The pie that won Ruth the county fair ribbon in 1968 and every year she entered after. Lard crust, tart apples, a lattice she wove without looking.
Ingredients
Flour, cold lard, a little butter, ice water
Six or seven tart apples — Northern Spy if you can find them
Sugar, cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, lemon
A spoon of flour to thicken
Method
Keep everything cold. Slice the apples thin, toss, heap them high — they sink. Lattice on top, crimp the edge with a fork, and bake hot then lower until the juice bubbles through.
Who made it
Ruth, then her daughter Linda, who says the trick is to stop measuring.