Pear Pie

I should have posted this two days ago.  I first made this pie two years ago in my Culinary Baking Lab class.

Pie Crust
2 1/2 cups AP Flour
4 oz butter, cubed
1 t salt
6-8 T water

Pears
3 Basque pears
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 t vanilla
12-16 oz. almond paste

1. Peal the pears and cut them in half.  Use a melon scoop to remove the cores.  
2. In a small saucepan, dissolve the sugar and water on medium heat.
3. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low.
4. Add the pears and vanilla and simmer until just tender.  
5. Let pears cool in the syrup.
6. Mix salt and water and set aside.
7. In a large mixing bowl, mix by hand the flour and cubed butter until mixture resembles small peas.
8. Add the salt water and mix until mixture comes together.  Add a little more water if the mixture is too dry
9. Form the dough into a ball and chill for 30 minutes or until firm.
10. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  
12. Roll the dough until about 1/4 in. thick.  
13. Place the dough carefully in a 10 in. pie pan.  Trim off the excess and press the dough so that it goes all up and down the sides of the pan.   
14. Roll out the almond paste to about an 8 in. circle and place it in the pan.
15. Take the poached pears and slice them, leaving the stem end intact, and fan them out.
16. Arrange the pears in a circle in the pan.  
17. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the edges of the pie are golden brown. 

Note: This is my kludge of two recipes; one my dad found online, the other is courtesy of Professional Cooking by Wayne Gislen.