----- Mike Lampton's marvellous apple-pear pie ------------

First, the crust dough:

   2 cups all purpose flour
   1/4 teaspoon salt
   1/2 tablespoon sugar
   1/2 cup COLD unsalted butter
   1 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice

Combine the ingredients, chopping up the butter into little flakes.
(A pastry chopper can help with this.)  Add water in small amounts as 
you mix.  At first there'll be too little water and it won't stick together.  
If you get too much water it will become gluey; just add a little more flour.
Use your hands.  You will be able to feel the wetness and dryness as 
you mix.  Mix as little as possible.  Separate the dough into two
equal blobs, and stack these on wax paper in the refrigerator. 
These will become the lower and upper crusts.

   3 medium-to-large apples: Braeburns, Granny Smiths, or other tart ones.
   4 pears: D'Anjou or Bartlett. Not over ripe, slightly green is best.
   Bosc pears usually get too mushy, don't want that. 
   Wash, peel, and core the fruit. Cut into slices.

Prepare some simple syrup: put 1/2 cup brown sugar + 1/2 cup water
into a saucepan, simmer over low heat for maybe 15 minutes.
If it begins to boil up, turn off the heat. 

Butter up your baking dish and dust it with flour. Preheat your oven
to about 425 degF.

Bottom crust: Dust the working counter with flour.  Take one blob of
dough from the fridge, mash it flat, and begin rolling
it out into a flat crust.  Turn it around frequently.  Turn it over
frequently, flouring as necessary.  When it gets bigger than
the baking dish, drag it over into the dish and press it into place.

Put all the fruit pieces into the bottom crust.  Slowly pour the
simple syrup onto the fruit.  Sprinkle the fruit with a little cinnamon.

Now roll out the top crust, turning and flouring frequently.  When it
gets bigger than the pie, carry it over the pie and crimp it
into place onto the edges of the bottom crust.  Cut off the overhanging
edges to make it tidy after you have crimped.  Make six punctures
of the top crust to vent steam during cooking.  Sprinkle some white
sugar and some cinnamon on top.

Put the pie into the hot oven.  After 30 minutes, turn the heat down
to about 350 degF and go another 30 minutes.  Then turn off the
heat, open the oven door, and let it cool. 

Serve plain or with ice cream.  Terrific!