Savory and festive, this pie is a lovely side dish at Thanksgiving, a gorgeous compliment to a Crown Roast of Pork and especially delicious when cut into thin wedges and served as an hors d’oeuvres with a bottle of bubbly.  The effervescence in the Cava, Prosecco or Champagne you choose cuts through the richness of the cheese and bacon…and it’s always celebratory!

 Simple Pie Dough, chilled  (recipe follows)

•  4 ounces thick-cut applewood smoked bacon, diced  
•  2 pounds Honeycrisp apples  (or your favorite baking apple)
•  2 tablespoons honey, plus extra for drizzling over the crust  
•  2 tablespoons all-purpose flour  
•  2 teaspoons lemon juice  
•  2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves  
•  Freshly ground pepper
•  4 ounces Roquefort cheese  

Roll out the pie dough and line a 12-inch pie plate with the bottom crust. Roll out the remaining dough for the top crust, then refrigerate both until needed.  Preheat oven to 450F.

In a large sauté pan over medium-low heat, sauté the bacon until just crisp. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain, leaving about 3 tablespoons of the fat in the skillet.

Peel, core and slice the apples into 1/4-inch-thick slices.  Add the apples to the skillet and sauté in the bacon fat over low heat for 5 minutes, or until the outer layer of the apple slices softens a bit.

Add the honey, flour, lemon juice, thyme and pepper to the skillet and stir. Stir in the bacon.

Transfer the apple mixture to the prepared pie pan. Crumble the cheese over the apples, then cover it with the second crust. Trim and crimp the crust, then chill the pie in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Cut several small vent slits in the top crust, then drizzle the top with honey.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the crust is just blistered and golden. Reduce the oven to 350F and bake for 40 minutes more, or until the crust is golden brown and visible juices are thickened and bubble slowly through the slits in the top crust.

Serve warm or at room temperature.  (Let the pie rest for 20 minutes before cutting.  Store the pie n the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Serves 8

Simple Pie Dough:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• Pinch Kosher salt
• 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening
• 7 to 9 tablespoons ice water

To make the crust, sift together the flour, sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut the butter and shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in enough water, by tablespoons, until the dough holds together. Gather the dough into a ball and divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Chef’s Tip:  For Perfect Pie Dough, check out my Piecrust 101 advice at http://www.chefjamie.com/desserts/769-piecrust-101

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