several years) and so this one is for her :-).



3. Walk for the Animals: I also found out about a Nebraska Humane Society event happening in two weeks. This is a super near and dear to my hear issue plus my little angel can come with. I'm a HUGE animal lover. I don't believe in "buying animals", I believe in adopting one from a shelter. They love you just the same and if you are truly looking to love an animal, they don't need to be purebred. My love, Duke, was rescued from a bad situation in Kansas and was taken in by a loving foster mom who taught him everything he needed to know to get adopted. I couldn't ask for a better dog in my life than him. We believe he's a black lab/border collie mix. He's the smartest little angel ever. My husband and I love the crap out of this babe--
If you are looking for a dog or cat, I recommend Petfinder. It's where we found Duke and they have so many animals looking for a forever home with a loving mom and dad!