So, I wanted to bring something to work to celebrate U.S. Independence Day, which by the way celebrates independence from the same country as Jamaican Independence Day (August 6th). I settled on making that most wonderful of pie varieties - apple. Apples do cost $32 a piece down here, but I figured this was a small price to pay to represent my country. I slyly built up the excitement for July 4th, revealing to influential first adopters in the office that I would be bringing pie to work. This seemed to work.
Then, on Monday night, I began the process of baking the pie. I had never actually made one, but my experiences gained during the production of such dishes as apple crisp, apple crumble, and baked apples would serve me well. Lacking a pie pan, I used a large rectangular tin pan, like those used for sheet cakes or lasagna. I sliced eight Granny Smith apples, peeling them with the large chef's knife because I had neither a peeler nor a paring knife (Stocking Stuffer Alert). The apples were mixed with a sugar syrup and placed into a simple pastry crust. For the top, I tried my hand at a lattice crust, with delicious results!
It was finished at 2 AM. I carried the pie, shielded with foil and wrapped in a scandal bag, onto the taxi to go to work, where I kept it in the fridge until the end of the day, to keep up the suspense. Then, the unveiling. It was a big hit. 16 out of 20 pieces were eaten (80 %, for those scoring at home), and I had to cut off the disbursement in order to save some to eat at home.
Not only did I represent my country tastefully, but I learned a little something about myself in the process. I can make pie.
-Shane
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5 comments:
McCall, you make me laugh. Wish I would have been there for the baking extravaganza. Too bad I was asleep. But your pie sure was tasty. Keep up the good work!
Did you say an apple costs $32? Is that in US or jamaican dollars? If that is in US $ then that must have been one hell of an expensive apple pie you get at one of those fancy Las Vegas hotels (like The Venetian I think ). I hope they really appreciated your efforts.
That is $32 jamaican.
i enjoy reading your blogs. You do try to give an accurate portrayal of Jamaica. As a Jamaican, weh deh a yaad..it's nice to see people living in the culture and appreciating it for what it is. This is not little America. Jamaica has its flaws and so do every other country.Thanks for portraying not only the negatives about my country, but the positives as well. Reading other blogs about Americans living in Jamaica, one would get the impression that you only have wealthy tourists and poor ignorant locals. Jamaicans are very smart, efficient people just like any other people. People fail to realize that the vocal few is more listened to than the guiet masses.With a few opportunities, the possibilities are linitless. thanks for keeping it real.
You shouldn't have admitted that you're good at it! I now demand that you send me one to share up with the bloggers over here in Cayman.
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