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Gulf State Wrestling will hold its "Back to School Bash" Saturday at Berwick Junior High School. Doors will open at 6 p.m. with bell time at 7 p.m. Concessions will benefit the school's Beta Club. For tickets, call 985-518-0433. (Submitted Photo/Courtesy of Mike Beadle)

There’s no better way to enjoy fall’s abundant apple harvest than in a towering deep-dish pie. Unfortunately, this dessert often yields unevenly cooked, shrunken apples swimming in an ocean of their own exuded juices atop a pale, soggy crust.
We wanted each slice to be dense with juicy apples, framed by a buttery, flaky crust. A combination of sweet and tart apples, tossed with a little brown sugar, salt, lemon, and cinnamon, promised a perfectly balanced filling.
Precooking the apples solved the shrinking problem, helping them hold their shape in the oven while also eliminating any excess liquid, and thereby protecting the bottom crust. We mounded the cooled slices in our pie plate, covered them in the top crust, and baked. Our sky-high apple pie emerged golden brown and chock-full of tender apples, filling our kitchen with the homey, comforting aromas of this autumn favorite.
Good choices for tart apples are Granny Smiths, Empires or Cortlands; for sweet we recommend Golden Delicious, Jonagolds, or Braeburns. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
DEEP-DISH APPLE PIE
Start to finish: 1 hour (plus 3 hours
for chilling and cooling)
1 recipe Basic Double-Crust Pie Dough (recipe follows)
2½ pounds firm tart apples (about 5 large), peeled, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick
2½ pounds firm sweet apples (about 5 large), peeled, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick
½ cup (3½ ounces) plus 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces) light brown sugar
½ tsp. grated lemon zest plus 1 Tbsp. juice
¼ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Roll 1 disk of dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured work surface, then fit into 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll other disk of dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured work surface, then transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Toss apples, ½ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, lemon zest, salt and cinnamon together in Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until apples are tender when poked with fork but still hold their shape, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer apples and their juice to rimmed baking sheet and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 425 F. Drain cooled apples thoroughly in colander set over bowl, reserving ¼ cup juice. Stir lemon juice into reserved ¼ cup apple juice.
Spread apples into dough-lined pie plate, mounding them slightly in middle, and drizzle with lemon juice mixture. Loosely roll second piece of dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it over pie. Trim, fold, and crimp edges and cut 4 vent holes in top. Brush dough with egg white and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
Place pie on rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 F, rotate sheet, and continue to bake until juices are bubbling and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Let pie cool on wire rack until filling has set, about 2 hours; serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Basic Double-Crust Pie Dough:
2½ cups (12½ ounces) all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
½ cup vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled
6-8 Tbsp. ice water
Process flour, sugar and salt in food processor until combined. Scatter shortening over top and process until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter pieces over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Transfer mixture to large bowl.
Sprinkle 6 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Stir and press dough together, using stiff rubber spatula, until dough sticks together. If dough does not come together, stir in remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does.
Divide dough into 2 even pieces. Turn each piece of dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Before rolling dough out, let sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes.
Servings: 8
—Nutrition information per serving: 525 calories; 270 calories from fat; 30 g fat (14 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 73 mg cholesterol; 380 mg sodium; 62 g carbohydrate; 7 g fiber; 50 g sugar; 2 g protein.
—America’s Test Kitchen provided this article to The Associated Press.

A 31-year-old man was booked on drug and other charges after Morgan City police saw the vehicle he was driving speeding in a school zone, Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.

—Isaias Mondragon, 31, of Morgan City, was arrested at 7:52 a.m. Wednesday on charges of speeding, no driver’s license, no insurance, switched license plate, no registration, possession of marijuana first offense and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Officers observed a motorcycle pass another vehicle in a posted school zone and travel faster than the 15 mph speed limit. After stopping the vehicle the officer learned that the driver did not have a valid driver’s license, Blair said.

During the stop, the officer learned that the license plate had been switched, and the vehicle had no insurance, Blair said. The driver, Mondragon, was in possession of suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia, Blair said. Mondragon was jailed.

Blair reported that officers responded to 53 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Robert Folse, 23, of Morgan City, was arrested at 2:44 p.m. Wednesday on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting an officer by giving false information.

Officers were in the area of Fifth Street and stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation. During the stop, officers spoke with the driver later identified as Folse. While speaking with Folse, officers located a glass pipe and a metal grinder, Blair said.

Officer also learned that Folse had given them the wrong date of birth and the wrong first name during the stop, Blair said. Folse was jailed.

—Lamarcus Francois, 24, of Morgan City, was arrested at 4:56 p.m. Wednesday on a warrant charging him with failure to appear to pay a fine for resisting an officer.

Francois was located in the area of Short Street in Morgan City. While officers were speaking with Francois, they learned that he had outstanding warrants for city court, Blair said. Francois was jailed.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum reported that deputies responded to 37 complaints and reported the following arrest:

—Brent Dalton, 38, of Sydney Jo Lane in Berwick, was arrested at 3:24 p.m. Wednesday on a warrant charging him with possession of Subutex.

A detective with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Section was dispatched to a home on Sydney Jo Lane in Berwick after being contacted by the Berwick Police Department.

The Berwick Police Department had learned of an active warrant for Dalton and detained him. The detective made contact upon arrival at the home with the officers and Dalton. Dalton was booked into jail and then released on $1,500 bail.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported the following arrest:

—Adam Roy, 32, of Arcemont Lane in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 7:19 p.m. Wednesday on charges of no turn signal, driving under suspension and on a St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office warrant charging him with criminal neglect of family. Bail was set at $252 on the Berwick police charges and $26,491.72 on the sheriff’s office warrant.

Patterson Police Chief Janis Merritt reported the following arrest:

—David M. Joseph, 63, of Roy Guidry Road in Youngsville, was arrested at 12:40 a.m. Thursday on charges of DWI first offense and speeding 79 mph in a 55 mph zone. Bail was set at $2,750.