Southern Pies: A Gracious Plenty of Pie Recipes, From Lemon Chess to Chocolate Pecan

This book has saved my reputation as a pie baker. I used to be fairly well known for my tasty pies, but since moving to a new home in the South, my pies have been more like sweet dog biscuits...and I couldn't figure out why. The very nice history McDermott gives on pies and pie-making in the South made me realize I have a counter with some "grab" that was causing me to use too much flour to keep the from sticking. Being far away from family, I've had nobody in my kitchen to remind me of some of the old tricks I used to use before I had marble counters, which I don't have here. That's the simple but critical part. The fabulous thing about this book is the attitude the author takes towards pie making. Start simple, don't expect perfection, and so what if there's some goo between your filling and meringue? It's still going to taste good, and you're going to get better the more you try. I also enjoyed the history she's provided, but I think we get green tomatoes and blackberries earlier here in the River Valley Region of Arkansas than other places. I piled right in and made her blackberry cobbler. Delicious. And next weekend I'm scooping up green tomatoes at the farmers market and give that a go. I also happened to have on hand a whole bunch of spiralized zucchini I'd made with another purchase I made here on Amazon with no clue what to do with them. Yep, they've gone into a pie that's smelling pretty good right now.This wouldn't be an adequate review if I didn't say something about the photography. I've worked as a photographer and know how difficult it is to capture food so that it's lit well and looks appealing. Every photo in this book was fantastic and, so far, a fair representation of the finished pies. Aside from being full of interesting recipes and a nice history, the photography and writing style where outstanding and have made this my new go-to book on making pies. I do hope there are more books coming from this author-cook. Oh, yeah. I forgot there was one thing she left out when she talked about picking wild blackberries. She mentioned the snakes but forgot to mention the bears in the hollers where the pickings are the best. But OMG are those berries ever sweet.

Book is put together with care and thought. Nice quality paper and printing. A comfortable size to sit and read through. Book has some nice photographs. Author thoughtfully provides substitute ingredients, especially helpful if you don't live in the South. There are stories and notes to read with each recipe.The back of the book has several helpful sections, including a focus on pie crusts, "A Glossary for Southern Pies," "Sources for Southern Food and Cooking," a Bibliography, and "Table of Equivalents".The recipe I tried is the Winchester Sun Pumpkin Pie, which turned out large and mushy. The list of ingredients calls for "2 cups pumpkin puree (two 15 ounce cans...)". Unfortunately I went with the 2 cans. I believe it should state 2 cups (16 ounces) pumpkin puree or 1 can (15 ,"ounces).Also, this recipe calls for evaporated milk, but it might be better with heavy cream instead.I did try to contact the author about the quantities using information at her website, but no answer.Page 99 has a description of Anjou and Bartlett pears, but I think the description is confused.Overall, this is an enjoyable book for learning more about pies and I am looking forward to trying other recipes, including the "Double Apple Pie" which has an extra layer of crust in the middle.

Very good home cooking resource. Good variety of tastes.

This book was recommended during a cooking class I attended at Charleston Cooks. I purchased used through Amazon and my daughters and I decided it would be fun to try one recipe per week. In a day of over-ambition with three young women in my kitchen eager to learn how to make pies, they each chose a recipe and we followed four recipes at once! (Old Time Chess Pie, Key Lime Pie, Chocolate Angel Pie, & New Orleans Lemon Pie) About an hour into the process, returning with the fresh lemons and limes we needed for our recipes, I realized what an overwhelming decision we had made - trying to manage the varied cooking times and temperatures and not get the recipes mixed up. Imagine our delight, when after we had competed all four recipes with three novice cooks and myself loosely directing, that ALL FOUR pies were both beautiful and delicious! That has to be a sign of well written and well tested recipes. We will definitely be trying the other recipes in this book - but we will make one at a time in the future! :-)

I sought out this cookbook after purchasing the companion book, Southern Cakes. Like it's partner, this collection of recipes is simply amazing! The Lemon Chess pie has to be my favorite at the moment, although the Sweet Tea pie is a close second!While not all of these may be familiar to each southern cook (I live in South Carolina and to my dismay, no one had heard of a chess pie!), but let's face it, the south is a huge area. Each pie I've tried has been quickly devoured, and none have had the chance to fully cool yet!Among this collection are some rather old fashion walks down memory lane, along with a few modern contributions. Each recipe is well written and most are easy enough for a beginner to follow. If you're looking for good, simple, delectable pies this collection belongs in your cookbook collection!

So far, so tasty... saw this book but just couldn't bear the sticker price (as I am only a "sometimes" baker). So happy to find it on amazon for much less from a thrift store type re-seller. Came in good shape, as described. Have only tried a couple pies and they were easy and tasty. This one is a winner.

nice, everything he said it would be and more!!

Great book also DVD wonderfully explained easy to read and understand

Arrived in a timely fashion, was as described and in good shape.Thank you

If you like deserts, you ar ein for a treat. Recipes are not overly complicated and many of them have pictures showing the final product.