Tarts with Tops on: Or How to Make the Perfect Pie

by Tamasin Day-Lewis

Book Overview

"Is there anyone who doesn't inwardly melt at the sight of a golden glazed pie crust with its little cottage chimney of steam wafting the scent of buried juices, the auguries of delight of what lies... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401352057
• ISBN13: 9781401352059
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Hyperion Books
• Length: 143 Pages
• Weight: 1.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.7" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!!!!

I am so thrilled with this book. I bought it after I purchased "The Art of the Tart" by the same author. Both books are simply wonderful. No duplicate recipes. If you want to bake an unusual, totally delicious pie, savory or sweet, check this little book out. She loves what she does, borrows recipes from friends, and reading her books are soul satisying. A real treat. I have made quite a few recipes from both books, have gotten rave reviews on all of them. Treat yourself, family and friends to the wonderful recipes in these books. You won't be sorry.

Some Really Unusual Tarts Here. Very Attractive Book!

`The Art of the Tart' and `Tarts With Tops On' by noted English culinary writer, Tamasin Day-Lewis both have the outward appearance of books on the express line to the discount table. And, while many good books have suffered that fate, that appearance should not be held against these two volumes. It is important to distinguish this book from the excellent volumes on general pastry making such as Rose Levy Beranbaum's `The Pie and Pastry Bible' or Nick Malgieri's `Perfect Pastry' or Flo Brakker's `The Simple Art of Perfect Baking, or Gayle Ortiz' `The Village Baker's Wife'. It is also playing in a different league than the excellent `Mes Tartes' by Christine Ferber. All of these spend many pages on the ins and outs of pastry technique. Ms. Ferber's volume is especially interesting if you are devoted to the French approach to pastry, which is just a bit different than what you will get from the American experts. When I first browsed through Ms. Day-Lewis' books, the absence of the heavy concentration on technique and the many familiar names of classic tart and pie recipes had me discounting the books as not worth my attention. The opening tart with a top on was nothing more than a classic chicken potpie that I have made following better instructions from James Beard. The first thing that began redeeming the books in my eyes was the quality of the writing. Ms. Day-Lewis has a way with phrases that seems to owe more than a little from the writing style of M.F.K. Fisher, although the writer to which she seems to pay the greatest homage is Jane Grigson. In spite of a few misstatements such as the notion that pastry making was a science, `but not an exact science', her general observations are quite a pleasure to read and make me want to read more of her books. Both books include chapters on `other people's recipes', and some of the most interesting material is in these chapters. Some of the borrowing is from Nigel Slater who is a writer like Day-Lewis and unlike Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver, whose works have not made a very big impression on this side of the pond. Others are attributed to Claudia Roden, who has made a big splash over here. Many others are attributed to friends and relatives. Regardless of the source, all these recipes are pretty far removed from your garden-variety tomato tart. Some recipes such as Michel Roux's Tourte au Jambon et Tomme de Pyrenees require ingredients such as black truffles and hard Pyrenees sheep's milk cheese which are just a bit to dear or too much trouble to acquire. Others in this chapter are both very simple and very fetching. Two that caught my eye were Nigel Slater's Stilton, Onion, and Potato "Frying Pan" pie and Deborah's Luxury Meat Loaf Pie. Both recipes are small variations on very common dishes, but the small improvements are worth a bundle of raves at the dinner table. The next chapter of recipes for pies covers eight variations on apple pie. Aside from the plain vanilla apple pie, all were prett

Gorgeous book, a great gift

Far more variety of recipes that the title might suggest. Not just desserts but entrees, too. A really beautiful book; would make a lovely gift for someone who likes to cook & is looking for something new.