By NINA RESOR
There is something extremely refreshing about the change of seasons. The day in late September when you realize that, although the sky is cloudless and the sun unobscured, you are comfortable, even slightly chilly, as you walk around the city. Or that day in March when, even for those who, like me, love the cold of northeastern winters, it is once again pleasant to be outside. New seasons are exciting because they not only bring new weather but also new activities, pastimes, and holidays — which more often than not carry with them certain foods that fit into one season better than others.
In his new cookbook, Ron Silver, owner and founder of Bubby’s, the popular Tribeca eatery at the corner of Hudson and North Moore Streets, addresses the seasonality of food through the pies for which Bubby’s is most famous. Bubby’s Homemade Pies, the collaborative effort of Silver and Jen Bervin, gives more than 100 pie recipes, plus accompanying ice-creams, sauces, and toppings. Now bakers and pie lovers can bring Bubby’s pies into their own kitchens and onto their Thanksgiving tables while sharing the experience of bringing friends and family together to create something delicious. It is this idea, that baking pies can be a way for families to spend time together, which motivated Silver to write the book.
For years, a literary agent who was a frequent Bubby’s patron had been asking Silver if he wanted to write a book of recipes, but it wasn’t until after 9/11 that Silver decided to do it. “I had been giving out my recipes for years,” he says, “and after 9/11 I was very into people baking pies at home with their family. I didn’t think I would make any money off of [the book]. That wasn’t the motivation.”
Six years later, after “a huge amount of research,” two years of writing, and the opening of a second Bubby’s in Brooklyn, Bubby’s Homemade Pies is complete and available for purchase online, in bookstores, or at Bubby’s two locations. The the book provides detailed and illustrated instructions on making crusts, brief anecdotes on the origins of particular recipes, and a Perpetual Pie Calendar “to show what a year of seasonal pies might look like for us here in New York.”
Hand-drawn illustrations, both decorative and instructional, by Elizabeth Zechel, complement many of the recipes and give the work a down-home flavor that mirrors the food and atmosphere of Bubby’s restaurants. After all, Silver and Bervin obtained the majority of the recipes from friends, relatives, and homey dining establishments across the United States, tweaking many of the instructions to make them a little different. The Lofty Coconut Cloud Pie on page 265, both delicious and feasible in any season, is an example of this process. The inspiration came from a pie place in Palominas, Arizona, but the printed recipe is a product of Silver and Bervin’s creative efforts.
Though the recipes vary according to the seasons and holidays, Silver says that cherry and apple pies have always been favorites. With autumn under way and the holiday season approaching, now is the perfect time to pick up a copy of Bubby’s Famous Pies, both to impress friends and family at Thanksgiving and to share with loved ones the experience of baking, laughing, and hanging out in your cozy kitchen. The book caters to bakers with all degrees of experience.
The most difficult part of pie-making is the crust, and Chapter 1, “Crust Basics: An Illustrated Primer,” is devoted to crafting the perfect crust step-by step. Even if your crust is not as flaky as you intended it to be, or your pie tastes fine but looks like you dropped it face down, your next one will certainly be better, and the one after that even more delicious, until you no longer need to consult the book.
Silver, who opened Bubby’s Pie Co. at 28, admits in the introduction that he did not make his first pie until he was 27. He came to New York to be a writer and a painter, and while supporting himself as a chef at Restaurant Florent, began baking pies in order to win money at the annual Pillsbury Bake-Off. He then began making desserts for the restaurant, and upon being fired for leaving work early one day, decided to start his own company, at first just a wholesale business out of a borrowed kitchen.
As he and other pastry chefs will attest, pies take practice and patience, especially the crusts. But, “whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned baker, this book will help you think about pie and the infinite possibilities available to you,” Silver says. Practice, become familiar with your local growing seasons, and most important, share your creations and the experience with people you love. Even if your Thanksgiving guests do not seem as impressed with your pie as you had anticipated they would be, at least you will have another pie and hopefully another memory to brighten this holiday season.
