Testify.

Today's question: Is it possible to simultaneously curse the scriptures while going back for seconds on the fruits of their gospel? Read on...

There are few foods I revere more than pie.

So when I ran across "The Pie and Pastry Bible" a couple of years back, I knew I had found the answers to many of life's important questions. However, if it's true that nothing worthwhile is easy, baking from this book may be the most worthwhile thing you ever do.



Four things you should know about the book and the recipes contained therein... warnings if you will, to accompany the endorsement:

1. Each pie will take somewhere between 6 and 79 hours to make. While the results can be glorious, if time truly is money, you don't want to go anywhere near the ROI on this. Clearly, a home-made pie is better than store bought pie... but is it better than 2 store bought pies, 3 hours on the couch, a hamburger, a magazine subscription, a new cd and a second hamburger?
   
   
2. Everything involved needs to be refrigerated beforehand... the flour, the butter, the crust, the dish, the filling, the filling in the crust and probably even the book itself. In fact, if you think you might want to make a pie from the "bible", save yourself some time and drop your air conditioning to it's lowest setting two days in advance. That way, by the time you need it, everything in your house will sufficiently chilled.


3. You will have to read and re-read the recipe to gain actual comprehension. This wasn't called the Pie and Pastry Bible on a lark... Isaiah is more like it. No subheads, numbered steps or user-friendly line breaks, just page after page of running text. Hey kids... It's called information design, look into it.
   
   
4. The finished product has been somehow, invariably, worth the trouble. See below.