[.ca] Martha Stewart's Pies & Tarts (ISBN 0517589532)

okay:
it had a few good recipes i liked in there overall it was an okay cookbook

YUCK!:
Well, the illustrations in this book are beautiful and Martha's pie crust, as well as her lemon curd, are absolutely the best, but the pies and tarts in this book are simply the worst I've ever tasted! Really, I've tasted kindergarten paste that had more flavor than these recipes. As a seasoned baker, I do know how to substitute ingredients and add more spice, but why should anyone have to? And what about those who can't? After all, the book is not titled, Martha Stewart's Exotic Pies and Tarts for the Experienced Baker Only, however, it should be. What good is a book if most people really can't use it? Yes, I can make all those lovely grape clusters, leaves and tendrils that adorn Martha's Concord Grape Pie, but I think most people are really looking for something a little more basic. Okay, final analysis: if you're looking for the out-of-the-ordinary (and the tasteless) then buy this book. If you just want some great pie and tart recipes, try The Pie and Pastry Bible. You won't go wrong there.

Martha's Pie Crust is the best:
Martha's pies and tarts are the best recipes I have ever tried. Her crusts come our perfect. Their flavor is just right.

I've got a long-term relationship with this book:
I'm a little bit of an oddball in that I've been making pies and tarts since I was in High School, and basically learned how through this book. The basic recipes for pie and tart crusts and glazes, found at the back of the book with step-by-step illustrations, have become indispensable favorites of mine. Martha is a big advocate of using a food processor to ensure that chilled ingredients stay that way, ensuring a tender, flaky crust that's fast and reliable, and I couldn't agree more, especially if, like me, you're working in an unairconditioned kitchen. The recipes for pastry cream and lemon curd are superb. Rather than using specific recipes for tarts, I usually bake one of the crusts (pate brisee, pate sucree or sucree extra or nut), use the recipe for pastry cream found in the recipe for the blackberry tart, and add my own fresh fruit and one of the glazes. Among the individual recipes, the apple raisin pie is a favorite I make every Thanksgiving, the Tarte Tatin is great, and I especially appreciate the recipes using Italian Prune or Friar plums, available in late August / September, my favorite fruit for pies and tarts. I just ate a Pear Frangipane tartlet this weekend, and was pleased to discover there was a recipe for it in this book, and look forward to making my own. One of my only complaints is that the recipes seemingly all use different-sized and shaped pie and tart tins, with no easy formulas for converting recipes to fit what you're using. Also, there's no recipe for a classic pecan pie. However, this book is a classic Martha Stewart effort, with the beautiful photographs and consistently high standards that go with that; it certainly has stood the test of time in my kitchen.

Consistently great pies and tarts:
I've tried at least 7 pies or tarts from this book and found the crusts, contents and compliments consistently excellent. Mom will not return my copy!