50 Pies, 50 States - by Stacey Mei Yan Fong (Hardcover)

About the Book

"An Asian immigrant and home baker presents a love letter to her adopted country with recipes for pies from every state such as Mississippi mud pie and Kentucky Derby pie"--

Book Synopsis

IACP Cookbook Award Winner - A "deliciously unique" love letter in pie crust to every state--a delicious portrait of the country with more than 50 recipes for extraordinary pies that taste just like home. (Jessie Sheehan, author of Snackable Bakes)

There's nothing quite so American as a slice of pie. That's what Stacey Mei Yan Fong learned growing up in Singapore and Hong Kong, watching movies set in the United States and dreaming about taking a road trip from coast to coast, stopping at diners along the way. After college in Savannah and a decade as a fashion designer, Stacey turned her passion for home baking into an ode to her chosen home: honoring the people, places, and flavors that made her love this country with a pie for each state.

Each pie is an impressive, whimsical tribute that encapsulates a state's unique flavors and honors its culture, including:

• South Dakota's Wild Rice Pudding Pie
• Illinois's Deep Dish Pumpkin Pie
• Kentucky's Derby Pie with Blackberry Sauce
• Mississippi Mud Pie
• Idaho's Mashed Potato Pie with Hash Brown Crust and Scallop Potato Topping
• Georgia's Sweet Tea Peach Pie with Pecan Crumble
• North Dakota's Tater Tot Hot Dish Pie

And bonus pies to honor Stacey's trajectory from Southeast Asia to her Brooklyn home, like:

• A Pandan Custard Pie for her birthplace of Singapore
• A Kope Jahe Pie in honor of her childhood in Indonesia
• A Honey Peach Pie for her time at the Savannah College of Art and Design
• And a Bagel Order Pie to celebrate her forever New York City home

Every pie is an opportunity to celebrate (or defend) your home state, presented in a beautifully packaged cookbook that is "everything we need more of right now" (Cheryl Day, author of Cheryl Day's Treasury of Southern Baking). Bake your way through and you'll taste the full range of flavors that America has to offer.

With recipes organized like the all-American roadtrip we've all wanted to complete, this book is a journey through the wonders of pie for bakers of all skill levels--and the story of one extraordinary woman who chose to make this place her home.

Review Quotes

"A fine example of how I wish more people approached writing cookbooks: by asking me to cook and eat a bunch of pie, but also by having an extremely unique, gripping, fun story to tell... I really hope she's planning a sequel."--Adam Rothbarth, Vice

"Characterfully written and brightly designed and illustrated, this original book invites the reader to explore each state through its food."--Delicious Magazine

"Perfect for pie lovers, American geography aficionados, and immigrants alike, 50 Pies, 50 States is truly a love letter to America's food diversity. Full of beautiful photographs, delicious recipes, and charming anecdotes, 50 Pies, 50 States makes a welcome addition to any baker's library."--Shelf Awareness

"To reiterate: pie is delicious. History is fascinating. What's not to like about a book that combines the two?"--insidehook.com

"50 Pies, 50 States is so much fun to peruse, much less bake from. Fong's travels across the country, meeting people and eating pie made me want to take a road trip, preferably in her passenger seat... The pies are amazing--Washington state is Rainier Cherry and Apple Pie with Potato Chip Crumble--and so is the author's voice on the page."--Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor

"A treat and a worthy addition to cooking collections."--Library Journal

"50 Pies, 50 States is filled with deliciously unique pie recipes, such as Sweet Tea Peach and Ruby Red Grapefruit, as well as more traditional ones, like Mississippi Mud Pie. A love letter to every state, it is also the deeply personal story of Stacey's journey to find 'home.' And we--her lucky 'pie trip buddies'--can cozy up in the passenger seat and enjoy the ride."--Jessie Sheehan, author of Snackable Bakes

"So much more than a cookbook, 50 Pies, 50 States is the most touching story of love, discovery, and belonging, all through the lens of mouthwatering pies. You'll want to bake all of them again and again!"--Caroline Schiff, author of The Sweet Side of Sourdough

"Stacey's truly unique and personal exploration of pie through her life experience and creative vision is an absolute joy to read. Her inventive recipes are what making pie is all about: sharing diverse cultures, traditions, and favorite flavors with those you love."--Emily Elsen and Melissa Elsen, authors of The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book

"This book is everything we need more of right now. Thank you, Stacey, for capturing the heart and soul of American baking on every delicious page!"--Cheryl Day, author of Cheryl Day's Treasury of Southern Baking

About the Author

Stacey Mei Yan Fong is a home baker living in Brooklyn, NY. She was born in Singapore, lived in Indonesia, grew up in Hong Kong, and moved to the States to pursue a degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She spent a decade designing in the fashion industry, and during that time she launched her "50 Pies 50 States" project which led to her slinging pies at Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Shop. Now, her pies have been featured by CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, Eater, and beyond.