Cookbooks We Love: Crazy About Pies

[ 0 ] May 15, 2013 | Johnna

Image via Sterling Publishing

Crazy About Pies by Krystina Castella is a well written, organized cookbook. I love the fact that every recipe consists of preparing everything from whole ingredients. The brief summary of preparation equipment that you will use in this book is very useful along with the metrics. I like that there are plenty of pictures of the recipes so that you get an idea of what should be your finished product. I tend to be a visual cook and the pictures helped me decide what I wanted to prepare.

I recreated the Banana Cream Pie. I was a little apprehensive about how the pie would taste with using a butter pie crust rather than a graham cracker crust. I love bananas and I believe this was my first time having a banana cream pie. I was pleasantly surprise as the butter crust has a nice, sweet taste. The pudding was heavenly and carried the thick, creamy consistency I was aiming for in the finished product.

I did not use an electric mixer to blend the milk and eggs, rather I used a whisk, which was sufficient especially since I had to switch to a wooden spoon to mix in the flour-sugar mixture. The pie does take a little longer to prepare than I was expecting. I think providing the prep time or estimated time of completion would be helpful in planning purposes. Overall, Crazy About Pies sparked a bug in me to add this to my recipe rolodex. Not only will I return to the cookbook for more homemade sweet treats, I will recreate this Banana Cream Pie time and time again.

Tags: cookbooks, Crazy About Pies

Category: Cookbooks

About the Author (Author Profile)

Johnna French is a Harlem NY native with deep roots in Panama, Washington, DC and North Carolina. All four places have heavily influenced her life and the foods she loves today. After graduating Howard University School of Law and beginning her life as a young professional in the city she was led to start Johnna Knows Good Food in November 2007 to keep family, friends and colleagues updated on where to go and what to eat while dining in the nation’s capitol. French, who still practices law, leads a team of three writers to cover the ever expanding Washington, DC food scene. French has been featured in print and television, appearing in Washingtonian Magazine and is a regular contributor to various local TV affiliates including WUSA 9, FOX 5 DC and WJLA (ABC Affiliate) News Channel 8. During the 2016-2017 football season, Johnna aired on Comcast Sports Mid-Atlantic (CSN) show, Redskins Life, as the weekly tailgate host. Johnna is currently a regular contributor to the FOX Baltimore Weekend morning show.