I first became familiar with Erin Jeanne McDowell — and her smart, warm form of culinary instruction — when I found my efforts to make a decent homemade pie crust were thwarted yet again. This was several years ago and I had attempted several popular recipes for all-butter pie crusts only to have the results lacking in some way.
That's when I stumbled across a video from Food52, where McDowell hosts the series "Bake it Up a Notch," simply called "How To Make The Best Pie Crust with Erin McDowell." As soon as she popped into frame (literally, from beneath the kitchen island) I knew I liked her style; she walked viewers through her recipe, step-by-step, emphasizing why it worked. The next day, I purchased her cookbook, "The Book on Pie: Everything You Need to Know to Bake Perfect Pies" and that was that.
