Pear, Apple and Cranberry Crisp

I worship the show Barefoot Contessa but sometimes watching it can really be torture. First of all, they never tape on a gray day in the Hamptons. Instead, it's always bright and sunny and all of her guests are tan stricken and J. Crew clad. She makes every recipe look effortless and can put together a gorgeous table in two seconds using the bounty of her insane garden just steps from her kitchen. Now that's the life!

I've never met anyone who didn't like a crisp so when I saw Ina make it on last week's show I bumped it up in my recipe box. Some recipes call for sauteing the fruit over stove top in butter and sugar before putting it in the pan. Ina's recipe just mixes the fruit with citrus, spices and sugar at room temp so the fruit starts to cook in the oven instead of stove top and doesn't break down into a gooey mess. I much prefer this method.

The prep on this is time consuming but can be outsourced. Anyone can peal and apple. Also, never serve a crisp without ice cream. I typically serve my crisps with Vanilla Bean. And watch out, they are piping hot when they come out of the oven.

Ina, if you're out there, happy belated birthday and thanks for all the great recipes.

Pear, Apple and Cranberry Crisp

• 2 pounds ripe Bosc pears (4 pears)
• 2 pounds firm Macoun apples (6 apples)
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Peel and core the pears and apples and cut them into large chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and toss with the cranberries, zests, juices, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish.

Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.

Place the baking dish on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm.

Pear, Apple and Cranberry Crisp