Pie Squared: Irresistibly Easy Sweet & Savory Slab Pies

This is a wonderful cookbook. Every recipe I have made has turned out great. The first I tried was the Curried Chicken Slab Pie. It was nicely seasoned and very tasty. I used phyllo dough from the grocery store instead of the Caramelized Onion Crust and it turned out beautifully. Yes! for those who are "doughphobics" there are many alternatives that don't require making crusts from scratch. For bakers who enjoy making crusts there are many excellent recipes with thorough directions helpful photos to guide you through the process. In fact there are beautiful pictures of every recipe. The next one I tried was the After-Thanksgiving Turkey slab pie. My family enjoyed it so much I was compelled to make another the next day. It is easy and delicious. The Christmas in London Slab Pie tasted like something from my favorite pub, the Red Deer in Sheffield, UK. I recommend it highly, my husband loved it. I have also made the Ruben Slab pie and that was a hit too. And those are just a small selection of the savory pies. The Pear and Frangipane Pie with a puff pastry crust was exceptional too. I rarely take time to review books ( would much rather be in the kitchen than on the computer) but I just had to let everyone know how much I love this cookbook. Thank you very much Cathy Barlow, for a truly excellent cookbook.

This book is an absolute treasure and Cathy Barrow is a pie genius. I baked 5 pies within a month as part of Food52’s Baking Club on Facebook where Pie Squared was the book of the month. Each pie turned out beautiful and delicious on the first time baking them. I can trust the recipes in this book to work. There are over a dozen pie crust recipes. I primarily used the All-Butter Crust recipe because I loved it on my first time making it. It is a dream to roll out, crimp, cut out, and to make lattices. I was able to get creative with all my top crusts because the dough is that amazing. The ratios of all the ingredients are perfect. I am tired of other pie dough recipes where I have to add tablespoon by tablespoon of water, or I have to keep flicking water on the dough, in order to get a dough that ended up being too dry or wet. There is no guessing in this book and the recipes are that perfect. I also have no doubt that the other pie crust recipes in the book are just as stellar and I will eventually make them too. The 5 pies in my pictures are the 1) Any-Season Raspberry Slab Pie, 2) Easy-as-Appple Slab Pie, 3) Concord Grape Slab Pie, 4) Lemon Meringue Slab Pie, and 5) Asparagus, Fontina, and Pancetta Slab Pie. They all tasted delicious and were quickly devoured by my family. Overall, I am thrilled that I bought this book. It has changed the way I feel about making pies and I actually love making them now.

I've followed Cathy Barrow and made a number of her recipes over the years. The dishes have invariably been delicious and satisfying. The recipes in Pie Squared are no different -- I've made two of the savory pies so far, and both were great successes. The Moroccan-Style Shepherd's slab pie is dead easy, and the addition of paprika to the crust is an ingenious twist. The English-Style Pork Slab Pie has a hot water crust, which I'd never made, but Cathy's instructions made it a straightforward task. Cathy's writing style is easy and engaging --- just what you want when you're trying something new. There's so much more to try -- I have Post-Its on so many recipes! I love this book so much that I'm giving copies, along with quarter sheet pans, to two of my friends who cook. I'm confident that they will love it as much as I do.

I got this book yesterday and I havent cooked anything from it - but the pie crust chapter alone is worth what I paid for it. I thought there were two kinds of pie crust: (1) the kind with butter and flour that you roll out that I have *never* been able to make, and (2) the kind with melted butter and crumbled cookies that you just smush into the bottom of the pan. This book has recipes for all-butter crust, cream cheese crust, cheddar cheese crust, caramelized onions crust, rye crust, chocolate crust, hot water crust, olive oil crust, shortbread crust, cracker crump crust, cookie crumb crust, hash brown crust, and cornbread crust. I'm dizzy with the possibilities. Even if I only manage to make half those crusts, it opens up a whole universe of pies that I couldn't make before. And the notes at the end of each pie recipe suggest alternate crusts and alternate fillings. I can't wait to start baking. UPDATE: I've now made a couple recipes and they were delicious. One of them had a strange combination of flavors that I was a little skeptical about, but it turned out delicious and was a big hit at the party I brought it to.

The book itself is wonderful. Lots of learning to do with the many, many types of pies. My complaint is that it came with three crimped corners. Don't know if it was a return, but I couldn't give it as a Christmas gift. I ended up just keeping it. So disappointed ...

This cookbook exceeds the two main requirements I have when I decide to bring a cookbook into my small home and place it on my limited shelf space - unique recipes and easy to follow instructions. The biggest and happiest surprise was the fact that this cookbook contains both savory and sweet pies. So throw out the notice that pies are only sweet. You could literally make an appetizer, main course, and then dessert all with pies. I wouldn't complain if you invited me to a party with that menu! Not a requirement, but certainly nice to have were the beautiful photographs and the fact that the book lays flat when you put it down on your counter! She gives her baker's dozen tips for slab pie success and #12 is perhaps my favorite - "Pie is forgiving. Perfection is not the goal. Delicious is." No matter where you are in your baking journey - novice or expert - you'll take away so much having this cookbook in your collection. The tips and ways to experiment are what help each of us become better in the kitchen. If what you want is a cookbook that provides you with easy recipes that are tasty to boot (and will impress a ton of people), then this is your cookbook. One feature that I absolutely loved and wish more cookbooks would start doing is that each recipe comes with what you can make ahead, what techniques you'll be incorporating, and any swaps you can make. She gives you so much flexibility to be creative. Ms. Barrow has some unique takes on classic flavors (artichoke dip, pumpkin pie with an amaretti crust, and many more) and totally creative ideas (hash brown crust, nacho pie with cornbread crust, smore's pie, and again many more) that I would have never thought up on my own. Every single recipe I've read I truly believe would please a crowd.

This book takes pie-making to a whole new level. It makes you think out of the box (circle?) of conventional round pies and fillings and expands your repertoire considerably. Edited to add I liked it so much I bought a second copy as a gift for a cousin. The first thirty pages alone are worth the purchase price, with lessons and tips and tricks that will inform even the seasoned baker (using bags of ice to cool the surface for rolling out is genius!) And the photos are mouth-watering and well-done. Then there are the recipes! Sweet, savory, and even a British style hot water crust sure to impress even the most jaded dinner guest. A generous 60+ recipes means there is enough here to make a new pie every week for more than a year! And most are fresh and new, begging to be explored. But old favorites are in here too, expanded into the slab pie format which encourages one to try them in comparison to the round. Such a great book, it shows the months and months of research Barrow put in and she has a wonderful voice as she leads us through this paradigm shift in shape. I'm so glad I bought this, I know I will be referring to it for many years to come. Don't hesitate, go for it!

The pie recipes seemed fairly exotic for my preferences; a lot of them were for savory pies. Not what I was looking for. I wanted to learn how to convert my favorite pie recipes (mostly sweet) from round pie dishes to easier to serve slab pies. I've never used a food processor to make pie crust, so that seemed rather daunting also. There are a lot of variations on pie crust recipes - but I doubt I will attempt them.