Bonnie's son-in-law had made beef Wellington
for his father on his birthday, and the good
doctor, not prone to hyperbolic expressions of
approval (he's still not forgiven Graham for
becoming a lawyer rather than a doctor as had
everyone else in the family for generations),
said that it was the best thing he'd ever eaten,
so of course Bonnie asked him to duplicate that
for her own birthday. The request was duly made,
and Graham duly came through.

The invitation was for cocktails and supper.
For me, drinks were tastes of various hoppy
beers - Graham, having reached his goal on a
low-carb diet, has allowed himself a certain
backsliding leeway, which means that there was
a wide variety in the fridge, but mostly I was
saving myself for wine with dinner. These
included Benziger Sonoma County Cabernet 15,
which was the general favorite, being a typical
oaky jammy thing, quite alcoholic but not hot
at all, with a pleasant tannic finish, good
with food; I preferred the on;y slightly lighter
Millbrook Pinot Noir 14 (New York), which is
made right near the Connecticut border, about
25 miles north of where Bonnie's other daughter
lives: it was medium-to-full bodied, with plenty
of plums and spices, not unlike a good Oregon
wine, which I initially thought it was. Kudos to
them for making a serious wine not only in New
York, but also in an area mostly known for nongrape
wines and ciders.

So around 6 I went into the kitchen and watched
Graham construct the log. I think the puff pastry
was from frozen. He laid it out and put on the
5-lb length of filet, smearing it all over with
pate from I think d'Artagnan and then a duxelles
that he had made. He's a good craftsman. Shoved
it in the oven for half an hour or so.

Dinner was a success, the Wellington coming out
with the crust nicely browned and the inside
medium-rare. Sides were potatoes and asparagus.

For afters, Kate, the baker in the family,
made a riff on this pie, substituting real
apples (1 lb each of four New York varieties -
she's a dean at one of the New York colleges)
and lime juice (I found this a little tart,
but the lime does meld better with the berries
than lemon would).

Apple-Ginger-Cranberry Pie
categories: desserts
Servings: 8

h - For the dough
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 ts salt
2 ts sugar
8 oz cold unsalted butter, in 1" pieces
3 to 4 Tb ice water
h - For the filling
4 lb Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
1 1/2 c cranberries
1/4 c chopped crystallized ginger
3/4 c sugar
1/4 ts salt
3 Tb all-purpose flour
1 Tb fresh lemon juice
Sugar for sprinkling

In a food processor, combine the flour, salt and
sugar and pulse once to blend. Add the butter
and process in short pulses until pea-size
crumbs form, 20 to 25 sec. While pulsing,
gradually add the ice water until large, moist
crumbs form, about 10 sec more. The dough
should hold together when squeezed with your
fingers but should not be sticky. If it is
crumbly, add more water, a ts at a time, pulsing
twice after each addition. Turn the dough out
onto a lightly floured surface, divide in half
and form each piece into a 5" disk. Cover with
plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hr.
Remove one of the dough disks from the
refrigerator and let stand 5 min. Place the
dough between 2 sheets of lightly floured waxed
paper and roll out into a 12" round 1/8" thick.
Brush off the excess flour. Transfer the dough
to a 9" deep-dish pie dish and fit the dough
into the dish. Trim the edges, leaving a 1/2"
overhang. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze
for 15 min.

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven
and preheat to 400F.

To make the filling, in a large bowl, stir
together the apples, cranberries, crystallized
ginger, sugar, salt, flour and lemon juice.
Transfer to the pie shell.

On a floured surface, roll out the remaining
dough disk into a 12" round 1/8" thick. Using
a lattice cutter according to the manufacturer's
instructions, cut out a lattice top. Keep the
dough on the lattice cutter and freeze 5 min.
Remove the dough from the freezer and carefully
invert the lattice onto the filling. Tuck the
top crust under the edge of the bottom crust
and press to seal. Sprinkle the top with sugar.

Bake until the crust is golden and the filling
is bubbling, about 1 hr, covering the edges with
aluminum foil if they begin to get too dark.
Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool
before serving.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen
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