hchristmas's review against another edition
5.0
I've never read a cookbook before. I do what most other people do, which is look for the recipe you can make, make the recipe, and then put it back in the kitchen cabinet you hide it in. Like everyone else, I just kind of collect cookbooks to use when I'm having people over or going to a potluck. I got [b:Pie School: Lessons in Fruit, Flour & Butter|20447751|Pie School Lessons in Fruit, Flour & Butter|Kate Lebo|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1398033033s/20447751.jpg|31461839] for Christmas last year and recently opened it for a dinner I was going to. I agreed to make a pie, and I knew I had to make it good. I figured this cookbook had some showstopper pie recipes for me to use. Boy, did I underestimate it.
I opened my book, and immediately was entertained by [a:Kate Lebo|5762017|Kate Lebo|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1377146549p2/5762017.jpg]'s humor and honesty as she described what inspired her pie baking. She describes the science of pies, the crust, the filling, and the different types of pie, and so much more. Instead of looking at the recipes, I read every single narrative Lebo wrote on each and every page. It was so cleverly written, good for readers and food-lovers everywhere (even if you're not much of a baker).
And, of course, the recipes. I did try out two recipes (4 if you include the two types of crust I used). They were so delicious, so simple to make, and I got so many compliments that I couldn't stop blushing. But what was wonderful was that I could actually talk about my pie (kind of like I had my own cooking show - it was great). I could tell people why my crust was so flaky and perfect, what thickener I used and why I didn't use a different one. I learned all about the whys and hows of pies, and that was what I was looking for.
Thank you, Kate Lebo. I get to be the pie expert in my family, and I don't have to be modest. :)
I opened my book, and immediately was entertained by [a:Kate Lebo|5762017|Kate Lebo|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1377146549p2/5762017.jpg]'s humor and honesty as she described what inspired her pie baking. She describes the science of pies, the crust, the filling, and the different types of pie, and so much more. Instead of looking at the recipes, I read every single narrative Lebo wrote on each and every page. It was so cleverly written, good for readers and food-lovers everywhere (even if you're not much of a baker).
And, of course, the recipes. I did try out two recipes (4 if you include the two types of crust I used). They were so delicious, so simple to make, and I got so many compliments that I couldn't stop blushing. But what was wonderful was that I could actually talk about my pie (kind of like I had my own cooking show - it was great). I could tell people why my crust was so flaky and perfect, what thickener I used and why I didn't use a different one. I learned all about the whys and hows of pies, and that was what I was looking for.
Thank you, Kate Lebo. I get to be the pie expert in my family, and I don't have to be modest. :)
jchant's review against another edition
4.0
Kate Lebo is a poet, and it shows in this lyrical, yet practical cookbook.
The book starts with pie making and crust basics, and then is divided by different categories of fruit pies, winter pies, for when good fresh fruit isn't available (banana cream pie, anyone?) and chiffon pies. I'm a fruit pie baker, so I probably won't delve into those last two sections (and the uncooked eggs--with proper warnings from Lebo--make the chiffon pies a little scary). I'm intrigued by some of the interesting combinations in the fruit pies, and I know I'll be making her Plum Thyme pie next summer when our Italian plum tree is overloaded with fruit.
In addition to thorough recipes, this book is sprinkled with mini-essays about pie, beautifully written and often heart-warming, especially the last one. If you love to make pie, or you would like to learn how, this is the book for you.
The book starts with pie making and crust basics, and then is divided by different categories of fruit pies, winter pies, for when good fresh fruit isn't available (banana cream pie, anyone?) and chiffon pies. I'm a fruit pie baker, so I probably won't delve into those last two sections (and the uncooked eggs--with proper warnings from Lebo--make the chiffon pies a little scary). I'm intrigued by some of the interesting combinations in the fruit pies, and I know I'll be making her Plum Thyme pie next summer when our Italian plum tree is overloaded with fruit.
In addition to thorough recipes, this book is sprinkled with mini-essays about pie, beautifully written and often heart-warming, especially the last one. If you love to make pie, or you would like to learn how, this is the book for you.
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