Pie Everyday: Recipes and Slices of Life

Rating:
Summary: Let them eat pie!
Review: "Let them eat pie". Though that quote was taken some time ago, Pat Willard must be thinking the same thing. She is the author of Berkley Books' cookbook Pie Every Day - Recipes and Slices of Life. This book contains about 30 different varieties of crust, Including: Savory Tart Crust, Lemon Crust, Phyllo Dough, Dumpling Skins, Mashed Potato Crust, Biscuit Crust, Graham Cracker Crust, Granola Crust and Butter and Lard Crust to name a few. There is also a section deal with the style and types of tops and stylish edges to enhance the visual appeal of the pie. After reading through this cookbook, one might come up with another quote, "Pie, it's not just for dessert anymore". This book contains recipes for pies to be eaten at breakfast, just for gabbing in the afternoon, special ones for children, for lunch or dinner, and of course dessert.

I personally don't like the way the book is laid out, with recipes going over to the next page, and some starting down towards the bottom of a page and then continuing after the page is turned. There are no suggestions for variation on each recipe, but with over 100 ways to fill the different crusts, maybe the reader can come up with a few of their own. With the descriptions of different looks and styles of pie, one would have thought the book might contain some exquisite photographs to whet the appetite, but there is a total of zilch in the book to look at.

Some of the complete pie recipes include: Oyster Pie, Apple Crisp, Corn Pie, Sausage and Egg Pie, Popcorn - Ice Cream Pie, Red Pepper Caviar Tartlets, Spicy Shrimp Tart, Curried Chicken filling, Country Chicken Pie, Scottish Pies, Squirrel Potpie, Cranberry-Applesauce Pie, Mud Pie, and Tiramisu Pie.

Though the book has some interesting recipes, and is considered inexpensive,however it should be redone and remarketed to increase the desire of the book. END

Rating:
Summary: Pie Everyday for the Ever Hopeful
Review: As someone who works well with her hands only when an alphanumeric keyboard is involved, making pie dough has always been an exercise in frustration and heartbreak. And cookbooks are for reading only when the time between cooking steps is too short to head back to my computer.

This book overcomes both my challenges. It's a pleasure and a risk to read. The personal stories and anecdotes bring the author alive in your kitchen. Linger too long in a story though and you may forget to stir that lemon mixture before it hardens right there on your stove.

Pay attention, follow her clear directions and you will produce a very satisfactory pie. Obediently I focused on keeping everything cold, rolled correctly and my pie dough layed down in its pan beautifully. Pay attention to what she tells you about fats and flours - the difference in taste is remarkable.

This cookbook is for those who have tried and failed. You already know the basics, you just can't reproduce them in your kitchen. The author will renew your faith and hope that you too can produce a decent pie crust.

And a decent life too. Pie Everyday intertwines baking good food for any occasion with building a good life through any occasion. The author's stories vary like her pies - hearty, sweet, complex or couch-potato-simple. This is a book as much about life as it is about pie.

Rating:
Summary: Barrowed from library.. HAD to buy
Review: I barrowed this book from the library..and I had to come buy it !and it's wonderfull.
TON's of info on crust and pie filling making... funny little tips and stories to go along with the recipie.
This is a cook book written with little peices of life in it.. you can sit on the couch and read this cookbook like a novel.
And it has pies...and little snacks for every special event !
Great read !

Rating:
Summary: Different expectations
Review: I show this book to people who borrow it and I don't get it back to use it for days or weeks. I may need more than one copy or it may be that by keeping my pieing episodic I enjoy the recipies more. When I have it in the house it resides on the counter on top of the gathering clutter cause it always gets pulled out from under and put back on top.

Rating:
Summary: Vindicates my life-long belief in eating pies for breakfast!
Review: Nobody believed me that eating pies for breakfast has historical support or was worthwhile for nutrition or just plain good eating. Pat Willard's book gives me written documentation that our ancestors ate pies in the morning and provides many new variations for morning pie. What goes better with coffee then pie? Now my friends don't challenge me as much about my morning breakfast choices. Read this book and eat its words. -- Eamon Zoltan

Rating:
Summary: Different expectations
Review: When I bought this book, I had very limited experience in baking pies. Based on the title, I was expecting some basic pie recipes (for example, blueberry pie or peach pie). What I found instead were a Flaming Peach Pie and a Blueberry-Whipped Cream Pie. There is a recipe for A Common Apple Pie, however it calls for sugar(no amount) and ground cinnamon (no amount). The author writes that it is intentionally imprecise because there are so many variables to consider, however I would have liked some kind of guideline for the inexperienced pie maker. I did find the chapter on pie crusts very informative, unfortunately, when I tried making the Butter and Lard Crust, it turned out a little too tough. Finally, I have not found this book very useful to me and the type of pie recipes I was expecting.