Pie Squared, Irresistibly Easy Sweet & Savory Slab Pies, Reviewed

I get to see a lot of cookbooks, and I’m grateful for that. Because I love cookbooks, I generally like every one of them, but only about 40% really blow my skirt up. Among those 40% is the new cookbook by Cathy Barrow called Pie Squared (Gosh, I love that!), Irresistibly Easy Sweet & Savory Slab Pies. What is a “slab pie,” you ask? For the uninitiated, a slab pie is much like a regular pie except it is unfussy, allows you to avoid what I hate the most, that meticulous rolling out and shaping of piecrust, they are made in a sheet pan, and can make enough to serve a family at dinner, or an entire crowd. They can be either sweet or savory, and if you have even the slightest interest in trying them out, this book is absolutely for you.

Pie Squared includes more than 60 savory and sweet pie recipes along with 20 crust and toppings recipes. In addition, there are step-by-step instructions on how to make each one, a section on glazes, squiggles, and drizzles, a nice illustration on how to cut slab pies (cutting pies has always been my nemesis), and instructions on how to store and freeze them. 

I was so excited when I saw this book that I immediately went to Amazon and bought myself a half-sized cookie sheet with a rim (this one) in order to make the recipe for Just Like Artichoke Dip Slab Pie with Cream Cheese Crust. I am a sucker for artichoke dip, not just because I love the way it tastes, but also because that was the very first thing my late husband made for me when we started dating. So, I’ve always had a special feeling about it. I cut this recipe in half, something I found doable with most of the recipes in this book, so that I could have some for dinner, another slice for lunch, and freeze the rest so I have some for later. More to follow on this.

Among the recipes are Chocolate Pecan Slab Pie with a Chocolate Crust (!!), pictured above, Absolutely Peachy Slab Pie with an All-Butter Crust, “The Reuben” Slab Pie with Rye Crust, and one that looks worth trying for Thanksgiving, Sesame Sweet Potato Slab Pie with a Gingersnap Crust (Heavens!). Honestly, there is something here for everybody.

Winner!

 Order your own copy and one for a friend by clicking the box below.

This post contains affiliate links.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book by Abram Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

The Fresh Market

Truth be told, I've become disillusioned of late with both Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. The former with its narrow aisles, uppity employees, rather high prices, and surprisingly un-tasty fresh foods (I'm talking about their insipid slices of pizza, lifeless chicken salad, and fishy crab cakes to name a few), the latter with frozen food products that seem to rival Banquet in both mushiness and lack of taste, the complete absence of any type of in-store bakery, not to mention that soccer moms and their kids tend to use the aisles as places to hang out, and then snarl at people with carts who are actually trying to shop. Do I sound a bit cranky? Maybe I am, but after years of shopping at both places, the bloom is definitely off the rose.

Enter The Fresh Market, a North Carolina-based chain of gourmet supermarkets that recreate the feeling of open European-style markets.

Open, airy, pleasant, clean (sparkling, in fact), with produce that beckons, and baked goods (cleverly placed throughout the store in addition to being located in an eye-popping in-store bakery) that are positively mouthwatering. We succumbed to the buy-one-get-one-free pie offer and were not disappointed. In our defense, the pies were small ones.

The seafood and meat counters were packed with delicious looking and fresh items. It was such a sensory overload that it wasn't until we returned home that I realized we hadn't actually purchased the crab cakes that I'd been drooling over. No problem! I'll be back.

Don't let the “gourmet” aspect put you off. This store has sales, great sales. Their fresh, beautiful, red (with no gray meat hidden in the center, a la large supermarkets, for shame!) ground chuck is on sale every Tuesday in June for $2.99/pound!  This is but one of many Tuesday specials.

If a supermarket can have an aura, this one had a beautiful one. I had such a lovely, relaxed feeling while shopping here. Plus, the employees were nice! Very nice. Outgoing, pleasant, and not at all hassled or annoyed by my questions. They made me feel as if they were pleased to have me in their store.

Is this place the “be all” of grocery stores? Well, no. I have yet to find such a place, but that could be because I am continually in search of less than common ingredients and this often involves specialty or ethnic stores. But with money tight for nearly everyone these days, I'm going to spend mine at a place that offers good specials and makes me feel as if my patronage is both welcomed and appreciated. If you happen to live in one of the areas that has one of these stores, check it out.

This is not a sponsored post. I am just a really happy customer.

This post is linked to:

Mosaic Monday

Inspire Me Tuesday

Making Memories Mondays

The Norske Nook Book of Pies, a Review

Pie lovers rejoice!  You are about to enter a world of wonder and magic, via the soon-to-be-published gem of a book, The Norske Nook Book of Pies. If you, as was I, are unfamiliar with “The Norske Nook,” you'll soon be booking passage. The Norske Nook, founded in 1973 as a small town café, has now blossomed into a quartet of revered pie shrines located in Osseo, Eau Claire, Hayward, and Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Now internationally famous, The Nook, with roots in Scandinavia, is known for their tradition of good Midwest cooking and the use of fine ingredients. They are also known for their pies. Lots and lots of pies. Pies for which they have won 36 blue ribbons at the National Pie Championship. In addition to (are you sitting down) more than seventy recipes for pie, this book also features recipes for the restaurant's other sumptuous treats, including cheesecakes, tortes, cookies, muffins, along with Scandinavian specialties such as Almond Cake, Krumkaka, Flat Bread, and Rosettes.

The book is divided into sections according to the type of pie, making it easy for you to find exactly what you're looking for: Berry Pies (raspberry, blackberry, strawberry), Meringue Pies (coconut, rhubarb cream), Frozen Pies (Northwoods Root Beer Float, Orange Dream), Candy Pies (Butterfinger, Snickers), Single- (Pecan Stout)  and Double-Crust Pies (Caramel Apple, Norwegian Berry), etc. There is also a section on crusts, another on toppings, and another that I really appreciated, on Sugar-Free pies.

This book is a winner. Not only is it visually appealing, but the pies are unique, varied, and darned impressive. I made the Butterscotch Pie (photo above); the filling was superb, and I had enough left over to fill two half cup ramekins to have another night for dessert. I also made the Old Fashioned Strawberry Pie, and the Pecan Fudge Pie. Each recipe was easy to follow and resulted in a beautiful and delicious pie.

Despite for my love of the book, I do have a couple of issues. The first is with the excessive use of Cool Whip (“frozen whipped topping”) in many (about half) of the recipes, eliminating them from my testing. I am not a fan of Cool Whip and never use it. Not everyone has the sensitive taste buds that I do, but for those who are extreme tasters, the chemical taste of this is always evident and ruins dishes for me. For the butterscotch pie, I was lucky enough that the called for Cool Whip was a topping and not an ingredient, so I substituted whipped cream.

Another issue is the incomplete information in the recipes. I am convinced that editors who edit cookbooks are not cooks and check only for content and not for logic. I want to know (as do, presumably, all cooks) the size of pans to be used, the amount of time things are to be cooked, and what to look for visually during the process. In the case of the butterscotch pie, there was no indication as to the size of the saucepan to use. Anything short of a 3-quart pan is going to cause disaster and lead to the loss of ingredients. It also wold have been helpful had the instructions listed cooking times so one knows what to expect time-wise, and what to look for in the thickness of the custard.

In short, this book is more for the seasoned cook than newcomer, but provides plenty of inspiration and eye candy for any pie lover, not to mention the inspiration to experiment and learn.

Recommended.

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this honest review.

This post is linked to:

Cookbook Wednesday