Humble Pie: Musings on What Lies Beneath the Crust

by Anne Dimock

Book Overview

In America, pie is a food--and a concept--that carries unusual resonance. In Humble Pie, Anne Dimock offers a delightful combination of memoir, pie quotes, inspiration, recipes, travel writing, and assorted philosophical, cultural, and culinary musings on this powerful yet humble dessert.

Anne Dimock grew up in a household where, she notes, "A dearth of good pie was a hardship I never encountered, never knew must be borne up by most...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0740754653
• ISBN13: 9780740754654
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

As Easy as Pie!

Entertaining and instructional on a very American tradition. Humor combined with information. A great short read!

Pie Magic

Friends from Stillwater Minnesota gave me this book two years ago. Last week I finally read it cover to cover in one sitting and determined to make two blueberry pies. I make a very good pecan pie, but my fruit pies have always been failures: too dry, too watery. Between the recipes and the stories, this book somehow inspires in a pie maker just the right touch. One feels personally escorted in the kitchen by Anne Dimock. My blueberry pies turned out perfectly and I was pleased to take one to a graduation party where it received many compliments.

Pie Makers Unite!

As a life-long Pie Maker (I'm 58 and learned how to make pies from my German grandmother when I was 9 years old), I couldn't believe my eyes when my husband gave me this book for my most recent birthday. In fact, I read it cover to cover and then baked an apricot pie! While I found the actual information quite useful (such as the treatise about different apples), it was the way Anne Dimock presents the philosophical, even spiritual, aspects of being a Pie Maker that really resonated with me. This is not just a cook book; it's a book that celebrates all things handmade, genuine, created through love and industry. We who are Pie Makers know what it means to mix together a dough that "feels" right; put together an interesting filling (I love apples and blackberries, and I'm "famous" among my husband's friends for my apricot pie), dot it generously with butter and place the top crust. And then the magic of opening the oven and being able to tell if the pie is done by the amount of bubbly juiciness. Yes, we Pie Makers need to celebrate our good fortune in having a book that now puts all our feelings and joys of making pies into words. If you're a Pie Maker, make this book the next one you read, preferably with a piece of your own delicious pie! Oh, and one more thing -- be sure and pass on your Pie Maker knowledge. My 6-year old grandson doesn't think it's a complete visit with "Grammie" unless we make a pie together. He has a couple of little pie pans (similar to the ones my grandmother gave me) so that he can make his very own pie and not have to share it with his 2 year-old sister!. I'll be reading Humble Pie to him on his next visit! -- Louise Miracle (Bloomington, IN)

Dimock on Pie: Musings to Amuse and Delight

Anne Dimock has written a delightful exercise on the importance of everyday life, and the foods that define much of its pleasure. While pie (mainly apple) forms its core, she writes affectionately and with deft assurance of lives lost and loves gained and generations passed and present. Her discursive essay on apple varieties is especially interesting, as well as her view of crust and the somewhat frightening use of pie-cutting methods as a Rorschach test of personality types in men. A great book for the holidays!

Long Live the Queen of Pies!

This book warms the heart and brings a smile to those who enjoy eating a good apple pie, or any pie for that matter. It's a must read for all who sit in awe of those who heed their calling to make these homemade masterpieces. The book won't prompt you to go out and buy pie .... it will elevate you to want to try to make one on your own!