The Perfect Pie: More Than 125 All-Time Favorite Pies & Tarts (Paperback)

~ Susan G. Purdy (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Inclusive to a fault, this compendium of more than 125 recipes for pies, tarts, strudels and fruit dumplings makes a handy reference for bakers old and new. Along with enticing recipes for such treats as Old-Fashioned Apple Pie, Baked Alaska Pie and Mixed Fruit Clafoutis, Purdy (The Family Baker; Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too) provides abundant, clearly written instructions. Many of the recipes come with several variations (so that Old Fashioned Pumpkin Custard Pie can also be transformed into Vermont Maple Sugar Pumpkin Pie, New England Squash Pie or Southern Sweet Potato Pie), and Purdy includes an extremely thorough section on crusts, arguably the most difficult aspect of pie making. Basic pastry instructions are excellent, and more complex techniques--such as how to make a lattice top--are covered in depth. Purdy also supplies advice on freezing the various components, and each recipe includes suggestions for advance preparation. In other words, even the pie-phobic have no excuse for not trying their hands at traditional favorites such as Linzer Torte or newfangled concoctions such as Chocolate Honey Chiffon Pie. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Recipes for chiffon pies, tarts, turnovers, dumplings, cobblers, crisps, clafoutis, strudels, and frozen pies fill the pages of this latest contribution from IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Award winner Purdy (The Family Baker, LJ 9/15/99). The author also includes recipes for pastry and crumb crusts; flavored whipped creams; streusel toppings; sauces; glazes; and chocolate shells, curls, and leaves. Purdy!s recipes lean toward the traditional (apple, lemon meringue, and pecan), but she also includes more exotic fare such as Fresh Fig Tart with Red Wine Syrup, and Velvet Rum Cream Pie. She offers reduced-fat variations for a number of recipes. Her instructions are easy to follow, and she provides detailed pastry-handling techniques as well as information about equipment and ingredients. Although it covers much the same ground as Carole Walter!s Great Pies and Tarts (LJ 2/15/98), this down-to-earth cookbook will encourage beginning bakers and inspire the more advanced. Highly recommended."Jane la Plante, Minot State Univ. Lib., ND
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (June 13, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767902629
• ISBN-13: 978-0767902625
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #886,845 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Major disappointment., April 4, 2002

By	Mike Coleman (atlanta, ga United States) - See all my reviews

Sometimes it only takes one bad recipe to ruin a cookbook for me, and that's what happened with this one. Susan Purdy's apricot-walnut pie turned out to be a soggy, way oversweet mess, and I didn't use half the sugar she called for. I've been making pies a long time, and I had questions about this recipe from the get-go. Her crust recipes are good, however, although it's annoying that she never tells you, when adding an ingredient like wheat germ to a crust, whether said ingredient replaces part of the dry ingredients called for, or is added to them. Seems like a major oversight in a book that promises to clearly communicate pie recipes.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of good info, August 22, 2002

By	J. Brown (Roseville, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had never made a pie before reading this book, but I was interested, so I picked up a copy. It has a lot of good recipes and advice for the price, and the sections in the beginning about the different ingredients and their roles in pie fillings and crusts were very helpful. I don't like just following the steps in a recipe. I really like to know what's going on in the bowl/pan, and her details really helped me get a feel for how the process of making a pie should work.

15 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ALL YOU'LL EVER NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PIES, July 1, 2000

By	Nancy Korn (Westfield NJ) - See all my reviews

IF IT HAS A CRUST AND YOU CALL IT DESSERT, SUSAN G. PURDY PRESENTS IT TO YOU IN THIS COOK BOOK. SHE DISPLAYS HER ENCYCLOPEDIC KNOWLEDGE ABOUT PIES IN LOGICAL PIE-MAKING ORDER AND USES A FRIENDLY CONVERSATIONAL TONE THROUGHOUT THE BOOK. FROM CRUSTS TO GLAZES TO GREEN TOMATOE OR LEMON MERINGUE PIE, YOU WANT MAKE IT!