Customer Reviews

Bubby's Homemade Pies

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What simpler comfort and happiness than pie? I've used a lot of cookbooks (I own over 100) and what the best all have in common:

1)Instructions so clear, so simple--you want to dive right in. The authors have anticipated and solved all problems you could face. Just do what they say and you'll be an instant success.

2)Predictable results--I made 10 peach cobblers over Labor Day weekend and all were world-class, the best ones I've ever had.

3)Careful attention to basic techniques makes this a great book for beginners and a thoughtful, almost meditative exercise for experts. All you need to know about baking--indeed about cooking--is revealed in baking pie crust. It's a never-ending exercise in reaching elusive perfection, but you get closer each time.

Silver and Bervin give nothing away to James Beard and Alice Waters's best work on all these points! You'll congratulate yourself and buy many copies for your friends, I promise.

I've been buying pies at Bubby's since they opened their doors. And for a very good reason: they make the best tasting pies I've ever eaten. Whenever I visit relatives or friends a Bubby's pie is a required house gift (I'm frequently told which variety and how many).
So, when Bubby is prepared to teach me how to do it, I pay attention.
The first pie I made was the blueberry peach. Simple, easy-to-follow directions and fun descriptions lightened the fear factor. It was great. The next pie was Brandon's steak and guinness pie. It was every bit as good as Bubby's own, and I made it myself.
My only concern is, now that I can make these incredible pies myself, what will happen to Bubby's?
If you love pie and you can't get to Bubby's, BUY this book!

I love this book! I think it would be great for bakers of all levels of experience. I'm a seasoned pie baker, but this book definitely inspired me to try recipes outside of my comfort zone, and I had great results. The instructions are clear, easy to follow, and they think of everything ahead of time so you aren't stuck in the middle of a recipe with a sudden daunting task. And the bonus? You get to have Bubby's Pies at home!! This is a book everyone should have in their kitchen.

This is a terrific book. The recipes are spot on and the writing is superbly crafted. It's a delight to have a cookbook co-written by a poet! The illustrations are what really seperate this book from others. They're delicately crafted with a real eye for depicting everything from peaches to a baby lamb. You have to see it to believe it. Oh, and the pies, once cooked, are amazing. Try the blueberry peach pie and send me a piece, I'm addicted to it!

I am a semi-serious cook and I generally feel at ease with many kinds of food preparation. The great exception to this has always been pie making. I am not intimidated by pie fillings but I have always had a traumatic fear of pie crusts. My few early efforts at crust construction all ended in unmitigated catastrophe and I kept my distance from it for many long years. As fate would have it, I received this book as a present and it lay virtually unopened for several months until my daughter insisted I bake a pie for some school related purpose. I wept like a baby but could not escape this demand to bake a pie. Anyway, the clarity and detail of the crust-making instructions actually yielded the desired results, much to my amazement. The darkness has lifted and I can now see a future that includes baking pies.

I have only made two of the pies in this book so far -- the tarte tatin and the chocolate-mocha pudding banana pie -- but they were both fabulous. I have a lot of baking books and I bake a lot, and I have found the recipes to be simpler than many other pie-book recipes, but always delicious. I highly recommend it.

I bought this book about 2 weeks ago and made my first recipe from it. Cranberry Pear with A Walnut Crumble. This pie rocks! Easy to follow instructions and a recipe that allows the ingredients to shine through without a lot of fussiness. Already, fielding calls asking for tips and advice. But I won't give up my pie secret! Great book!

Bought an early copy. Here's my take. Clear. Easy. And makes baking pies fun. Maybe not for the book for arcane pie bakers. But for those of us who love to cook for our spouse and kids Bubby's Homemade Pies is perfect. Ron Silver is informal, funny, and down-to-earth.

Like many, I have a lot of anxiety when it comes to making a pie crust (having warm hands does not help either). But I can confidently say that if you read and re-read the instructions and every detail about making the dough you will end up with a delicious, flaky end product. I made the Mile High Apple Pie and it came out perfect.

However, I also tried to make the Gingersnaps and noticed that my dough was not chilling, even in the freezer. I knew something was off when I baked the dough and ended up with a giant, sticky puddle. The recipe calls for 1 cup of molasses - THIS IS AN ERROR. The amount of molasses should probably be at the most, half of a cup.

That aside, I am looking forward to cooking pies through all the seasons.

I love baking but have always been a bit afraid of making a pie and so I always avoided it, because I was sure it would be too complicated and impossible to make a good pie crust, etc. Finally I got inspired and picked up this book. It was like having a trusted friend show me step by step how to make a perfect first pie. I started with the Mile High Apple Pie and it was literally the best tasting apple pie I've ever eaten.... and it was my first ever pie! I was proud. I actually like the fact that there aren't any glossy photos and just black and white sketches. It certainly doesn't take away from the instructional value of the book and it's such a nice change of pace for a cookbook. Packed with info. about tips and tricks, this is an excellent book for a pie beginner, it will make you feel like an old pro!!! Thanks Bubby's!!