How Alexa Makes Me The Holiday Hostess With The Mostest

This post is a paid sponsorship with Amazon Devices & Services

 Entertaining is one of my absolute favorite pastimes. Whether it’s baking, cooking or putting together a killer playlist for my guests to boogie down to––being the hostess with the mostest is something I take great pleasure in. However, I always seem to be over-committing, shooting for way too many stars, running around checking off too many last-minute errands of my to-do list (i.e. the entire list for 65 minutes before the party starts) and short on time. Until, Alexa and my Echo Show 5 came to my rescue.

This holiday season, Alexa (by way of all the incredible gadgets by Amazon) is making my life easier, healthier and happier! In preparation for the Thanksgiving party circuit, my Echo Show 5 + I baked an Apple Crumb Pie AND a Classic Pumpkin Pie. The best part? I got help from the Food Network Kitchen,  that offers on-demand cooking classes and live weekly cooking classes led by top Food Network chefs like Giada De Laurentiis, Martha Stewart, Guy Fieri, Alton Brown, Ina Garten, Ree Drummond and more chef superstars. You read that right, Virtual BFFS––Alexa brings all of these amazing culinary stars to your own kitchen all through Echo Show.

The recipes I used are below, but don’t stop there. Check out the Echo Show 5 to access over 100 step-by-step video recipes and a library of over 80,000 recipes that’ll make you look like Betty Crocker as fast as you can #AskAlexa. 

This holiday season, Alexa (by way of all the incredible gadgets by Amazon) is making my life easier, healthier and happier! In preparation for the Thanksgiving party circuit, my Amazon Echo Show + I baked an Apple Crumb Pie AND a Classic Pumpkin Pie. The best part? I got help from the Food Network Kitchen, an exclusive app only available through Amazon that offers over 800 on-demand cooking classes and live weekly cooking classes led by top Food Network chefs like Giada De Laurentiis, Martha Stewart, Guy Fieri, Alton Brown, Ina Garten, Ree Drummond and more chef superstars. You read that right, Virtual BFFS––Alexa brings all of these amazing culinary stars to your own kitchen all through the trusty Amazon Echo Show.

 The recipes I used are below, but don’t stop there. Check out the Echo Show 5 to access over 100 step-by-step video recipes and a library of over 80,000 recipes that’ll make you look like Betty Crocker as fast as you can #AskAlexa. 

Perfect Pumpkin Pie

Follow the recipes I found, or you can say, “Alexa, show me pumpkin pie recipes” or “Alexa, show me apple pie recipes” to browse all the choices

Ingredients

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin (about 2 cups)

1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 large eggs

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions

1. HEAT oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust.

2. BAKE 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F; bake an additional 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1-inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired.

Apple Crumb Pie

Ingredients

Dough:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (see Cook's Note)

4 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

14 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced

1 large egg, lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons cold water

Filling:

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 pounds baking apples, such as Golden Delicious, Cortland or Mutsu

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Streusel Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Directions

1. For the dough: Pulse the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles yellow cornmeal mixed with pea-sized bits of butter. Add the egg mixture and pulse until the dough just comes together. (If the dough is very dry, add up to 1 extra tablespoon cold water.) Remove the dough, gently pat it into a round, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

2. For the filling: Meanwhile, put the lemon juice in a medium bowl. Peel and core the apples; cut each in half, and cut each half into 4 wedges. Add the apples and brown sugar to the bowl with the lemon juice, and toss.

3. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the sugared apples and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to simmer, about 2 minutes. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the apples soften and release most of their juices, about 7 minutes.

4. Strain the apples in a colander set over a medium bowl to catch all the juices. Shake the colander to extract as much liquid as possible. Return the juice to the skillet and simmer over medium heat until it has thickened and lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes.

5. Toss the apples with the thickened juice, cinnamon, salt, cloves, ginger and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Set aside to cool completely. (The cooled filling can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 6 months.)

6. For the streusel topping: Whisk the flour, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingers until it has been absorbed. Mix in the almonds.

7. To assemble and bake the pie: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and place a baking sheet on it. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into a 12-inch circle. Layer it between pieces of parchment or wax paper on a baking sheet, and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.

8. Ease the dough round into a 9-inch pie pan. Fold and crimp the edges as desired. Add the filling, and spread it out to make an even layer. Squeeze handfuls of the streusel topping, and drop clumps of it on top of the filling to completely cover it.

9. Bake the pie on the preheated baking sheet until the crust and streusel are golden brown, about 1 hour. Let it cool on a cooling rack for at least 3 hours before serving. (The pie keeps well, covered, at room temperature for 24 hours or refrigerated for up to 4 days.)

Cook’s Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)