Textbook Apple Pie

Plus: Dinners at The Gramercy Tavern, Le Bernardin, and Links.

Hey Thursday friends,

Sorry for the lack of a Thursday newsletter last week! I would say last Thursday was one of the busiest, most exciting days of my life, with our book signing at The Drama Book Shop and then our big book party at The Public Theater. Now I’m back in L.A., settled back into things, and Craig is here briefly (he goes back to NY tomorrow), so I decided to make him his favorite dessert. Can you guess what it is? Hint: there’s a giant one at the top of this newsletter.

This apple pie had some issues — the apples needed cornstarch, they were a bit too liquidy — but this was also my favorite apple pie I’ve ever made, because I made it without thinking too much about it. I made the pie dough in the food processor (my standard recipe: 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 sticks ice cold butter cut into cubes, 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup ice water until it looked like wet clay). Then I tossed seven sliced, peeled apples (a few Granny Smith, a few Honeycrisp) with a cup of sugar (per my father-in-law’s recipe), a tablespoon cinnamon, some nutmeg, Allspice, and ground cloves, plus a pinch of salt, and laid that in, crimping the top crust on top.

I highly recommend brushing the whole thing with an egg whisked with a little milk and then sprinkling with Turbinado sugar. 425 for 25 minutes, 375 for the final 35 until the liquid is bubbling and the crust is nicely browned.

Craig loved it and when he brought the rest to work somebody said: “This is the best apple pie I’ve ever had.” A job well-done, if I do say so myself!

In Monday’s newsletter, I promised you I’d tell you about our final blow-out dinners in New York, so let’s start with our dinner at The Gramercy Tavern with Craig’s parents.