INSIDE JOB | This easy apple dessert plays equally well with ice
cream or crème fraîche. Ryan Liebe for The Wall Street Journal,
Food Styling by Jamie Kimm, Prop Styling by Rebecca Donnelly
THERE ARE FEW aromas more comforting than that of apple pie.
Some say it's the butter, some the cinnamon, some the apples
themselves, but I'm convinced it's the memory of past pies and
their many poignant associations. It's hard to resist making a
dessert so evocative, but it's not exactly something you're
going to whip up last-minute every time the longing strikes.
It's the pie crust that holds us back: Few of us keep lard on
hand in the fridge and a slab of marble ready and chilled for
rolling out perfect dough. And anyway, didn't our rolling pins
get enough of a workout over the holidays? Now's the time for
crustless pie.  Trust me when I say that if you top vanilla ice
cream with warm apples that have been sautéed in butter, spiced
and lightly caramelized, no one is going to complain. This is as
easy and old-school a