Pies, Pies & More Pies!

Easy as pie Everyone knows the saying, but most people actually feel a little scared when it comes to baking one. These mouthwatering varieties will entice anyone into the kitchen--and the instructions by a leading pastry chef will make preparation simpler than you ever would have imagined.

Viola Goren, who trained at the world's most prestigious cooking schools, explains how to whip up puff pastry, dough for savory pies, and crusts for sweet ones. Then, she presents nearly 80 recipes for everything from a Cherry Tomato Pie with Basil and Mozzarella to a classic French Tarte Tatin to a decadent chocolate cheese. Each pie--Sweet Potato Pie with Thyme and Blue Cheese, Vol-au-Vent, Chicken Pot Pie, and Rustic Double-Crust Apple Tart, to name just a few--appears in delectable photographs, including many close-up shots that focus on the details of preparation.

Viola Goren has studied cooking and baking at leading culinary institutions around the world. She graduated from The California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, and studied in several European institutions, including the Ewald Susan Notter School of Confectionery in Switzerland, The Callebaut Chocolate Academy in Belgium, and Fabbri & Fruibel in Italy. Her classroom training is complemented with hands-on experience in the pastry departments of leading bakeries and hotels. She prepared pies, pastries, cakes, and breads at the famed La Brea Bakery in Los Angeles, California, and prepared diverse desserts at The Regent Beverly Wilshire and the Hilton Tel Aviv. For more than a decade, Viola owned Sweet Dream, a popular Tel Aviv-based bakery that supplied baked goods to dozens of cafes and restaurants. Today, she is the owner of Viola Cafés, and teaches aspiring pastry-makers from all walks of life at the Estela Culinary School.