Customer Reviews

Killer Pies: Delicious Recipes from North America's Favorite Restaurants (Killer (Chronicle Books))

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

 

 

This cookbook is part of a series and this one is awesome! I bought it because we love the McEwen's on Monroe (Memphis) amazing banana cream pie. The owner told me about the new cookbook and loaned me his copy (this is an amazing delicious restaurant that treats you like family) until I ordered my own. It's one of those beautifully put together books with great recipes that I just keep buying and giving away everytime I need a birthday present, etc. So now I need to buy a stack! Gorgeous pictures and wide geographical range of delicious regional pies of North America.

I wanted to like this book. Just look at the yummy pie featured on the cover!

....But wait, that pie is nowhere to be found in the book!

And if you wondered what makes these pies the best in North America, keep on wondering -- it's never revealed what makes these restaurants/diners the "best" (and I doubt that they are). I looked forward to a tale of the author eating her way across the country, but instead the book begins with a tale about her pie-eating as a child, and the claim that people like to eat pie mostly for nostalgic reasons. Why doesn't anyone ever say that about cookies, muffins, or cakes, I wonder?

Examining these pictures, and the somewhat anemic pies shown in them, I realized the unlikelihood that the photos were taken by the same person; many of the photos depict the pie whose recipe is on the page (from a variety of unflattering angles, and two of dark-colored berry pies are shown on blue plates, making it impossible to really see them), but some photos show the outside of the restaurant. Some show the seating area in the restaurant, or the pie case. One shows a waitress holding a pie. Several of the photos are blurry. I suspect the restaurants submitted their own photos; thus, there is a disjointed feel to the photography, leaving me wondering if the author of this book has eaten any of the pies shown in the book.

The pies were mostly uninspired, and on close inspection, don't even look appetizing. I was disappointed to discover there is not a single recipe I wanted to eat, much less bake.

I like this little book. It has several recipes I am looking forward to trying. HOWEVER, I also have some complaints, some possibly trivial, but complaints just the same.

There are 50 recipes in this book. Of those, 5 are for apple pie, and 6 if you count the Apple-Cranberry Galette with Caramel. There are 2 recipes for Sour Cream Raisin Pie (one surely is enough), and four pecan pie and two walnut pie variations. Remember there are only 50 recipes. I would have loved to have more variety.

Some of the pies are unusual such a the Concord Grape Pie and the Bob Andy Pie (described as "White Trash Creme Brulee"). Some are so unusual in fact that the ingredients are unobtainable for most of us. The Saskatoon Pie is made from fresh Saskatoon berries indigenous to the northern and prairie regions of Canada and the northwestern and north-central U.S. It does state that if you can't find these berries you can "purchase ready-made saskatoon pie filling from a number of online purveyors." Well, in my opinion ready-made filling is not the recipe and does not belong in a cookbook such as this.

The pictures in the book vary. Some are of the featured pies, some are of the shops, and some are neither. As a reviewer elsewhere noted, the recipe for the pie in the picture on the cover isn't even in the book. The picture for the Coconut Cream Pie shows two children eating a fruit pie and what appears to be pecan pie a la mode....nothing to do with the recipe or the cafe (unless perhaps they are the owners' children or grandchildren).

I guess my biggest complaint is with the repetition when there could be more variety in this small book. Nevertheless, I am not sorry I purchased it because it does have recipes I will try and I enjoyed reading the stories about the different pie shops and restaurants.

I already own a copy, and decided to purchase another as a gift for a family member who is a whiz in the kitchen and it was a smash hit!! There are so many different recipes you won't know where to start--and reading the story behind each pie is just as enjoyable as tasting the end product itself. Highly recommend!! A hip, quirky, fun pie cookbook.

Loved this cook book, as a baker for over 45 years, I found the history of the pie was very helpful. Will have this in my kitchen to try again and again. You will love this book

I have tried a couple of pies out of this book. My first was the Wild Blueberry Pie. This pie was kind of a Thanksgiving add-on just to have have something other than standard Pumpkin. This pie was easy to make and absolutely delicious. It went faster than all the other desserts. I like all the recipes in this book. Great photos, easy to make, with a little history of where the pie comes from. I would recommend this to anyone that is a new pie maker of a pro.

The recipes are good and some very interesting but the book is short on information about the pies (tips, hints) and more about the place that serves the pies. It is very nicely done with slick photos and background history but there were not that many recipes in the book.

There are so many pie cookbooks on the market that one might wonder at the need for yet another - but you won't find most of these pie recipes in competing titles. They are compiled from some fifty expert bakers across the U.S. and Canada, and feature small color photos, clear directions, and introductions on the pie makers and recipe origins. From Plum-Strawberry Crumb Pie to Chocolate-Covered Cherry Pie, these are decadent dishes packed with flavor and appeal. Public lending libraries, even those with other pie cookbooks on their shelves, will find it filled with appeal.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I bought this in a country store in New Hampshire a year ago, and really love this cookbook. I enjoy baking, and between this cookbook and the movie WAITRESS, I am inspired to do more of it lately! The Banana Cream Pie is a winner, and I have even made a lower calorie version that gets no complaints at my dinner table.

Only wish is to have some more standards like Coconut Cream, pumpkin, etc.

This is a really neat book! So far I have only made one recipe (the Mile-High Lemon Chiffon Pie) but it came out great. The little stories about the history of each pie are really fantastic and this is a classic addition to any cookbook collection.

I would recommend it. It is a great book! I can't wait to make more things from this book.