A Year of Pies Book Giveaway
Monday, August 13, 2012 at 8:00AM
I was elated when my friend Ashley asked if I’d share a recipe in her new book, a book all about pies. I said yes immediately, of course, and have anticipated seeing the finished product since those hours I put in last summer testing my gluten-free streusel top apple pie.
I’ve long loved Ashley’s blog and book series, Homemade Living, which includes Home Dairy, Cannning & Preserving, Keeping Chickens & Keeping Bees, and even got to spend some time with her during my book travels last year.
My prolific pal has put together a lovely book, chock full of beautiful, informative photos.
;)
Fabulous seasonal recipes I can’t wait to try. These in particular:
;)
The pecans are green and bunching, nearly time for harvest here in Texas.
And this is definitely happening next year, when our blueberries come in:
;)
I like Ashley’s book for its seasonally-minded sections, her great how-to photos and descriptions for the hard parts of pie making and for incorporating all kinds of great guest recipes, including many gluten-free options!
The publisher mailed me a few copies, so I’m giving away two of them, one via the comment section below and another here on my author site’s new blog feature. You may enter twice if you’d like.
US & Canadian residents please enter by leaving a comment on this post by Monday August 27, midnight CST, telling us about your best (or worst) pie experience, either making it or eating it. (If you don’t include your email address in the specific box where asked on the comment form you won’t win because I can’t get ahold of you.)
Good luck!
Reader Comments (109)
Every year for my husban'd birthday I bake a pie (usually key lime or blueberry). Now he looks forward to it, so I can't NOT make one!
Early in my marriage I baked a pecan pie to take to my in-laws for Thanksgiving. It looked great, but when we cut into it, the crust was just under the pecans on top and all the filling had run under it. I was mortified.
When I lived about an hour or so away from a farmer's market...I would always pick up a key lime pie for my birthday...a great treat to kick the middle of winter blues!
I had to learn to make pie crust about a month and a half ago when I returned from an urban cherry pick with 16 lbs of cherries and my sweetie (who did a lot of the picking) insisted that we needed pie. The crust was probably a bit tough, but it was delicious!
I love getting together with my four sisters and my mom each Thanksgiving and making more pies than we could ever consume. It's a custom that brings us together every year, I love it!
Last month we took full advantage of Cherry Fest and made an awesome cherry pie for a dinner party. It was my first pie from scratch, crust and all, and I realized it wasn't so terrible :) I'd love to try my hand at more pies, and this book would be perfect!
Sometimes my pie crusts just don't turn out right. But I don't let that stop me from eating the pie. This book might make me get better!
Yay pies!
I did an experiment where I baked one pie every week for a year. So there were lots of good, and bad, pie experiences.
Since bad experiences are more entertaining, probably the worst pie I attempted was making a key lime pie with avocado for fat content in place of condensed milk. It seemed like a neat idea at the time... but the result looked a lot like toxic alien slime and tasted much too sweet/sour. Plus there was just something "off" about the texture. Well, if you make a pie every week one or two are bound to end up in the garbage bin.
I never had trouble making pie crust -- it was one of those things that always came fairly easily. So for my first Thanksgiving in Boston, I volunteered to make pumpkin pie. But when I pulled my ball of dough out of the fridge, it crumbled into a floury mess all over my counter! After much negotiating I was finally able to (somewhat) salvage it, but I clearly underestimated the power of New England heating to dehydrate my kitchen and my pie. Now I'm back west, and look forward to a simpler pie crust experience.
My worst pie experience is always cutting into that first piece, wondering/praying that the bottom crust will be a success. I know people tell me that it will still "eat the same" but in my mind, if it isn't close to Martha-like perfection, I'm not happy.
Worst pie experience...
When I was younger (maybe 10 years old), I decided to take it upon myself to make a lemon meringue pie all by myself. All went well, I put it into the oven to bake for a bit, and then I took it out. Much to my dismay, the meringue had separated and I was left with a watery, goopy mess. Needless to say, I asked for assistance from then on out when it came to pies.
I've just started to really fall in love with pies, especially seasonal pies. This summer was all about the tomato pie. You can't go wrong with a flaky crust, fresh tomatoes, basil and cheese!
I adore pie, but I often get impatient making it. I know you're supposed to pre-bake the shell, but I just throw the whole thing in the oven and am awarded with a soggy bottom. Still, who cares? It's pie!
I love pies and tarts, but tarts are my favorite to make. While I can't bake a cake to save my soul, I've gotten pretty good at tarts. The best one I've made so far is a lemon tart...it was out of this world. :)
Delicious homemade Georgia peach pies consumed all summer with vanilla bean ice cream are my absolute favorite summer memories. Yum!
My husband's great grandmother supported her family of four sons by baking pies for restaurants around Vancouver, BC after the death of her husband. My husband's grandfather inherited her love of baking and was an avid pie fan. Imagine my hesitation when I was asked (the year we were married) to bake a pie for Thanksgiving with his family?!! I made a mock mincemeat pie from an old James Beard cookbook I had and waited for the reactions as grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins took a bite. Luckily, they all enjoyed it and the whole pie was consumed quickly. I've made a few pies since then, but I still hold my breath while my in-laws take their first bites.
My favorite pies are pecan, peach, lemon, the list goes on and on.
Custards, berry, nut, yum!!!
I love apple tarts! They are easy and can be made year round!
Best experience is always a flaky crust, worst experience is when
half the juice runs out of the pie. Who doesn't love a great pie-
whatever the filling, savory, or sweet, it's heaven on a plate!
Southern girls dig pie, especially after watching a good movie. At least, that's what "True Romance" taught me.
My best experience was with a blueberry peach pie (my favorite). You put the peaches on the bottom and the blueberries drips down on the peaches and makes the peaches look red.
I made the pie for a family reunion and 15 minutes later, it was gone, I didn't get a piece. My Aunt Garnet told me that my Uncle Owen had two pieces! Later, he came up to me beaming and said that was really good pie!!
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
I'm like a mom to my 'little' brother (he's 32 now) and his favorite thing in the world is pie. I made a blueberry cream pie for he and his family a few weeks ago and he took a bite and was in HEAVEN. He said it was the best pie he's ever eaten in his life. I'm not sure that my heart has ever been quite as happy- I've gotten married and had 2 children- the way he loved that pie ranks right up there with those other moments! It's so wonderful to be able to make someone that happy!
We still tease my sister in law about the time she made a butterscotch pie and we ended up eating it through a straw! I'm still not sure what she did, or more likely didn't do, but it didn't stop us from eating and drinking it!
Best pie experience -- learning to bake a pie with my grandmother. My mom was never a baker, but I aspired to be one. At about ten years old, I learned my grandma's secrets for pie crust and fillings. We lived far away from them and she began to develop Alzheimers not long after, so I always treasure those memories of baking pie with Grammie.
My grandfather was a pie nut! I say that with all the love in my heart (GOD rest his soul)! He had to have pie with supper. His favorite was Sour Cream Raisin, but he also loved mincemeat, lemon and anything fruit! If you didn't know how to make pie, Gramps made sure you got lessons from Grams!