Tarts With Tops On or How to Make the Perfect Pie [Hardcover]

Tamasin Day-Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 24, 2003

"Is there anyone who doesn't inwardly melt at the sight of a golden glazed pie crust with its little cottage chimney of steam wafting the scent of buried juices, the auguries of delight of what lies beneath? A classic steak and kidney, a soothing chicken pie, the crisp crumbliness of a raised hot water pie crust, the sugar-topped exuberance of a fruit pie, its crackling of sweetness concealing the acid fruit below, the buttery spiced whiff of an apple pie..."

Tarts with Tops On is a celebration of the pie, this most traditional, comforting, and delicious of foods, as enjoyable in the making as in the eating.

Tamasin Day-Lewis draws upon classic combinations to create her own versions of many savory pies, such as Bacon and Egg Pie; the Cornish Pasty; Tourte de Pacques, a traditional Easter pie with eggs, artichokes, and spinach; Hunter's Pie; and a delicious Feta, Rice and Yogurt Pie.

There is a selection of Other People's Pies, Sweet Pies, and a chapter on American Pies that includes Shaker Lemon; Key Lime; Mississippi Mud and Jefferson Davis Pies.

Tamasin shows how to make pastry for every type of pie, easy infallible recipes that produce pastry invariably superior to anything you can buy.

Savory or sweet, simple or sophisticated, traditional or innovative, Tarts with Tops On has a pie to impress for every occasion.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her first American publication, British food writer Day-Lewis presents sweet and savory pies, covering English, American and traditional pies. Many of her savory pies, accompanied by helpful full-color photos, are wonderfully hearty, such as Galician Pork and Sausage Pie and Somerset Pork Pie with Cider and Apples. There's also the delectable Rabbit Pie, made with prunes, apple cider, bacon and sage, as well as Salmon Baked in Pastry with Ginger and Currants. Day-Lewis naturally offers a version of the Shepherd's Pie ("the classic Monday supper after a Sunday roast"). She includes a selection of raised pies, such as the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, with pork shoulder and back bacon, as well as a Game Pie, which can be made with pheasant, partridge or grouse. Her sweet pies are just as classic and comforting, such as a Sour Cream Apple and Walnut Pie; and in a section devoted to American pies, she includes recipes for Pecan Pie and Mississippi Mud Pie.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

'A delightful collection of sweet and savory pastries... posh pies, everyday pies, new pies, old forgotten favourites; a greedy celebration of crust and filling' -- Nigel Slater OM (THE OBSERVER) 2/11/03 'With sensuous photos by David Loftus and Day-Lewis's own voluptuous prose... well, never before have we found homemade pastries to be so sexy.' VANITY FAIR (Oct 03) 'Is there a more enthusiastic cookery writer than Tamasin Day-Lewis? 'Tarts with Tops on' is her stupendous follow up to 'The Art of the Tart'. It's subtitled 'How to Make the Perfect Pie... what are you waiting for? Get baking!' WATERSTONE'S BOOKS QUARTERLY 'Tarts with Tops on is the provocative title of the latest book by our food writer Tamasin Day-Lewis. Her new book is actually about how to make the perfect pie, with recipes for savoury and sweet classics, such as bacon and egg, Cornish pasty and apple, plus Key Lime, Misisippi Mud and Shaker Lemon.' COUNTRY HOMES & INTERIORS (Oct 2003) 'The title is suitably, but mildly, naughty and the prose has all of Lawson's posh and flirty tones: mental back-burners, culinary boulevards and lots of delectable scrumminess. The pies themselves look good enough to eat.' HAM & HIGH (14 Nov 03) '... a stimulating collection of sweet and savoury pies that tingles the tastebuds.' CAKE CRAFT & DECORATION "Tis the season for pie I think. Here is a no nonsense cookbook that confirms what I have been preaching for years, that there really is a pie for every occasion. If you are not convinced and think pies are old-fashioned or boring then Tamasin Day-Lewis will convert you with her range of traditional and innovative recipes.' EPICUREAN LIFE 'No-one quite does a pie like the English. Although, as Day-Lewis concedes, the Americans also know a thing or two about sweet pies. Her engaging and intelligent voice contributes a large part to the success of this collection, as do the thoughtful balance of recipes and the lovely presentation.' GOURMET TRAVELLER 'There can be no current English food writer delivering a regular slew of recipes to her public who does it more entertainingly than Tamasin Day-Lewis. What is more, her recipes work. She is often referred to in this house... Very good stuff... She writes as she speaks: often firm in her instructions, but always cheerful.' PETITS PROPOS CULINAIRES (Dec 2004) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Miramax (September 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401352057
• ISBN-13: 978-1401352059
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,212,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some Really Unusual Tarts Here. Very Attractive Book!, March 26, 2005

