Ken Haedrich is a food writer and pie baker of some prominence. This book is a compilation of his notes on baking savory pies coupled with a set of clear instructions he has honed over the years as a pie blogger and online teacher. I recommend the book highly, but still with a couple of reservations.

I come from a family of pie bakers in a regions of the USA where pies are king. I bake pies but my older relatives are unsung champions. Ken Haedrich's recipes are very good. His crust is very good and his instructions are very good. My only complaint is that he omits some stuff I think is important:

• The crusts here are butter based or butter with a little vegetable shortening. There is no mention of lard or suet crusts, which are traditional, delicious and no less healthy than any other saturated fat crust. Lard crusts (and vegetable shortening only crusts, for that matter) are for sweet or savory pies and are easier to work with than butter crusts. Suet crusts are generally reserved for meat pies, particularly British pork pies and others that are presented outside of the pie plate.

• In the section on rolling techniques, there is no mention of pastry cloths which are the rule in my family. You need to store them in the freezer and wash once every so often, but a well-seasoned cloth is easy to use because you can use the cloth to wrap the dough around the rolling pin to lift onto the pie plate. Mr. Haedrich appears to roll his crusts on parchment paper on top of a silicone mat. I'd go with the cloth.

• In my part of the USA savory pies are 4-6 inches deep and have a top and bottom lard or vegetable shortening crust. The bottom crust is supposed to be as flaky as you expect in a two-crust fruit pie. A Pyrex casserole dish is best because the bottom crust heats quickly in glass. Spoon the meat and vegetable stew into the unbaked crust using a slotted spoon. Some gravy, not too much, goes into the pie with the remaining gravy served at the table.

• No mention of pithiviers, which are turtle shells of puff-pastry crust top and bottom enclosing sweet or savory fillings.

One set of recipes that I find odd are for open-faced "pizza" made with pie crust. I would call them "tarts" not "pizza" but whatever, the name doesn't matter.

Read the book. Do what he says. Do try to keep a baking journal to help understand the quirks of your oven. Journals are always a good idea, although I wonder how many of us really do it. Not me.

I received a review copy of "Savory Dinner Pies" by Ken Haedrich from Harvard Common Press through NetGalley.com. ( )

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss+. With cookbooks in particular, if I like the electronic ARC, I make a point of buying a physical copy of the book when it comes out. Kan Haedrich's Savory Dinner Pies is being released on January 18—and I'm preordering it from my local independent bookseller. This is a title I want to put to use immediately!

Haedrich knows his pies and has a wonderful sense of humor. Normally, I would be skipping the opining chapters on things like types of pie pans and butter vs. shortening, but Haedrich makes these topics a delight. Once you get to the recipes, there are all kinds of variations: pot pies, hand pies, savory tarts, quiches, samosas. Some of the recipes are classics, others are surprising (and delicious-sounding): tomato and ham cobbler; Italian sausage and chicken skillet pie; sloppy joe pot pies with a biscuit crust; taco pot pie; loaded baked potato tart; curried winter squash galette with onion and apple.

I am in total agreement with the philosophy Haedrich explains in the Author's Note: "I am hopelessly addicted to crust. I've been this way for decades. In fact, I can scarcely remember eating a meal that could not have been improved by putting some sort of crust over, under, or around it.... Don't even get me started on crustless quiche, a notion I find just plain disturbing." If you're a member of or are considering a membership in the Crust-Lovers' Club, you'll want to purchase a copy of Savory Pies—stat! ( )