In the introduction to Maida Heatter's Pies and Tarts, Jacques Pepin says, "Maida Heatter's desserts make you smile." With all due respect to the great M. Pepin, he does not go far enough: her desserts make you smile, but they also lift you to a cloud.
Reading Heatter's opening statement, "Talking about pies - did you hear the story about the Key Lime Pie that I made for..." the smile begins to creep across the reader's face. While smiling, however, one notes that this is a hint to Heatter's glory: she loves to tell a story, and, to Heatter, every recipe is a story, one she can tell because Heatter has experienced the recipes herself, not shuffled them off to a test kitchen. These are her children and she wants to tell you how wonderful they are.
Knowing the lives of the recipes, turning each into an individual story of its own shapes Heatter's style. Her recipes are long but not difficult because they are thorough and because she has actually experienced them. She knows that some flour may settle in the bottom of a bowl when making a buckle, and tells the cook how to deal with this should it occur. No recipe from Maida will give you floury lumps. Like an exuberant aunt who can't wait to share her tricks (not secrets, for this woman wants to share), she is ready to give tips, prevent a mishap, share the simplest of secrets in a brief parenthetical whisper, "With your fingertips (floured if necessary)..." She wants you to have fun, that friendly aunt, "...be patient and work slowly . "
With the hands-on expertise of a multiple James Beard award-winner (and Hall of Fame inductee) to guide you, you need only choose the recipes that appeal to you most. This may be the most difficult aspect of working from a Heatter book because this book is packed with smile-producing, cloud-floating recipes of many varieties. Heatter can't stop herself and offers not only a lengthy list of pies and tarts, but also Shortcakes, Cobblers, Fruit Desserts, Mousses, Puddings, Custards Sauces and Extras. As you might expect, fruits of all sorts are well represented here and they rise to glory in Heatter's inspired recipes.
Heatter's style is discursive, but not rambling. Her focus stays pinned to the task at hand and when she tells you that, "meticulously precise measurements are essential for good results in baking," or analyzes when to put in vanilla [with the butter when you cream it] by saying, "Many years ago I read about cooking by someone who seemed much smarter than I am about food chemistry." you know that her success is no accident, that this woman rose to fame with rigor underlying her enthusiasm and warmth.
If Heatter didn't write cookbooks, we imagine she'd grab a megaphone and shout "look what I discovered" to every passerby. This book had gone out of print but was gratefully saved for a new generation by the publisher Andrews McMeel. We thank them for their wisdom - for our sakes, and the sake of Heatter's vocal chords, we are happy to see her back in print.,
To the many titles of respect earned by the great Heatter, we add another. We have anointed her "Everyone's Favorite Aunt."
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