Pie-eyed upper-crust adornments

Only younger cooks need a recipe for apple pie: Everyone over a certain age makes it from memory, with pastry that the fingers know has enough water, according to a formula that the family has relied on for years. We count on apple pie to round out the Thanksgiving menu, and the lineup of golden pastry rounds on a sideboard is a warming sight indeed. On the following page are recipes for modern versions of apple pie for modern cooks who need some direction. The first one offers several decorations for the top crust; the second is made in a pizza pan with a walnut crumb topping to protect the fruit and keep it moist.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT APPLES

A good apple-pie apple will not lose its shape or flavor during baking. McIntosh apples, local favorites because of their winey flavor, aren't good pie apples because they turn watery when heated (they make good sauce apples, however). Good pie apples are often not very pretty to look at, and their shape can be irregular. Choose Northern Spys, Rhode Island Greenings, Baldwins, Ida Reds, Cortlands, or Golden Delicious. If you can't peel very fast, use the lemon juice in the recipe to sprinkle onto the apples as you pile them into a bowl; this inhibits browning.