Holiday Food Special: Bobby Flay's Fresh Cranberry-Mango Relish Nigella Lawson's Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Blue Cheese Mario Batali's Penne with Zucca Masaharu Morimoto's Mashed Potato Soup with Wasabi Ingrid Hoffman's Churrisimos Giada De Laurentiis' Cornbread Panzanella CookSmart: Easy apple tarts Classic Apple Pie Perfect Apple Pie Filling Quick Rustic Apple Tart with Oatmeal Crumble Topping Also: Holidays: Quick tips for entertaining Holidays: Gifts for the host Contest! Win! Cookware!

Holiday Food Special

Recipes: Ask Pamela Anderson a food question! Also this week: EatSmart: The high cholesterol you actually want

A tale of two tarts

Start with a foolproof apple filling. Then pick a crust, store-bought or homemade -- voila, a simply divine pie!

Some have the time and patience to bake a gorgeous pie for the big day. Others barely have time to pick up something from the bakery. Either way, I've got an option for you. Whether you choose the Classic Apple Pie or Quick Rustic Apple Tart, start with the same quick-stewed fresh apple filling. Why cook the apples first? It eliminates the big gap between fruit and crust that often occurs in a pie made with raw fruit.

For those who want guests to swoon, the Classic Apple Pie is a culinary diva, a pie whose beauty goes beyond its delicious crust. Made with butter for flavor and flakiness, shortening for tenderness and cream cheese for ease of rolling, the crust has got it all. To crisp up the often soggy bottom crust, bake the pie on heated quarry tiles or a pizza stone. For those who don't like to fuss with pastry, try the Quick Rustic Apple Tart. An easy oatmeal topping and an already rolled pie crust from the refrigerator case (stick with Pillsbury brand; I've experienced big quality differences among brands), and you've got the makings of an impressive, quick, from-scratch dessert. Pam Anderson's latest cookbook is "Perfect Recipes for Having People Over" (Houghton Mifflin, $35).

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Classic Apple Pie

Prepare Perfect Apple Pie Filling; refrigerate filling until ready to assemble pie. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and preheat to 400 degrees. Optional: Line oven rack with four 9-inchquarry tiles, or use a pizza stone to help brown bottom crust. If using pizza stone or tiles, heat oven for 30 minutes.

Quarter butter lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Cutshortening into the same size pieces. Freeze both, separately, until hard. Combine flour, sugar and salt in a food processor with the metal blade. Add frozen butter; using your fingers, carefully toss to break up butter cubes and coat with flour. Pulse 4 or 5 times, 1 long second each time. Break off cold pieces of cream cheese and frozen shortening, and add to flour mixture; toss to coat. Pulse another4 or 5 times, 1 long second each, until fats are pea and pebble size.

Add water; pulse twice, 1 long second each, to distribute the water (dough will not have come together yet). Dump mixture into a bowl; press pieces with palm of hand until there's a cohesive ball of dough. Halve it, making 1 portion slightly bigger than the other. Wrap each in plastic wrap; flatten each into a thick disk.Refrigerate at least 2 hours (can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 2 months).

Set larger dough disk on a floured work surface; roll into a 14-inch circle. Fold dough in half, set pie plate next to fold line, and quickly lift onto pie plate and unfold. Press dough into pan sides so it fits in pan and is not stretched. Trim excess pastry; spoon in cooled filling. Roll remaining dough into a 12-inch circle. Fold in half, quickly lift dough onto filling and unfold. Trim all around to 1 inch beyond the pan lip. Roll overhanging dough under with fingertips so that it is flush with pan lip. With fingers, flute (pinch) dough all around and cut vents in the top. Set an 18-inch square of heavy-duty foil on oven rack (or on tiles or pizza stone). Set pie on foil and bake until dough starts to color, about 20 minutes.

Brush top with egg wash, sprinkle with 2 Tbs. sugar and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes longer. Bring foil around pie to loosely cover edges. Bake until filling bubbles, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.

Serves 10
Per serving: 467 calories, 5g protein, 63g carbohydrates, 23g fat (12g saturated), 49mg cholesterol, 3g fiber, 428mg sodium

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Perfect Apple Pie Filling

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt 4 pounds crisp, firm apples, such as Granny Smith, cored, peeled and sliced
1/4-inch thick (a heaping 12 cups)
4 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. cornstarch
2 Tbs. brandy (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup water Mix sugar, cinnamon and salt; toss with apples.

Heat butter in a 12-inch-deep skillet over medium-high heat until it looks a pale nutty brown. Add apple mixture; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples soften and release their juices, about 7 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until juices thicken to a light syrup, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Meanwhile, whisk cornstarch, optional brandy and vanilla into 1 cup of water; stir into applemixture until it thickens (less than a minute).Transfer apples to a jelly roll pan to cool quickly; refrigerate or set in a cool place until apples cool to room temperature. Makes enough for 1 Classic Apple Pie or 2 Quick Rustic Apple Tarts with Oatmeal Crumble Topping

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Serving 12
Per serving: 433 calories, 3g protein, 19g fat (10g saturated), 32mg cholesterol, 65g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, 251mg sodium