"I like Pie." - President Barack Obama
Every culture has both savory and sweet dishes wrapped in pastry. In my opinion, Pie reached its apotheosis in America.
Although apple pies have been eaten since long before the European colonisation of the Americas, "as American as apple pie" is a saying in the United States, meaning "typically American." In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, apple pie became a symbol of American prosperity and national pride. A newspaper article published in 1902 declared that "No pie-eating people can be permanently vanquished." There are claims that the Apple Marketing Board of New York State used such slogans as "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Pie Town, New Mexico is named in honour of the apple pie. - wikipedia
I recommend the best Pie cookbook I know: Jame's McNair's Pie Cookbook.
The recipes are precise. The illustrations of pastry technique take the mystery out of Pastry. You can buy a copy (new or used, paperback or hardcover). The hardcover edition is out of print and can be pricey. I read cookbooks like novels. James McNair is the best of food writers and he does some mean book design. McNair's Cherry Cream Pie will knock your socks off. Yummy.
