Perfect Pies: A Complete Savory & Sweet Fare of Unique, Wholesome Pies

Ann Tudor was the former Managing Editor of Canadian Book Review Annual and had her own Toronto-based crafts company, Honest Threads.

Diane Fine is a commercial artist and art teacher who has studied cooking “for years” in Toronto and England and who has written one other cookbook — The Cookie Bookie.

In Perfect Pies, she presents a wide range of savory and sweet pies, under those headings, with the following subheadings: under Savory Pies are chicken pies, seafood pies, vegetable pies, and cheese pies. Under Sweet Pies are fruit pies, vegetable pies (e.g., sweet potato and apple, avocado, parsnip, white bean), nut pies, and (again) cheese pies (e.g., cottage-cheese pie, pistachio cheese pie, yogurt-cheddar flan). At the beginning of the book is an introduction to pastry-making, with general and specific instructions for eight kinds of crust (handily outlined in a one-page chart on page 22). In addition, there are throughout the book such unusual crusts as noodle, granola, whole wheat cracker, zucchini, millet, and rice, each of these designed to serve as the base for a particular filling.

The author points out in her introduction that she has attempted to “use wholesome foods in healthy proportions” (as opposed to creating “luscious velvetty dessert pies… using cupfuls of butter, sugar, and whipped cream,” p.14). She has done us all a service. Her pies are inventive and appetizing, and the book is sure to become a staple in many kitchens.