By 

B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tarts With Tops On or How to Make the Perfect Pie (Hardcover)

`The Art of the Tart' and `Tarts With Tops On' by noted English culinary writer, Tamasin Day-Lewis both have the outward appearance of books on the express line to the discount table. And, while many good books have suffered that fate, that appearance should not be held against these two volumes. It is important to distinguish this book from the excellent volumes on general pastry making such as Rose Levy Beranbaum's `The Pie and Pastry Bible' or Nick Malgieri's `Perfect Pastry' or Flo Brakker's `The Simple Art of Perfect Baking, or Gayle Ortiz' `The Village Baker's Wife'. It is also playing in a different league than the excellent `Mes Tartes' by Christine Ferber. All of these spend many pages on the ins and outs of pastry technique. Ms. Ferber's volume is especially interesting if you are devoted to the French approach to pastry, which is just a bit different than what you will get from the American experts.

When I first browsed through Ms. Day-Lewis' books, the absence of the heavy concentration on technique and the many familiar names of classic tart and pie recipes had me discounting the books as not worth my attention. The opening tart with a top on was nothing more than a classic chicken potpie that I have made following better instructions from James Beard.

The first thing that began redeeming the books in my eyes was the quality of the writing. Ms. Day-Lewis has a way with phrases that seems to owe more than a little from the writing style of M.F.K. Fisher, although the writer to which she seems to pay the greatest homage is Jane Grigson. In spite of a few misstatements such as the notion that pastry making was a science, `but not an exact science', her general observations are quite a pleasure to read and make me want to read more of her books.

Both books include chapters on `other people's recipes', and some of the most interesting material is in these chapters. Some of the borrowing is from Nigel Slater who is a writer like Day-Lewis and unlike Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver, whose works have not made a very big impression on this side of the pond. Others are attributed to Claudia Roden, who has made a big splash over here. Many others are attributed to friends and relatives. Regardless of the source, all these recipes are pretty far removed from your garden-variety tomato tart. Some recipes such as Michel Roux's Tourte au Jambon et Tomme de Pyrenees require ingredients such as black truffles and hard Pyrenees sheep's milk cheese which are just a bit to dear or too much trouble to acquire. Others in this chapter are both very simple and very fetching. Two that caught my eye were Nigel Slater's Stilton, Onion, and Potato "Frying Pan" pie and Deborah's Luxury Meat Loaf Pie. Both recipes are small variations on very common dishes, but the small improvements are worth a bundle of raves at the dinner table.

The next chapter of recipes for pies covers eight variations on apple pie. Aside from the plain vanilla apple pie, all were pretty unusual, but certainly not difficult. I did miss a recipe for Tart Tatin, but I suspect I probably already have five or six recipes for this classic on my shelves already. Another reason the Tart Tatin does not appear with these apple pies is because the first book already includes nine recipes for lidless apple tarts, including the famous Tatin dessert. The first book also includes a perfect recipe for entertaining with an English theme, a treacle tart.

The next recipe chapter of pie recipes covers classic American pies. Among these eleven recipes are peach pie, pecan pie, blueberry pie, pumpkin pie, and key lime pie, but no Pennsylvania Dutch molasses cake, which of course is much more of a pie than a cake.

Among the recipes for sweet pies, there are a few with unusual ingredients such as gooseberries and a few which simply did not appeal to me such as the raspberry ice cream pie, which I considered a misnomer, as the filling was not a true churned ice cream but more like a simple frozen custard.

If your cookbook collecting leans toward those that look good and read well, then these books are for you. They are also very interesting if you have a special attraction to baking tarts and pies, and already have the basic techniques securely under your belt. If you are a novice with pastry, then I suggest you take a by on these and check out the four titles I cited at the beginning of the review.

I will note that for the very nice binding, photography, and the build-in page marking ribbon, these books are very reasonably priced, which make them even more attractive if you are fond of attractive culinary books.

If you are always on the lookout for unusual pie and tart recipes, don't give it another thought and put in your order for these lovelies.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous book, a great gift, May 9, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Tarts With Tops On or How to Make the Perfect Pie (Hardcover)

Far more variety of recipes that the title might suggest. Not just desserts but entrees, too. A really beautiful book; would make a lovely gift for someone who likes to cook & is looking for something new.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!!!!, June 9, 2009

By 

Susan Batz (San Anselmo, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tarts With Tops on (Hardcover)

I am so thrilled with this book. I bought it after I purchased "The Art of the Tart" by the same author. Both books are simply wonderful. No duplicate recipes. If you want to bake an unusual, totally delicious pie, savory or sweet, check this little book out. She loves what she does, borrows recipes from friends, and reading her books are soul satisying. A real treat. I have made quite a few recipes from both books, have gotten rave reviews on all of them. Treat yourself, family and friends to the wonderful recipes in these books. You won't be sorry.