Pot Pies: Yumminess in a Dish (Paperback)

~ Elinor Klivans (Author), Scott Peterson (Photographer)
Key Phrases: potpie bakes, cold potpie, phyllo topping, Crust Options, Step Ahead, You-Can-Do-It Flaky Crust (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

With succulent fillings under their golden toppings, it's no wonder that potpies have such a universal appeal. Author Elinor Klivans offers a huge range of filling options from vegetables and eggs to meats, chicken, or fish. And the variety of toppings is a real eye-opener: homemade crusts; story-bought phyllo or puff pastry; tortillas; quick-mixing corn bread or biscuits; even nuts, potatoes, or bread. These 50 recipes go from classics like beef and vegetable potpie or everyone's favorite chicken pot pie, to new takes like the Breakfast Special Potpie: Eggs, bacon, and potatoes with an Irish soda bread crust is a great new option for brunch. Also included are plenty of meatless versions, such as the sublime Spinach, Ricotta, and Parmesan Potpie topped with a delicious cream cheese crust. Advice about assembling and baking potpies assures that all parts of the fillings will be cooked just right and toppings will stand at crispy and proud attention. With useful ideas for do-ahead preparation, storing, freezing, and re-heating, there's nothing like Potpies.

About the Author

Elinor Klivans' articles have appeared in Bon Appétit, Eating Well, Fine Cooking, and the Washington Post, among others. She is the author of several cookbooks, including Cupcakes! and Big Fat Cookies. She lives in Camden, Maine. Scott Peterson is an award-winning San Francisco-based photographer. His work has appeared in many cookbooks including Pizza, and magazines such as Bon Appétit, Sunset, and Health.

Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (December 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811851613
• ISBN-13: 978-0811851619
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #249,431 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful book, March 24, 2007

By	BakingandBooks.com "BakingandBooks.com" (CT) - See all my reviews

What's good: There is much to love about this cookbook with recipes such as "Costa Rican Spicy Picadillo & Plantain Potpie," "Farmer's Market Chicken Potpie" and "Roasted Tomato, Onion & Potato Potpie with Parmesan Crust." Our favorites are the "Empanada Potpie with Cream Cheese Crust" (pictured on site), the "Chilaquiles Potpie" and the "Springtime Vegetable Potpie," though there are certainly others that tickled our fancy. Klivans' instructions are easy to follow, which was a relief since before getting this book I had never made a potpie before. In addition to forty-six individual potpie recipes she also includes three delicious recipes for rolled crusts, as well as sections about equipment, technique and how to store potpies. After the recipes, one of the best things about this book is how easy it is to use. Most recipes are accompanied by tips for variations, make-ahead suggestions and crust options. Colored tabs on the side of the page indicate how many servings the recipe makes and how long it takes from start to finish. I thought this last bit was especially useful because you don't have to read through the entire recipe to find out if it's doable in the amount of time you have. Although a paperback, the book is well-bound and most of the recipes are accompanied by mouth watering photographs. Chapters include "Ten Especially Easy Potpies," "A World of Potpie Classics," "New Takes on Potpies" and "A Garden of Vegetable Potpies for Every Season." It's almost needless to say, but there is something in this book for everyone.

What's bad: This isn't "bad" per-se, but on a few occasions I'd read a recipe and think: "What? That's not a potpie!" The "Chilaquiles Potpie" mentioned above falls into this category, since both my mother and Nana always made chilaquiles the traditional way: in a skillet on the stove top. I couldn't help thinking that just because Klivans moved the ingredients over to a casserole dish, then baked them in the oven, the chilaquiles still weren't "really" a potpie. Also, and this is my being nitpicky, I didn't like how she doesn't lightly fry the tortillas before adding them to the sauce, which to my mind is absolutely essential because it prevents the tortillas from getting mushy. Nevertheless, I gave this recipe a go - frying the tortillas, of course - and the result was delicious. The same can be said for the recipe featured in this entry (see site), which is another example of a Mexican dish being taken out of its original context and remade into something altogether different, yet highly enjoyable.

Conclusion: If you like potpies and want to introduce your taste buds to something other than plain old "Chicken Potpie" definitely check this book out - but fry your tortillas!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great recipes but don't believe the portion sizes, March 2, 2007

By	Word Sorceress "wordsorceress" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

We've tried 4 or 5 of the recipes in this book in the past month, and they're mostly easy to make (though some are more time-consuming than others--these aren't "get home from work, eat dinner in an hour" recipes) and yes, very yummy. However, in every case I've found the suggested number of servings to be way off. Unless you are having the pot pie as an appetizer, or along with two or three side dishes (I don't--to me a pot pie should be the whole meal), count on getting about half the meals out of a single recipe as the recipe indicates. As long as you've got that expectation, this is a great book for weekend fun in the kitchen!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars another winner by klivans, January 22, 2007

By	rnbaker (RI) - See all my reviews

I have been a fan of all of her books and this one is great! Have made several recipes - and all delicious. easy to follow instructions, substitution suggestions and lots of photos.