February is designated as the “Great American Pie” month. Although this honor was bestowed in America in 1990, according to the Library of Congress, open-top, savory meat pies have been around since ancient Egypt and Greece, and ancient Romans went a step further by including a top crust for their pies. It wasn’t until the 1500s that pies with sweet fruit fillings came into vogue. (Library of Congress Blogs). So this month, while giving a grateful nod to the ancients, let’s celebrate by turning on the oven and giving our family and friends a sweet or savory treat.
Here are several resources to help you enjoy the month:
Pie Camp: The Skills You Need to Make Any Pie You Want by Kate McDermett
“Readers fell in love with Kate McDermott and her story-filled cookbook, “Art of the Pie.” In this new book, McDermott takes her teaching to the next level. Here, she is focused more on technique: how to decorate pastry with braided crusts, troubleshoot a custard that won’t set, create beautifully layered pies, and perfectly thicken your fruit filling. Once you have the foundations down, it’s time to mix and match crusts, fillings, and toppings. The dozen “master” recipes, from flaky to tender to cookie crumb crusts and fruit to cream to chiffon pies, will become part of every pie maker’s repertoire and will open the door for bakers everywhere to conjure pies with self-assurance. There are gluten-free crust options for every pie, including Apple Ginger Maple Bourbon, Raspberry Peach Sunset Chiffon, Double Chocolate Banana… plus recipes for easy homemade ice cream and pie-lets for one or two. Gorgeous color photography by Andrew Scrivani brings Pie Camp to vivid life. Over 100 color photographs.”
“Ken Haedrich, dean of The Pie Academy, offers up a blockbuster collection of more than 250 recipes that belong in the kitchens of all pie aficionados, from rolling-pin newbies to experienced bakers. Take the step-by-step Perfect Pie Dough tutorial, then explore dozens of crust options, change up your proven pie favorites, and find dazzling new filling flavors as well as toppings, meringues, and sauces.”
Sister Pie: The Recipes and Stories of a Big-Hearted Bakery in Detroit by Lisa Ludwinski
“A collection of favorite recipes for sweet and savory pies from the owner of Detroit’s Sister Pie bakery features such options as ginger peach biscuit, toasted marshmallow butterscotch, and sour cherry bourbon pie.”
Pie Squared: Irresistibly Easy Sweet & Savory Slab Pies by Cathy Barrow
“Made in a sheet pan, a slab pie can make enough dinner or dessert for a crowd. PIE SQUARED includes more than 60 savory and sweet pie recipes along with 20 crust and topping recipes and step-by-step techniques for rolling and decorating that will appeal to baking aficionados as well as occasional bakers. This fresh, uncomplicated take on pie will encourage those of you who have been reluctant in the past to now take out your rolling pin and try it.”
Pie for Everyone: Recipes and Stories from Petee’s Pie, New York’s Best Pie Shop by Petra (Petee) Paredez
“Petra (Petee) Paredez shares her personal repertoire of impeccable baking techniques that have made her pie shops, Petee’s Pie Company and Petee’s Café, New York darlings. At the heart of it all, the goal is simple–a tender, flaky crust and perfectly balanced filling–and this cookbook leads the way with easy-to-follow, step-by-step guidance. A champion of locally sourced ingredients, Paredez features some of the best farms and producers in profiles throughout the book, inspiring us to seek out the very best ingredients for our pies wherever we may live. Filled with vibrant photography and recipes for just about every pie imaginable, from fruit and custard to cream and even savory, Pie for Everyone invites us to share in the magic and endless appeal of pie.”
The Perfect Pie: Your Ultimate Guide to Classic and Modern Pies, Tarts, Galettes, and More by American’s Test Kitchen
“The Perfect Pie is the definitive guide to gorgeous pies and tarts. Maybe you want to master homespun pies that celebrate seasonal produce, or get creative with pastry-encased canvases for modern flavor profiles. No matter your pie preference, this collection will inspire you to bake. We’ve tested our way to the best techniques for building foolproof bakery-quality pies from the crust up: Learn how to create the flakiest pie crust from dough that’s a breeze to roll. Become the expert in classics like Sweet Cherry Pie and also wow with pies that show off interesting flavors like Blueberry Earl Grey Pie (tea is infused into the filling and an adorning glaze) or Browned Butter Butternut Squash Pie with Sage. Make meringues that don’t weep, or fruit filling for Deep-Dish Apple Pie that doesn’t shrink under the tall-standing top crust. Discover the world of tarts like Chocolate-Hazelnut Raspberry Mousse Tart with looks that deceive its simplicity (we top crispy store-bought puff pastry with a quick mousse), sleek sesame brittle-decorated Chocolate-Tahini Tart, and rustic galettes. When you’re ready to up your game, learn to design intricate pie tops (think: braided edges for Pecan Pie; a herringbone lattice pattern for Ginger Plum Pie; creative cutouts for Apricot, Vanilla Bean, and Cardamom Pie; and candied peanut clusters for Peanut Butter and Concord Grape Pie), fashion pies big (slab pies for a crowd) and small (muffin tin pies, jar pies, and pie pops), and use ingredients you never thought to put in pie like husk cherries or rose water.”
50 Pies, 50 States: An Immigrant’s Love Letter to the United States Through Pie by Stacy Mei Yan Fong
“An Asian immigrant and home baker presents a love letter to her adopted country with recipes for pies from every state such as Mississippi Mud Pie and Kentucky Derby Pie.”
Gluten-Free & Vegan Pie: More than 50 Sweet and Savory Pies to Make at Home by Jennifer Katzinger
“Dig into this delicious collection of more than 55 gluten-free and vegan pie recipes that rival in taste any “regular” pie out there. Home-baked pie, fresh from the oven, is practically an American tradition. Who doesn’t love it? But baking your favorite pies without dairy, eggs, gluten, or animal products calls for a different approach to both fillings and dough. Here you’ll find techniques and tips for mixing and working with dough that doesn’t contain butter or lard, and for luscious fillings that contain neither cream nor egg. With an emphasis on popular sweet pies such as banana cream pie, blueberry maple, pumpkin chiffon, and traditional apple, and with more than a dozen recipes for various kinds of pie crusts, this cookbook is a must for any pie lover, especially those with gluten-free or vegan diets.”
(Book summary taken from Amazon.com)
So, put on your chef’s hat, dig out the rolling pin, peruse one of the above cookbooks, and put your skills to the test. Happy baking! Here’s to hoping the results will be amazing!
[Unless otherwise noted, all book summaries are taken from COSMOS].
