We are going to start doing more book reviews in the coming months. Kicking off the new review section is one of my favorites: Pie, by Angela Boggiano. My friend bought a copy years ago and it's safe to say that I coveted it. Then, one sunny day in Oakland, California, while snooping around at Pegasus Books, my girlfriend's cousin became drawn to its tasty pastry cover.

I slipped him a fiver as a finder's fee and have since made numerous empanadillas; handpies; filled pastries; and, of course, pies. The "soccer pies", or "football pies"--to our friends across the pond--are my favorite. They are small, and you can make a lot of them for lunches, picnics, or indeed, soccer games: these are a perfect warm up for a cold night out. The picture below shows the size of the hand pies I'm talking about.

There is a range of influences in these recipes: empanadillas with a North African and Catalan influences; South Indian masala pasties; sweet pies; and many meat pies. Never boring, some challenging recipes, and all of them are definitely worth a try.

-Reviewed by Tom