cover image Williams-Sonoma Collection: Pie & Tart

Williams-Sonoma Collection: Pie & Tart

Carolyn Beth Weil. Free Press, $16.95 (120pp) ISBN 978-0-7432-4316-2

Divided into chapters such as""Fruit Pies,""""Holiday Pies,"" and""Elegant Tarts,"" this cookbook, part of Williams-Sonoma's reliable cookbook series, offers a full selection of the pie and tart world's greatest hits. Coconut Custard Pie, Blueberry Pie and Lemon Meringue Pie all make appearances, as do slightly more exotic treats like the French Tarte Tatin and a Fresh Fig Galette with Ricotta and Honey. As in all Williams-Sonoma cookbooks, the recipes are easy to follow, and, for the internationally-minded, measurements are provided in cups, ounces and grams. Curiously, the book saves its three basic recipes for dough until the very end, even though pastry dough is where all pies and tarts begin. The volume also features gorgeous photographs of pies, tarts and their respective ingredients, like winsome bowls of cloves and fruits so carefully arranged they look like they're posing for a still life. (May)REL