I've decided to take a pie-atus. It's been two weeks since I've made pie. After the pecan and the pumpkin pie, what was left? I was getting the hang of pie crust, and I needed a break to bake some cookies and such. I can't favor pie; it's not fair to the cookies, the muffins, and the cupcakes. During the pie-atus, I baked pumpkin whoopie pies, banana muffins, and ginger cranberry bars. I made cranberry applesauce. I even gave Drew a baking tutorial and so far, he's made devil dogs and snickerdoodles, treasured family recipes.
I will soon return to the pie. I plan to bake a real pumpkin pie, meaning that I'm going to get sugar pumpkins and extract the pulp. I'm also going to give pecan pie another go. And, the other day, I was at the public library, and I checked out two pie cookbooks. I'm a little weary of both of them; one is called Perfect Apple Pie: 100 Delicious and Decidedly Different Recipes for America's Favorite Pie and the other is Pie: 300 Tried and True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie. I don't trust either cookbook, and I've barely cracked them open. Seriously, how many variations of apple pie do we really need? Both cookbooks violate my personal cookbook rule: I don't believe in purchasing cookbooks that boast 100, 200, or even 500 recipes.
It is my belief that when a cookbook claims to have like 300 pie recipes, all it means is that the author failed to edit out the bad ones. Then I'm left guessing which ones are truly good and which ones are mediocre. If I wanted a subpar pie, I'd do an internet search and take my chances on the first recipe that pops up. Plus, cookbooks with way too many recipes have so many variations and weird combinations, it seems like the authors are just searching for ways to reach some magic number. Is it just me, or does Apricot-Mango Pie with Coconut Crumb Topping sound like way too many flavor combinations that it can't possibly be good? Or how about Blueberry-Peach Pie with Pecan Crumb Topping? Or Caramel-Coffee Hazelnut Pie? I think you catch my drift. You're probably wondering why I bothered to check out these cookbooks. Maybe there will be a few recipes worth trying out. I'll let you know.
On a positive note that is completely unrelated to pies but related to cookbooks, you have to try Get Saucy: Make Dinner a New Way Every Day with Simple Sauces, Marinades, Glazes, Dressings, Pestos, Pasta Sauces, Salsas, and More by Grace Parisi. You won't be sorry. Drew borrowed his mom's copy, and well, let's just say that we're going to have to purchase her a new one. So far, we've made alfredo sauce, honey mustard barbeque sauce, sesame ginger stir-fry sauce, sweet and sour sauce, ginger-orange stir-fry sauce, fried ginger stir-fry sauce. Sauces are so easy, and they really make the meal.
I will soon return to the pie. I plan to bake a real pumpkin pie, meaning that I'm going to get sugar pumpkins and extract the pulp. I'm also going to give pecan pie another go. And, the other day, I was at the public library, and I checked out two pie cookbooks. I'm a little weary of both of them; one is called Perfect Apple Pie: 100 Delicious and Decidedly Different Recipes for America's Favorite Pie and the other is Pie: 300 Tried and True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie. I don't trust either cookbook, and I've barely cracked them open. Seriously, how many variations of apple pie do we really need? Both cookbooks violate my personal cookbook rule: I don't believe in purchasing cookbooks that boast 100, 200, or even 500 recipes.
It is my belief that when a cookbook claims to have like 300 pie recipes, all it means is that the author failed to edit out the bad ones. Then I'm left guessing which ones are truly good and which ones are mediocre. If I wanted a subpar pie, I'd do an internet search and take my chances on the first recipe that pops up. Plus, cookbooks with way too many recipes have so many variations and weird combinations, it seems like the authors are just searching for ways to reach some magic number. Is it just me, or does Apricot-Mango Pie with Coconut Crumb Topping sound like way too many flavor combinations that it can't possibly be good? Or how about Blueberry-Peach Pie with Pecan Crumb Topping? Or Caramel-Coffee Hazelnut Pie? I think you catch my drift. You're probably wondering why I bothered to check out these cookbooks. Maybe there will be a few recipes worth trying out. I'll let you know.
On a positive note that is completely unrelated to pies but related to cookbooks, you have to try Get Saucy: Make Dinner a New Way Every Day with Simple Sauces, Marinades, Glazes, Dressings, Pestos, Pasta Sauces, Salsas, and More by Grace Parisi. You won't be sorry. Drew borrowed his mom's copy, and well, let's just say that we're going to have to purchase her a new one. So far, we've made alfredo sauce, honey mustard barbeque sauce, sesame ginger stir-fry sauce, sweet and sour sauce, ginger-orange stir-fry sauce, fried ginger stir-fry sauce. Sauces are so easy, and they really make the meal.
No comments:
Post a Comment