As Easy As....

Looking to make friends? Bring dessert. Thankful for the invitation to Thanksgiving dinner? Bring dessert.

Atlanta restaurant Murphy's has a wonderful sour cream apple pie. Billowy, creamy, apple-y... I hadn't ever heard of such a thing until I moved here, but it's fabulous.

Many an experienced cook has been bedeviled by pie crust; for a Learn-To-Cook recipe, don't bother with it. Get the Pillsbury pre-made (specifically Pillsbury) in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. The rest of it is homemade, so go ahead and coast on the crust like most people do.

This is about the easiest pie recipe I've ever seen, and it's a crowd-pleaser. It puffs up during baking and looks pretty impressive coming to the table.

Unlike some of the other Learn-To-Cook recipes, you can't make this in stages. Apples turn brown within an hour or two, so you'll need to have twenty minutes or so set aside to prep your apples, mix up the filling, and get the pie in the oven.

Sour Cream Apple Pie
One 9-inch single pie crust
2 large apples - cored, peeled, and sliced (peel first with a vegetable peeler, slice into quarters, and cut the core out of the slices). Why large apples instead of small? Less coring, less peeling; you get to use more of the apple you paid for.
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour
8 ounces sour cream

Line pie plate (glass or metal) with pie crust and trim the edges. Roll some of the overhang up so that it forms a little ridge around the edge.

Peel the apples with a vegetable peeler. Then slice into quarters, and cut the core out of each slice. Put the apple quarter on its flat side, with the cut-out core facing you. Slice, about 1/4" thick, your way down the apple. Honestly, it doesn't matter to the recipe which way you slice the apple - if your knife skills aren't the greatest, you'll have an unnecesary kitchen disaster by trying to thinly slice it longways. That's all.

Mix apples with sugar, cinnamon, flour, and sour cream. Pour in pie crust. Bake for one hour at 375 degrees.

Graciously accept compliments - "Oh really, it was no big deal." "It just took a few minutes." "Yes, made it myself. Me. In my kitchen."